The only processing done to the audio was subtractive EQ and a bit of reverb. The two signals were processed identically. Filmed by Payton Ware studiosatfischer.com #warmaudio #neve #studiosatfischer
So you just can't hear the obvious that the Warm Audio clearly lacks low end content. Less body and pinching high freq content. Warm Audio is a clear exemple on how "audio engineers" listen with their eyes. Might be good for toms or cowbell. Oh well...
@@MartinMartin-yi9to Actually, these are so close it is amazing. I think you are listening with your wallet. Unless you are listening with large monitors, the two sound close enough to each other that I can accept the WA73 in a heartbeat. Good thing mine is in my studio rack right now. I sold my Neve 1073 to buy this and a Neuman U87 (used) and put the rest in the bank.
@@ColSandersFORPRESIDENT Exactly! You get a very nice product for the money with Warm Audio. Countless recording studios have and use them. For me Warm Audio and Audio-Scape are two companies that are hard to beat for the prices you pay.
Great video! Both demo and performance were fantastic! I'd give the Neve the nod for better sound overall in this comparison, but I'm giving WARM my money. People don't listen to equipment, they listen to music. Both of these pre's can help anyone make beautiful music... what a time to be alive!
Oh Neve... that big sound and that gentle undertable compression... it always gets a "more" out of the performance. It is an allaround magic! Thanks, good job.
THAT is what I was thinking.... I wanted to like the WA as much as the Neve. I tried to be honest and set aside bias but the Neve does have a subtle compressions. Its like a smooths out and puts the slightest touch of mastering compression on the vocal where the WA doesnt. Tonally, I felt they were nearly identical with the Neve *maybe giving a slight more low mid saturation. But the polish and very gentle compression was what stood out most.
Came here looking for a good comparison video to help me decide to buy my first piece of outboard gear, and ended up really enjoying the performance. Really great job. This song brings me back to a certain time in my life and all the experiences I had with someone who turned me onto Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes. I always loved this song.
The flux capacitor on the Neve is more open but the Warm is tighter on the underside frequency curb probably because of the original megatron transformer. I like both but the Neve is clearly more vegetal than the warm that seems drippy on the left canister but can be due to the miss bust prosthetic.
Man, I came here to hear this comparison, and it was a great one, but your performance of this song cast a tender, world-weary spell on me, and that was by far my favorite part. The Neve does sound smoother, and the Warm Audio unit was definitely harsher in the upper mids. I have a WA273, and I find it easy to avoid that harshness, but I suspect I wouldn't have to try to avoid it with the Neve. Thank you for taking the time to make this, and thank you for that excellent rendition of this song.
Beautiful heartfelt performance! With a good pair of headphones I can really tell. When the Neve comes in it is like everything opens up. It is almost as if there is more air and more reverb.. You can really hear it on the ringing of the guitar when the change happens between vocals.
This is a fantastic A/B test. So I wanted to say firstly, thank you for making this. Now I owned a pair of 1064s for years, and when the prices became insane, I eventually sold them. The thing about the old Neve units, is they were all built by hand to 1970's military standards. Which was high, but the end result is every unit would sound a little different, unit to unit. So you have a wonderful sounding vintage unit here. But I wonder if the vintage units Warm Audio used as benchmarks had a slightly different "curve" naturally. Additionally, age is a factor. As components age, the "slight" midrange hump at 2kHz people mention in the comments might "relax" a bit after 50 years. Just food for thought. I think Warm is making an incredible product and I'm floored at how close it is for the money.
I have both the AMS Neve 1073 DPX and the WA 273 (dual channel), and they are both magnificent pieces. Warm Audio does an incredible job of getting so close to that inimitable Neve sound, but is barely distinguishable. I love the dark, velvety tones that both these pre's exude. Can't go wrong with either. Some projects sound better through the Neve and others sound better through the Warm Audio. I love having both at my disposal. And the Warm audio price is ridiculously reasonable. If I was starting a new home studio, I would go for the Warm, as a starting pre, especially if you’re working within a tight budget. Excellent demo song performance too🙂
Even on AirPods I can hear that slight push on the high mids of the vocals that seems to be gritty which isn’t there on the Neve. The neve opens up the highs SO MUCH too I could really hear it on the vocals sibilants for sure.
The Neve has a rounder pressence overall, while maintaining those clear bell-like highs without being harsh at all or in your face. I like warm audio products a lot, and for the price, it's clearly a great alternative for home recording musicians. It's 80% of the Neve IMHO.
On a pair of Genelec 8040s in a professionally tuned room, the Neve has that mojo that the Warm doesn't, but most people are never going to hear that detail in a normal space or in a mix.
Lodin was in his “drinking champagne because it tastes good” phase 😂. Don’t mind me, I come here when I want to listen to the song. Even though I have both wav files. 😅
Regarding the vocals, Neve has that magic and recognizable harmonic distortion in the lower mids for me, but both preamps are amazing and veeery similar to each other. Perhaps we could hear more differences if they were pushed a little harder, they sound quite clean to me here. The WA73 is slightly harsher on the upper mids, but overall great preamp, can't go wrong with either one of those!
