Great River MP-2NV
A two-channel preamp built to chase the character of a classic Neve - and, by most accounts, to clean it up in the low end while doing it.
Overview
The MP-2NV put Great River Electronics on the map for recordists who want the weight and color of a vintage console module but don't want to gamble on a forty-year-old pull. Great River says plainly that the MP-2NV is based on the circuitry of the classic Neve 1073. Like that module, it uses multiple single-ended amplifier stages with both input and output transformers. For typical use one amplifier block runs alongside the output amplifier. For high-gain work a second block is switched in after the input. That topology is the whole point of the box, and it's why the model carries the "NV" suffix.
The transformers are custom Sowter units, designed in consultation with Mercenary Audio. That's where the "Mercenary Edition" billing on early documentation comes from. The stated design goal was to deliver the richness of the original 1073 pre with more low-end focus than the Neve. Whether that goal landed gets argued about on forums for years, but the intent is documented plainly enough.
EQ Magazine (June 2002, p.110) reviewed the unit and drew a sharp line between it and its predecessor: despite the similar model names, the MP-2NV is a completely different animal from the original MP-2. Where the earlier Great River pre was built to be transparent and sonically neutral, the NV was designed for character — specifically the character of the old 10xx-model Neve preamps. The same review noted that the presence of both a gain control and an output level is one of the keys to controlling how much of that character gets added to the signal. That's the operating principle in a nutshell: gain up and output down for grit, output up and gain down for clean.
The front panel carries a 1/4-inch high-impedance input per channel, reportedly around 2 megaohms. It feeds a buffer amplifier that connects to the mic input transformer when a plug is inserted. Each channel has a gain control adjustable in 5 dB steps from five to 60 dB, plus an output control spanning -25 to +10 dB, for a maximum total gain of 70 dB. There are switches for polarity reverse and phantom power, an input impedance selector that toggles between 300 and 1,200 ohms, and a Loading control that switches a 600-ohm termination resistor in or out of the output transformer's secondary circuit. Two 6-position LED meters per channel, one at the second amplifier stage and one at the output, let the user watch gain staging through the box instead of guessing at it.
The rear panel has XLR connectors for balanced inputs and outputs, an unbalanced -10 dBv output, and a 1/4-inch TRS patch point per channel for inserting a compressor or EQ ahead of the output amplifier. Balanced and unbalanced outputs are available simultaneously. Power comes in through a standard IEC connection, and the unit accepts 120 to 240 volts at 50 or 60 Hz, changeable externally. All switch contacts are gold-plated. The output control is conductive plastic, chosen for long life and low contact distortion.
Pro Audio Review (May 2003, p.27) took the unit through a studio review and highlighted the input and output volume controls as central to its flexibility. The same review, in its second installment (p.28), pointed out a practical detail that ribbon users will recognize: with mics like the Royer 121, a tremendous amount of gain is usually needed, and the input impedance switch becomes a useful tool in that situation.
Mix (March 2002, p.142) approached the MP-2NV from the design-philosophy side, noting that most electronic designers strive for maximum accuracy and transparency, and that this preamp deliberately takes a different road. The review also flagged the balanced TRS inserts between preamp and output amplifiers for patching outboard compression and EQ — the same insert points Great River built into the rear panel. The magazine's technical discussion of the unit's asymmetric clipping behavior — each stage clipping only half the waveform first, in contrast to modern op amps that clip symmetrically — is the kind of detail that explains why the box behaves the way it does when pushed.
The gain-staging arrangement is what separates the MP-2NV from a straight-ahead clean pre. Run the output wide open and set level with the gain control, and you get the cleanest sound the unit will give. Pull the output back and push the input gain, and the transformers start to contribute. Past a certain point that overdrive gets too dirty for critical work like a lead vocal, but the range in between is the reason people keep these in the rack. One reviewer compared the NV directly against a pair of racked 1073s and reported hearing little difference between them. His caveat was that the vintage Neve tends to go muddy when worked hard, while the Great River retained a bit more definition. The transformer design was the suspected reason.
The impedance switching is not a gimmick. On a couple of old RCA ribbon microphones, a 77 and a 74B, the 300-ohm setting reportedly made a substantial difference, with the mic sounding clearer and more open than at 1,200 ohms. On other mics the same switch made no audible difference at all. So it matters with some sources and not with others. The Loading switch exists for a related reason. According to designer Dan Kennedy, most Neve modules pulled from consoles and used stand-alone aren't terminated to 600 ohms, which gives them a slightly rising response. Modules still installed in Neve consoles got proper termination from the switching networks downstream. The Loading switch puts that termination on the front panel where it can be toggled.
The consensus among people who used it professionally was that the MP-2NV delivered the qualities associated with Neve preamps, a big, warm, yet detailed presentation, with the enhanced low-end clarity Great River was aiming for. A studio listing in EQ shows the preamp in the rack at Great Divide Studios in Aspen alongside a Requisite PAL Plus, a Millennia Origin, and a Focusrite ISA430. A classical-guitar engineer quoted in the same publication called the MP-2NV the clearest-sounding of his preamps and said it provided a proper balance to a warmer room sound.
The documented limitations are few. EQ's review summary listed none to speak of. The one real caution is the overdrive ceiling. Push the input stage and transformers too far and the result gets too dirty for delicate sources. That's a characteristic, not a fault, but someone expecting a clean preamp with a character switch should know it going in.
Pricing has moved over the years. The Mercenary Edition was reviewed at $2,495. Great River later introduced the single-channel ME-1NV at $1,299 as a comparatively affordable entry into the same sonic territory, a unit the company claimed maintained the integrity, accuracy, and tunability of its predecessor, the MP-2NV. The ME-1NV carries up to 70 dB of input gain in 5 dB steps, an output range of -25 to +10 dB, separate LED input and output meters, and front-panel switching for polarity, phantom, input impedance, and output loading.
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