2 weeks with the Meek twinQ

[witesol]

..and I'm really liking this box. Especially the sound of it. With "Iron" switch it has lots of character; tracks sit well and hold up well over the course of the project. On the clean setting it's more straight-wire. At first I had a little difficulty setting the compressor, it's a little touchy, easy to over comp...and I do like adding compression going in. But, after a week or so I have it down pretty well. I still can't seem to use any heavier ratios than 3:1 or so without obvious artifacts. I don't have that issue with the Manley DVC. The Meek is less forgiving in that regard. Lots of info on the front panel to sort through for my faiing eyeballs, and some knobs seem to be in an awkward place still, maybe I'm being impatient.
The A/D is quite nice too. Next I'm going to clock it with the Big Ben and see what happens. The EQ is more than adequate although I don't EQ much. The box is reasonably quiet. Very nicely made. Only wish would be for a little better metering for GR and output level to A/D instead of a red light warning of clipping the A/D.
I've done kicks, snares, OH, E guitar, A guitar, vocals and DI bass on 3 different important projects including my own upcoming CD. Perhaps 25 different tracks so far. I've been really happy with all the tones. The 4047 has particularly been a good mic in combo, so has the M160, GT33, KM140 and 57. Haven't used my go-to Lawson L47mp yet with it.
In hindsight this seems like a no-brainer at around $799 for two channels. Next, I'm gonna try it on the live sound rig when I can navigate a little faster around it

[CharlesM]

How do the pres compare to others you've used? Are they clean? Colored? Detailed?

Thanks,
Chuck

[creature.of.habit]

i also like the feedback these are getting, especially the oneQ...but i really wish they saved the money they spend on the comp and eq and whatnot and invest it all on making the pre better in whatever aspect possible..i bet it would be an even better pre for the price, if it's as good as people say it is now..

[witesol]

How do the pres compare to others you've used? Are they clean? Colored? Detailed?

Thanks,
Chuck

It can do both clean and color. The "iron" switch puts a transformer on the input for some nice color. With the switch out it's a very clean, burr brown equipped input. It has vibe. The tracks hold up well down the road.

[witesol]

i also like the feedback these are getting, especially the oneQ...but i really wish they saved the money they spend on the comp and eq and whatnot and invest it all on making the pre better in whatever aspect possible..i bet it would be an even better pre for the price, if it's as good as people say it is now..

the "whatnot" is pretty good stuff, and quite usable. If it was afterthought and not good I would agree with you. Of course you can switch it out of the chain and just use the preamp...which is perhaps worth $350/channel on it's own. The preamps themselves are the same in the OneQ, it just has a few more whatnots, like a de-essor and exiter, two things I don't use hardly ever

[creature.of.habit]

the "whatnot" is pretty good stuff, and quite usable. If it was afterthought and not good I would agree with you. Of course you can switch it out of the chain and just use the preamp...which is perhaps worth $350/channel on it's own. The preamps themselves are the same in the OneQ, it just has a few more whatnots, like a de-essor and exiter, two things I don't use hardly ever

witesol, sure i believe you, and i dont doubt its good stuff. thing is, i dunno, but i wouldnt track with eq, and rarely with comp, unless i was doing it live...sure lots of ppl work the other way around and that's just fine...but i, personally, dont see the point of channel strips like this one, or any other kind for that matter...unless you can go into it again and trully bypass the preamp...either way..what i really meant..its like this meek pre for instance, the oneQ, has some potential...with the iron switch and all, when i think of iron, i think of electric guitars and great river...and they (PMI) still dont have a trully great pre (joe meek, studio projects, etc, etc), although some stuff seems to be cooking..and i think this was a golden opportunity for that, cause of the concept..im sure the iron switch does a lot, and i wish i had that for example, but i wish they would invest all the money in making the pre top notch, with the iron switch..imagine a cheap and probably cooler (its green, come on!) great river ...no matter how cool the other features are...it would a much better product for me and one i would surelly purchase....as it is now, not by any chance, no matter how good everything adds up to be.

[CharlesM]

Diogo,

Just curious: Have you heard the pres in these units? You seem to have a belief that they are inherently compromised. Are you speaking from experience or assumption?

I?m very interested in how the pres sound in the newer Meek stuff. There?s an independent TwinQ review out there where some guy says the pres actually compared favorably against an Avalon strip he also owned.