For me it almost same but you can feel the brightness bump on the warm audio. Little more controlled bass and more overall “done” sound from the neve. Over all classic 1073 win here but with some little eq WA will sound 99 % same. So WA is the winder for the bucks. Great video! Great performance !!!🎉
I think the fact that that the track hangs together despite flipping between amps shows how ridiculously close they are…if you took away the text I doubt anybody would be able to accurately say where it changes. Anybody saying the Neve is miles better is just kidding themselves…conformation bias
nah this aint true, i did ur challenge since u said that and i guessed right, u can hear the vocal chain, its not stable with the wa73, i always pay attention to the S sibilance sounds when studying what a preamp does and other consonants, wa73 sounds bad, how can u not hear that ???!!!!
@@drillgirl718 Lewis, Regarding their comments you’re the exception. Na jk I agree w them. You see no professional will be at the mall, restaurant etc hear a song and say “ah thats a $7000 Martin guitar and not a $1000 X brand guitar. By nature we are biased.
did not expect a lua cover here. mad respect. great video, thank you - i agree with what seems to be the consensus, the highs are noticably better on the neve. for the difference in price, though, WA73 holds up like many of their other products.
If he didn't put description, you would be guessing which one was used... I hear people mention the Neve has more body, more weight, more silky, smoother ? haa what does that mean? they both do a great job. If you have the money than go for the Neve, than you earn bragging rights!
The Neve sounds smoother. The WA sounds a tad crispy on the top end. The U47 is such an amazing microphone that it makes both shine. The Neve helps the mic shine though. Nice playing. It really was a good song to hear the subtleties.
I can definitely hear a difference. More body to the Neve at these settings. I'm thinking with a little EQ tweaking you could get the WA73 pretty close.
Same, I was thinking with a little mild run through a WA76 and some slight EQ’ing the WA73 could get even closer still. Pretty great if you consider the vast difference in price.
great song and performance! yes i am in the market for one of these. i want to pay WA audio price but want the Neve sound.... looks like I'm gonna have to spend more, the Neve is fucking beautiful. God damn that was great.
Weirdly , the WA sounds darker to me which I wouldn’t have guessed. But I could take either one and not be bothered, these sounded great guys great work!
I have tried to listen to many of these, but this one i was very much able hear how the Neve opened up. Almost like the light in the room got brighter or Almost like a blanket was removed where the warm sort of sounded choked, smaller. Maybe it is the age of the transformers or the type of metal or whatever, but I did hear it and TBH the Neve was nicer for me. They sounded similar for sure and I have no idea if I would even remotely think anything like this if the warm was the only one used, but back to back like that I was able to hear it...it wasn't a HUGE difference, but it is there
I heard the bell overtone on the high end of the guitar, on the Neve... Almost sounds like something recorded to tape. So vintage and while clear. The Warm seems like it would be good if you were wanting more presence and detail to cut into you mix. Maybe on bass guitar, slow strings, or something with a lot of tracks... But for guitar and vocals I really heard the Neve character, and see why it's sought out
Hi folks! Very good comparison. It will be great to add a Heritage Audio eq73 elite in the shootout. WA and HA are in the same price range, and they are a lot different than NEVE 1073.
That is a good idea! Unfortunately I dont own the heritage audio 1073. Maybe one day the company can send it to me to test it out🤣. Thanks for watching!
The EQ is what separates the Neve from the Warm Audio. The Warm Audio starts sounding a little harsh once EQ is put into the equation. Aside from that they are damn close with the EQ bypassed. #FACTS.
Listening here on a pair of kii Three. Unfortunately I'm listening blind and pausing when I hear a change... And im reliably picking out the change. There is a harsh 3/4k bump on the warm. I think they could be evened out easily with a little EQ. Saturation sounds very similar which is the main thing.
Im wearing headphones and mostly talking about the vocal. The WA73 has less low mids, it gets driven in a way that sounds more like distortion, but sounds cleaner most the rest of the time, the syllables are harsher, its brighter and as a result it sounds lifted, like the vox coming through my temples an guitar at ears. The neve sounds like its coming at me at ear level and below, with some pecks from above, the WA73 sounds more glued in place. The neves lower guitar notes have more sustain in the low mids. The neve doesnt sound distorted when it gets driven, it sounds like pleasant (my opinion) saturation. It has a gentler, more gradual increase in saturation when you push it too, rather than the more sudden of the WA73. this is all very subtle, and hard to pin down on one reason. The WA73 sounds more modern (bright, distorted, upfront). The neve sounds vintage (natural, saturated, dynamic). probably never notice if a song i listened to a thousand times switched between the two.
The warm audio sounded excellent and surpassed my expectations, when I used it to track instruments to my Tascam 8 track cassette. It blew me into another universe, but I didn't like it so much on protools, it didn't kill the digital chill, but the Avalon 737 seemed to work better at killing the ice cold sound of protools (to a certain degree, that is)
Great comparison! I've owned both and a BAE. The Neve sounds better but for the price you can't go wrong with the WA73. Side note even vintage 1073s can vary in sound. Great content! Great song!
The Neve is smoother in the top end, most notably in the vocals, but I can't help but wonder if the slight "edginess" of the WA73 might be advantageous on dynamic mics like an SM7B. Just a thought.
For me the Neve is a bit Smoother an Natural sounding. But i just ordered an used WA73 EQ for 700 bucks. For that money its kindly to good compared to the neve. But hey. The last % is a big pricetag you have to spend. And im to broke for an Neve xD. Loved the Performance. I like how you sang it like "Telling a story" etc. Noth are great. Neve has this Legendary Status but you see a WA 73 in every Studio too... Its like you get 95% of the sound for just 900 bucks... I just using a dnx 286s at the moment and also planning to get an Klark Teknik KT-2A with an T4BLA opto. Im not even a singer or recorder. I just use it to talk on the Internet xD. I just LOVE Audio Gear and what people can do with it. I want it too! And you guys there kinda living my dream! Keep up the work!
Thx for this video. Perhaps Ill do one myself once my WA273 shows up. I already have a Neve1073SPX. I hear a more clear, brighter sound on the Neve. I wonder if you turned up the highs a tiny bit on the Warm that it would be unnoticed? Its very subtle but its there. As it should be considering the cost difference. I know we are all searching for those great sounds without spending the dollars and Warm Audio has brought that within our reach I believe which is why I just took advantage of GCs gear special and grabbed one. Ill do my own comparison. But even if its just a subtle difference I will benefit. All's I really wanted it for was to send the final mix through it before the mains. We'll see. At minimum I will now have 3 awesome preamps with EQs.
Neve is tighter sounding with more control on sibilance while the wa73 is a bit loose and has ever so slight less control on the sibilance. of course after they are mixed it will be difficult to know difference
The Neve is nice! But I think there’s the cost of diminishing returns as well as the “accurate vs useful” debate. When it comes to a Neve 1073,is the WA73 accurate? No. Is it useful and gets you 95% of the way there? Yes! Getting a useful sound is what many of us who don’t have the mega studio budget should consider when making gear purchases.
I would have preferred if you had done a true A/B comparison without naming the types at all… and see the comments then. I guess some "obvious" lacks would have disappeared ;)
There's something in the "T" and "S" sounds in the Warm piece that doesn't translate as nice as the Neve piece. I've learned this already on my WA73. It can be tweaked but those consonants are a slight problem. The Neve handles them better. But aside from that, they're very similar. Thanks for the comparison.
As a long-time WA fanboy, I do have to be honest with what I’m hearing. The Neve is definitely rounder; the WA has a bit of a bite at around 2k. But this is the kind of thing that is likely negligible with a bit of EQ. There’s a lot of times where I boost 2k on a vocal though, so that may actually be preferable in many cases. I think a good engineer who’s actually using their ears would have a pretty easy time with either option.
Sweeter highs, gooey lows and warmer mids from the neve. Plus smoother, more confident dynamics from the saturation of those transformers. Though the WA73 has a similar frequency response, it’s lacking in harmonics, sounds less full, with a brittle and unpleasant top-end…especially on the more passionate parts of the performance. If you’re seeking “that” sound, price can’t be a factor in your decision. Great performance and recording though. 👍🏾
Very nice review, thank you. It's a great comparison to show how close these are. Still, if you would process both to have the best sound, maybe the differences would be even smaller to the point where you can not reliably pick out one over the other. E.g. a little more brightness on the Neve or a little cut on the WA could bring this even closer. For the money, I would pick the WA's and be very happy with those.
Neve sounds like it has more headroom and very "air" sounding but for the money warm audio performs really well after mixing and mastering you probably won't notice that much
Not worth it to spend X times more for a Neve when the Warm Sounds so good. I'm sorry, Neve may be good, but they cost too much. Especially when Warm Audio is making such amazing/affordable gear.
Wa sounds more throaty and grumpy in the low mids. Neve sounds super transparent. Wa you can tell there's something there. Neve just sounds like brilliance and that there is nothing there.
I could hear a huge difference and the Neve won by a long shot. Silky smooth with depth while the WA73 came with some "edginess" to my ears. With that said, price wise warm audio holds up.
First of all, thanks for the video and congratulations to the whole team for this beautiful song. Neve brings a lot of fairy dust to the guitar voice combo, it sounds very clean, ultra defined, with a lot of air, When warm audio comes into action, the change in tone is noticeable, it is like the sound becomes squared with a little shine but not to the same level as Neve. I really liked the sound of Neve. What do you think of the elite series of heritage audio ??? Greetings and thank you .
On first listen (on a set of Sennheiser 58X cans) I hear a little more low-mid (and a tiny little bit of guitar boom) and less openness and detail in the highs (primarily in the vocals -- that little bit of fricative something towards the middle of some words) in the Warm Audio. The Neve maybe a little more 3D, too. I agree, though, that the track hangs together despite the switching back and forth -- though I noticed it more when the Neve came back in than when switching to the Warm Audio. Nice performance, btw.
Your preamp selection is maybe 5% of your overall sound. Whatever 'magic' is missing can generally be addressed using minimal compression/eq. This isn't to say I don't lust after a 1073 like most others here, but it's never going to make a bad song better.