Chuck

[Professor]

I've been thinking of getting either a TwinQ or a pair of OneQs for the studio. I never track with EQ or compression, but I figured that with a line input in the back that would give me the option of using it in mixdown as a channel or mix-bus processor.
I'm curious whether the line input comes in after the mic preamp (doubtful) or simply pads down the input and feed it through the mic preamp - and if so, is the transformer still an in/out option. There is no block diagram in the online manual.

-Jeremy

[creature.of.habit]

Diogo,

Just curious: Have you heard the pres in these units? You seem to have a belief that they are inherently compromised. Are you speaking from experience or assumption?

I?m very interested in how the pres sound in the newer Meek stuff. There?s an independent TwinQ review out there where some guy says the pres actually compared favorably against an Avalon strip he also owned.

Chuck

Charles, no experience..like everyone, i watch what PMI puts out..and i buy stuff from them cause i really think they're a cool company and with a load of potential...just look at their forum, they're out there asking what folks would like to see, etc...they recently did this with a joe meek 10 1/4" in/out interface that i will likely get, and people just sugested stuff, and they seem to pick that up and really listen..rare these days.

ive owned a B1 before, and thought it was a perferctly good mic..that's my experience with them...my brother has a VTB1 that i think is cool and all, not far from the DMP3 i used to have, but not quite there. my assumptions are based on the reviews of the 3Q, that im sure doesnt match the DMP3, but it's probably not supposed to either..it's not the same pre as the 1Q or 2Q, but still...

all that i meant was, for the 600 bucks or something that the 1Q goes for, imagine the amount of pre we would have if all of that money went into the pre and iron option...not taking away anything from the pre as it is now, im sure it's cool, that's exactly why i wish they had built upon that, not around it

but not by any means taking whatever away from it, im sure it's great!

[CharlesM]

I guess the other possibility is that the pre IS really nice but the unit is just priced more affordably, without the huge upcharge for a marquis brand name.

Obviously the Chinese manufacturing is part of what would make that possible, and I personally struggle with that as a consumer...whether or not to support this trend. But that's a topic that has been beaten to death.

[;ivlunsdystf]

Yo CharlesM - how about some sound clips? It's so hard to imagine all this by reading words.

[witesol]

I don't think CharlesM is the one saying he has the unit, just making a point about presenting an opinion without ever having heard it. Perhaps when I complete some songs I'll post some finished mixes. I don't know how helpful that might be in being able to measure the impact of the Meek, other than just noting which tracks were what preamp. What that won't demonstrate was what preamps were auditioned then not chosen before deciding on the Meek for any particular track.

I did clock the TwinQ with a Big Ben this past weekend, and was very happy. What I didn't try was a before and after. Sometimes I just want to get something done, especially when I'm on the clock for someone.

The DI does seem to go through the entire input including "iron" if selected

[;ivlunsdystf]

witesol - oops, I get confused about who is who - anyway, that would be really cool. Thanks. Sorry charlesm about the mistaken identity.

[CharlesM]

Correct: I don't own the TwinQ, but I've heard/read very good user experiences with it, and have toyed with checking it out.

Witesol, if you have any TwinQ sound clips at some point, that would be awesome (any solo clips?). I'd also love to know how you like the TwinQ versus what other units you've used (and what those units were).

Thanks a lot,
Chuck

[witesol]

so far I've tested alongside the Manley DVC, Blue Robbie, GT brick, Roland VS, older Joemeek, M-audio Tampa, and RNP . The difficluty in my situation is I do this for a living, only on my own projects do I have more time to play around..and then rarely do. So, my method is sometimes guessing what will work for a source, setting up and going forward with the session.I generally let the preamp dictate what I'll get and just let it contribute to the sound that particular day. Only if something isn't quite right, but then will I change out a mic first over the preamp channel. Consequently I have no side by side comparos of same sources through different preamps.

Exceptions to preamp experiments is when going for a particular sound. I know, for example that the Brick is going to give me that somewhat trashy tube vibe I like on a Fender amp just starting to clip. DVC is nearly good on everything but isn't my first choice for kick or snare. The first tracks I did with the TwinQ were drum basics, TwinQ doing kick and snare top. I do like a little compression going into a workstation, this time into a Roland 2480. I easily over comp'd the kick and snare with the twin until I learned it's sensitivities. My standard setup on kick these days has been the Robbie with a Beta 52. The Meek was very good, maybe better. I've been getting some really nice, organic acoustic guitar tones. most recently on an artist's 3rd CD release tracks. We ended up with a Neumann KM140 through the Meek on "iron" no EQ, 2:1 comp ration with a few db GR. Maybe one of the best A. guit tones I've recorded.