@@nuiizthanachart3425 oh cool! those stock interface preamps are perfectly fine. But you will definitely notice a difference with a outboard mic pre. The 73 adds a lot of character depending how hard you push the input. That can also be achieved with plug ins pretty easily. But I think it's fun to have the real deal on the front end personally. I want to make a video comparing the wa73 to the stock preamps on my ssl2+
I really had to close my eyes to hear the difference. Once I noticed what changed it is a big difference! It's a small difference that has a big influence to the overall sound of a record. The warm audio doesn't sound bad! Actually, it sounds really good! But the neve is just a different caliber of a pre-amp. For me the neve sounds so much more open and translates more natural. The Warm audio has something in the high-mid that is not as natural and even feels a bit nasal to me. For the budget studio's I wouldn't hesitate to buy WARM. When you have budget, neve is way to go.
They are very close, but with headphones you can tell the Neve is a bit warmer in the low end and low mids, and the highs are ever so slightly more tamed or glassy if you will. The WA1073 is incredible at a fraction of the price for sure. Still, the Neve has a slight edge. Is it worth that much more? To me it is but to others maybe not so much.
In this particular example, I cannot tell any difference between the two. Perhaps after engaging the EQ on both units there would be a more noticeable difference?
Yeah, maybe the eq sounds different. It’s be an interesting test. The eq on the warm is very colorful and musical. Definitely not a surgical eq but fun to play with.
If u didnt say witch one was witch no body could tell i really like both ! The neve 1073 is 50 years old its gonna be broken in alot better give the warm audio time and it will sound smoother!
i was disappointed in this A/B shootout.. The warm audio was noticeably more shrill on the top end than the more expensive neve. That might be a sound someone likes depending on what sound they are going for though. Great shootout.
![[FULL EP.73] เปิดบ้าน 70 ล้าน "แป้ง Zbing" ยกมาทั้งญี่ปุ่น l เคหสถานบานปลาย l One Playground](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YBnJhTt07Pg/mqdefault.jpg)
Forgot the hardware. Fell in love with the performance. Congrats.
Thanks so much😁
Most 1073 owners possibly do not want to admit how great the wa73 sounds.
So you just can't hear the obvious that the Warm Audio clearly lacks low end content. Less body and pinching high freq content. Warm Audio is a clear exemple on how "audio engineers" listen with their eyes. Might be good for toms or cowbell. Oh well...
@@MartinMartin-yi9to Actually, these are so close it is amazing. I think you are listening with your wallet. Unless you are listening with large monitors, the two sound close enough to each other that I can accept the WA73 in a heartbeat. Good thing mine is in my studio rack right now. I sold my Neve 1073 to buy this and a Neuman U87 (used) and put the rest in the bank.
@@ColSandersFORPRESIDENT Exactly! You get a very nice product for the money with Warm Audio. Countless recording studios have and use them. For me Warm Audio and Audio-Scape are two companies that are hard to beat for the prices you pay.
It sounds great...for the price.
@@MartinMartin-yi9to lmao 😂 buy for $799 listen hear they going sell a million of these 😂😂😂
Great video! Both demo and performance were fantastic! I'd give the Neve the nod for better sound overall in this comparison, but I'm giving WARM my money. People don't listen to equipment, they listen to music. Both of these pre's can help anyone make beautiful music... what a time to be alive!
Thanks so much! And yes you are absolutely right, so much good gear and plugins available
Agreed
Oh Neve... that big sound and that gentle undertable compression... it always gets a "more" out of the performance. It is an allaround magic! Thanks, good job.
THAT is what I was thinking.... I wanted to like the WA as much as the Neve. I tried to be honest and set aside bias but the Neve does have a subtle compressions. Its like a smooths out and puts the slightest touch of mastering compression on the vocal where the WA doesnt. Tonally, I felt they were nearly identical with the Neve *maybe giving a slight more low mid saturation. But the polish and very gentle compression was what stood out most.
Came here looking for a good comparison video to help me decide to buy my first piece of outboard gear, and ended up really enjoying the performance. Really great job. This song brings me back to a certain time in my life and all the experiences I had with someone who turned me onto Conor Oberst and Bright Eyes. I always loved this song.
@@JovanMann thanks so much! It is such a great song.
The flux capacitor on the Neve is more open but the Warm is tighter on the underside frequency curb probably because of the original megatron transformer. I like both but the Neve is clearly more vegetal than the warm that seems drippy on the left canister but can be due to the miss bust prosthetic.
Bypass the compressor 🤯
Lol
VXJunkies unite!
Pfffff... 😁🤣👍🤟😉
Humans and their myths, incredible. 😁
Came back to this years later... Still love the performance so much!
Thank you!!
Man, I came here to hear this comparison, and it was a great one, but your performance of this song cast a tender, world-weary spell on me, and that was by far my favorite part. The Neve does sound smoother, and the Warm Audio unit was definitely harsher in the upper mids. I have a WA273, and I find it easy to avoid that harshness, but I suspect I wouldn't have to try to avoid it with the Neve. Thank you for taking the time to make this, and thank you for that excellent rendition of this song.
Wow much appreciated. Glad you enjoyed it👍
hi david
@@armsfullofronan Hi! 🙂
Beautiful heartfelt performance! With a good pair of headphones I can really tell. When the Neve comes in it is like everything opens up. It is almost as if there is more air and more reverb.. You can really hear it on the ringing of the guitar when the change happens between vocals.
Thanks so much!
This is a fantastic A/B test. So I wanted to say firstly, thank you for making this. Now I owned a pair of 1064s for years, and when the prices became insane, I eventually sold them. The thing about the old Neve units, is they were all built by hand to 1970's military standards. Which was high, but the end result is every unit would sound a little different, unit to unit. So you have a wonderful sounding vintage unit here. But I wonder if the vintage units Warm Audio used as benchmarks had a slightly different "curve" naturally. Additionally, age is a factor. As components age, the "slight" midrange hump at 2kHz people mention in the comments might "relax" a bit after 50 years. Just food for thought. I think Warm is making an incredible product and I'm floored at how close it is for the money.
I have both the AMS Neve 1073 DPX and the WA 273 (dual channel), and they are both magnificent pieces. Warm Audio does an incredible job of getting so close to that inimitable Neve sound, but is barely distinguishable. I love the dark, velvety tones that both these pre's exude. Can't go wrong with either. Some projects sound better through the Neve and others sound better through the Warm Audio. I love having both at my disposal. And the Warm audio price is ridiculously reasonable. If I was starting a new home studio, I would go for the Warm, as a starting pre, especially if you’re working within a tight budget. Excellent demo song performance too🙂
Great comment, thanks for taking the time
Even on AirPods I can hear that slight push on the high mids of the vocals that seems to be gritty which isn’t there on the Neve. The neve opens up the highs SO MUCH too I could really hear it on the vocals sibilants for sure.
Forgot I was even comparing pre amps, brilliant cover, thanks I really enjoyed that.
Wow thank you! I appreciate that
The Neve has a rounder pressence overall, while maintaining those clear bell-like highs without being harsh at all or in your face. I like warm audio products a lot, and for the price, it's clearly a great alternative for home recording musicians. It's 80% of the Neve IMHO.
hei , i think in this test Warm Audio sounds actually bit bettter than Neve , its usually other way around .
On a pair of Genelec 8040s in a professionally tuned room, the Neve has that mojo that the Warm doesn't, but most people are never going to hear that detail in a normal space or in a mix.
dude I came to compare the preamp, ended up replaying your video just to enjoy the cover. magnificent job dude!
Thanks for the kind words I really appreciate that!
Very good musical performance - forgot to listen to the two amps - and thats how it should be bravo !
Thank you so much!
Hey Rv what reverb hardware software You guys are using on the singers vocal I love how it sounds Nice reflections vocal sound?
Man, it's close. I feel like the Neve has more body to it. Both sound excellent.
Lodin was in his “drinking champagne because it tastes good” phase 😂. Don’t mind me, I come here when I want to listen to the song. Even though I have both wav files. 😅
neve feels bigger, more fresh air and more present.
In the end its a great song through both preamps.
Well done!
Thanks very much!
Just came across your channel, and I think you are one of the most talented singer / guitarists I've come across. Cheers
Thanks so much!
I’m a fan of Warm and would use this product in a heartbeat. That being said the Neve has a fullness that the Warm doesn’t and adds a touch of magic.
That's what I said
Regarding the vocals, Neve has that magic and recognizable harmonic distortion in the lower mids for me, but both preamps are amazing and veeery similar to each other. Perhaps we could hear more differences if they were pushed a little harder, they sound quite clean to me here.
The WA73 is slightly harsher on the upper mids, but overall great preamp, can't go wrong with either one of those!
I couldn't agree more.
Yep exact thought as well
Great comparison, and a beautiful performance as a bonus!
Thanks so much!
For me it almost same but you can feel the brightness bump on the warm audio. Little more controlled bass and more overall “done” sound from the neve. Over all classic 1073 win here but with some little eq WA will sound 99 % same. So WA is the winder for the bucks.
Great video! Great performance !!!🎉
Thank you!!
They're close, but you know you have a magic song and performance when the gear disappears.
That acoustic guitar sound is amazing
that was all just with a single mic for the guitar and vox?
@@jiminoc sorry just saw this comment. Yes it was just a single mic (u47)
Wow what a great song!! Like the preamp too great job
Thank you sir!
I think the fact that that the track hangs together despite flipping between amps shows how ridiculously close they are…if you took away the text I doubt anybody would be able to accurately say where it changes. Anybody saying the Neve is miles better is just kidding themselves…conformation bias
I tend to agree with you. If the preamp names were switched in the video people would still be saying the neve sounds better.
nah this aint true, i did ur challenge since u said that and i guessed right, u can hear the vocal chain, its not stable with the wa73, i always pay attention to the S sibilance sounds when studying what a preamp does and other consonants, wa73 sounds bad, how can u not hear that ???!!!!
@@drillgirl718
Lewis, Regarding their comments you’re the exception.
Na jk I agree w them. You see no professional will be at the mall, restaurant etc hear a song and say “ah thats a $7000 Martin guitar and not a $1000 X brand guitar.
By nature we are biased.
@@drillgirl718 i agree with what your saying. Guitars, line signal, drum mics it works. Vocals are what always stress tests preamps.
@@drillgirl718 😏
did not expect a lua cover here. mad respect. great video, thank you - i agree with what seems to be the consensus, the highs are noticably better on the neve. for the difference in price, though, WA73 holds up like many of their other products.
Thanks for the kind words. I checked out your channel, your music is really, really good dude! Ill be listening on Spotify for sure
If he didn't put description, you would be guessing which one was used... I hear people mention the Neve has more body, more weight, more silky, smoother ? haa what does that mean? they both do a great job. If you have the money than go for the Neve, than you earn bragging rights!
I know the point is the preamp comparison, but I'm stopping by just to also say, great song and performance.
Thanks so much!
If I close my eyes, I can hear the switch over to the Neve, but not the switch back to the WA73. Weird! They both sounds great to me. Awesome video.
I love my Warm Audio 73
Hell yeah I do too! Thanks for watching
Beautiful singing too 🔥
One Word, Clarity. I wish the hi rez files were available for DL. That would really tell the story. Man that is a great song!
Next time make it a "blind test" please 🙏, comments will change dramatically 😅
The Neve sounds smoother. The WA sounds a tad crispy on the top end. The U47 is such an amazing microphone that it makes both shine. The Neve helps the mic shine though.
Nice playing. It really was a good song to hear the subtleties.
Thanks for the kind words!
funny on a different comparison on a different channel one comment was the WA didn't sound crispy compared to the Neve... makes me giggle ;)
Superb performance of a great song.
Came for the preamps but I looped that song!!!!
Thanks so much!
really helpful video, hope more are coming about pre-compressors-EQs.
Vintage Neve 1073 is great!
This preformance eased of my anciety a bit. Thank you
Im so glad! Thanks:)
I can definitely hear a difference. More body to the Neve at these settings. I'm thinking with a little EQ tweaking you could get the WA73 pretty close.
I was thinking the same. I for sure heard a difference between the 2 and I cannot say that is always the case
Same, I was thinking with a little mild run through a WA76 and some slight EQ’ing the WA73 could get even closer still. Pretty great if you consider the vast difference in price.
funny, I prefer the Neve for the guitar sound but the WA for vocal. Both are stellar.
Nah
The Neve just has that "Magic"
great song and performance! yes i am in the market for one of these. i want to pay WA audio price but want the Neve sound.... looks like I'm gonna have to spend more, the Neve is fucking beautiful. God damn that was great.
Thanks so much!!
Weirdly , the WA sounds darker to me which I wouldn’t have guessed. But I could take either one and not be bothered, these sounded great guys great work!
I have tried to listen to many of these, but this one i was very much able hear how the Neve opened up. Almost like the light in the room got brighter or Almost like a blanket was removed where the warm sort of sounded choked, smaller. Maybe it is the age of the transformers or the type of metal or whatever, but I did hear it and TBH the Neve was nicer for me. They sounded similar for sure and I have no idea if I would even remotely think anything like this if the warm was the only one used, but back to back like that I was able to hear it...it wasn't a HUGE difference, but it is there
I heard the bell overtone on the high end of the guitar, on the Neve... Almost sounds like something recorded to tape. So vintage and while clear.
The Warm seems like it would be good if you were wanting more presence and detail to cut into you mix. Maybe on bass guitar, slow strings, or something with a lot of tracks... But for guitar and vocals I really heard the Neve character, and see why it's sought out
Hi folks! Very good comparison. It will be great to add a Heritage Audio eq73 elite in the shootout. WA and HA are in the same price range, and they are a lot different than NEVE 1073.
That is a good idea! Unfortunately I dont own the heritage audio 1073. Maybe one day the company can send it to me to test it out🤣. Thanks for watching!
The heritage stuff is way better the Warm Audio products. Different world
The EQ is what separates the Neve from the Warm Audio. The Warm Audio starts sounding a little harsh once EQ is put into the equation. Aside from that they are damn close with the EQ bypassed. #FACTS.
Great performance man 👏
Thank You! I Apreciate that
Listening here on a pair of kii Three. Unfortunately I'm listening blind and pausing when I hear a change... And im reliably picking out the change. There is a harsh 3/4k bump on the warm. I think they could be evened out easily with a little EQ. Saturation sounds very similar which is the main thing.
Im wearing headphones and mostly talking about the vocal. The WA73 has less low mids, it gets driven in a way that sounds more like distortion, but sounds cleaner most the rest of the time, the syllables are harsher, its brighter and as a result it sounds lifted, like the vox coming through my temples an guitar at ears. The neve sounds like its coming at me at ear level and below, with some pecks from above, the WA73 sounds more glued in place. The neves lower guitar notes have more sustain in the low mids. The neve doesnt sound distorted when it gets driven, it sounds like pleasant (my opinion) saturation. It has a gentler, more gradual increase in saturation when you push it too, rather than the more sudden of the WA73. this is all very subtle, and hard to pin down on one reason. The WA73 sounds more modern (bright, distorted, upfront). The neve sounds vintage (natural, saturated, dynamic). probably never notice if a song i listened to a thousand times switched between the two.
Great comment, makes sense to me. Thanks for watching
😌 Let's do another one! We love having you in the studio!
The warm audio sounded excellent and surpassed my expectations, when I used it to track instruments to my Tascam 8 track cassette. It blew me into another universe, but I didn't like it so much on protools, it didn't kill the digital chill, but the Avalon 737 seemed to work better at killing the ice cold sound of protools (to a certain degree, that is)
Huge difference in the top end. Neve wins by far.
Lol said you don't like wA all sound the same tho
Great comparison! I've owned both and a BAE. The Neve sounds better but for the price you can't go wrong with the WA73. Side note even vintage 1073s can vary in sound. Great content! Great song!
How did you think the BAE compared?
@@stupendousmusic4190 I think the BAE is the closest to a NEVE sound.
@@MOSHAEMUSIC I've compared the BAE 1073 and the AMS Neve 1073, and they were very close. I'm a 1066 fan though. 😇
The Neve is smoother in the top end, most notably in the vocals, but I can't help but wonder if the slight "edginess" of the WA73 might be advantageous on dynamic mics like an SM7B. Just a thought.
That’s a good question, makes sense that it might add some needed bite or texture to a flat sounding mic.
For me the Neve is a bit Smoother an Natural sounding. But i just ordered an used WA73 EQ for 700 bucks. For that money its kindly to good compared to the neve. But hey. The last % is a big pricetag you have to spend. And im to broke for an Neve xD. Loved the Performance. I like how you sang it like "Telling a story" etc.
Noth are great. Neve has this Legendary Status but you see a WA 73 in every Studio too... Its like you get 95% of the sound for just 900 bucks... I just using a dnx 286s at the moment and also planning to get an Klark Teknik KT-2A with an T4BLA opto. Im not even a singer or recorder. I just use it to talk on the Internet xD. I just LOVE Audio Gear and what people can do with it. I want it too! And you guys there kinda living my dream! Keep up the work!
Thanks for the comment and the compliment!
Thx for this video. Perhaps Ill do one myself once my WA273 shows up. I already have a Neve1073SPX. I hear a more clear, brighter sound on the Neve. I wonder if you turned up the highs a tiny bit on the Warm that it would be unnoticed? Its very subtle but its there. As it should be considering the cost difference. I know we are all searching for those great sounds without spending the dollars and Warm Audio has brought that within our reach I believe which is why I just took advantage of GCs gear special and grabbed one. Ill do my own comparison. But even if its just a subtle difference I will benefit. All's I really wanted it for was to send the final mix through it before the mains. We'll see. At minimum I will now have 3 awesome preamps with EQs.
The Warm sounds very good, absolutely adequate and then some...but the Neve sounds dramatic and wonderful.
Neve has a much more balanced sound. Cleaner and more musical.
this is a well-done comparison
Neve is tighter sounding with more control on sibilance while the wa73 is a bit loose and has ever so slight less control on the sibilance. of course after they are mixed it will be difficult to know difference
The best part of this shootout was the performance !
Thank you!
They both sound great in different ways. The Neve is smoother and the WA73 is more up front.
I agree. Any decent preamp will do the job these days
The Neve is nice! But I think there’s the cost of diminishing returns as well as the “accurate vs useful” debate. When it comes to a Neve 1073,is the WA73 accurate? No. Is it useful and gets you 95% of the way there? Yes! Getting a useful sound is what many of us who don’t have the mega studio budget should consider when making gear purchases.
Absolutely. It may not be identical but it’s entirely useful and more than enough for any application i can think of.
I would have preferred if you had done a true A/B comparison without naming the types at all… and see the comments then. I guess some "obvious" lacks would have disappeared ;)
There's something in the "T" and "S" sounds in the Warm piece that doesn't translate as nice as the Neve piece. I've learned this already on my WA73. It can be tweaked but those consonants are a slight problem. The Neve handles them better. But aside from that, they're very similar. Thanks for the comparison.
Heard it on a pair of ATCs, Yeah the NEVE got a warmer body, but the warm sounds great a tiny bit ''harsh'' if i can say so.
As a long-time WA fanboy, I do have to be honest with what I’m hearing. The Neve is definitely rounder; the WA has a bit of a bite at around 2k. But this is the kind of thing that is likely negligible with a bit of EQ. There’s a lot of times where I boost 2k on a vocal though, so that may actually be preferable in many cases. I think a good engineer who’s actually using their ears would have a pretty easy time with either option.
I thought the Neve sounded a bit brighter, like a tad enhanced compared to the wa73.
Sweeter highs, gooey lows and warmer mids from the neve. Plus smoother, more confident dynamics from the saturation of those transformers. Though the WA73 has a similar frequency response, it’s lacking in harmonics, sounds less full, with a brittle and unpleasant top-end…especially on the more passionate parts of the performance. If you’re seeking “that” sound, price can’t be a factor in your decision. Great performance and recording though. 👍🏾
Nothing you can't fix with a lil EQ.
Thanks so much!
Great comparison and tho there’s a slight difference it definitely didn’t sound like a $1k difference. Thanks for saving me some money
Very nice review, thank you. It's a great comparison to show how close these are. Still, if you would process both to have the best sound, maybe the differences would be even smaller to the point where you can not reliably pick out one over the other. E.g. a little more brightness on the Neve or a little cut on the WA could bring this even closer. For the money, I would pick the WA's and be very happy with those.
Thanks! And yes, the Warm Audio interface is more than sufficient for recording many sources. Just slightly different from the Neve.
Neve sounds like it has more headroom and very "air" sounding but for the money warm audio performs really well after mixing and mastering you probably won't notice that much
Not worth it to spend X times more for a Neve when the Warm Sounds so good. I'm sorry, Neve may be good, but they cost too much. Especially when Warm Audio is making such amazing/affordable gear.
Wa sounds more throaty and grumpy in the low mids. Neve sounds super transparent. Wa you can tell there's something there. Neve just sounds like brilliance and that there is nothing there.
I could hear a huge difference and the Neve won by a long shot. Silky smooth with depth while the WA73 came with some "edginess" to my ears. With that said, price wise warm audio holds up.
Awesome man thanks for the comment. I checked your channel out, great content! Cheers 👍
@@Rv_Music108 oh hey appreciate you taking a gander. Thank you again for this video, very informative!
Not gonna lie you have me contemplating those brick monitor stands🤣. Cool idea for sure
spot on.... this was my assessment as well.
First of all, thanks for the video and congratulations to the whole team for this beautiful song. Neve brings a lot of fairy dust to the guitar voice combo, it sounds very clean, ultra defined, with a lot of air, When warm audio comes into action, the change in tone is noticeable, it is like the sound becomes squared with a little shine but not to the same level as Neve. I really liked the sound of Neve. What do you think of the elite series of heritage audio ??? Greetings and thank you .
Thanks for the kind words! Ive heard good things about the heritage audio stuff but have never tried it out
High end and low end sound better with the Neve. Warm Audio is probably unbeatable for the price though.
On first listen (on a set of Sennheiser 58X cans) I hear a little more low-mid (and a tiny little bit of guitar boom) and less openness and detail in the highs (primarily in the vocals -- that little bit of fricative something towards the middle of some words) in the Warm Audio. The Neve maybe a little more 3D, too. I agree, though, that the track hangs together despite the switching back and forth -- though I noticed it more when the Neve came back in than when switching to the Warm Audio.
Nice performance, btw.
Both sound good, and a good song by a good performer! Is the difference a $5,000 difference? Nope.
Your preamp selection is maybe 5% of your overall sound. Whatever 'magic' is missing can generally be addressed using minimal compression/eq. This isn't to say I don't lust after a 1073 like most others here, but it's never going to make a bad song better.
Ya think?
Great comparison. I bought warm to learn how to use a neve. I want the neve.
Thank you, I hope you enjoy your real neve 1073 when you get it!
wonder if compare the original u47 with the wa47 as well. wonderful demo song chill and super smooth
That's a great idea. Maybe I can do that eventually. And thank you!!
@@Rv_Music108 Nice! I bought WA47 couple weeks ago and wonder if it will be greather to have a preamp. I'm currently using Scarlett 6i6 Gen2
@@nuiizthanachart3425 oh cool! those stock interface preamps are perfectly fine. But you will definitely notice a difference with a outboard mic pre. The 73 adds a lot of character depending how hard you push the input. That can also be achieved with plug ins pretty easily. But I think it's fun to have the real deal on the front end personally. I want to make a video comparing the wa73 to the stock preamps on my ssl2+
I just got a WA47 thanks for the idea. I'll make the video at some soon!
@@Rv_Music108 I'll be in touch! ;)
I really had to close my eyes to hear the difference.
Once I noticed what changed it is a big difference!
It's a small difference that has a big influence to the overall sound of a record.
The warm audio doesn't sound bad! Actually, it sounds really good! But the neve is just a different caliber of a pre-amp.
For me the neve sounds so much more open and translates more natural. The Warm audio has something in the high-mid that is not as natural and even feels a bit nasal to me.
For the budget studio's I wouldn't hesitate to buy WARM.
When you have budget, neve is way to go.
XD closed your eyes to hear the difference wdf XD
@@RayoBeatz It works
They are very close, but with headphones you can tell the Neve is a bit warmer in the low end and low mids, and the highs are ever so slightly more tamed or glassy if you will. The WA1073 is incredible at a fraction of the price for sure. Still, the Neve has a slight edge. Is it worth that much more? To me it is but to others maybe not so much.
In this particular example, I cannot tell any difference between the two. Perhaps after engaging the EQ on both units there would be a more noticeable difference?
Yeah, maybe the eq sounds different. It’s be an interesting test. The eq on the warm is very colorful and musical. Definitely not a surgical eq but fun to play with.
be soundin’ smooth! 😌
The Neve is bigger with more dimension and clarity.
If u didnt say witch one was witch no body could tell i really like both ! The neve 1073 is 50 years old its gonna be broken in alot better give the warm audio time and it will sound smoother!
Thats a great point!
@@Rv_Music108 ya bro heard that from alot of big engineers takes years to break equipment in !
i was disappointed in this A/B shootout.. The warm audio was noticeably more shrill on the top end than the more expensive neve. That might be a sound someone likes depending on what sound they are going for though. Great shootout.
NEVE BABY SUPER SMOOTH
These comments tho lol. Bunch of liars.
Neve…smooth. Great performance!
Thank you!
I had bought a wa73 and sending it back for exactly what you hear here, how it chokes the top end