Warm Audio WA-412 vs RNP8380

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tdbajus
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Warm Audio WA-412 vs RNP8380

Post by tdbajus » Fri Aug 30, 2019 11:48 am

Foolishly, when I bought my UAD Apollo8, I got the model with only 4 built in preamps. How good could they be? I thought.

Pretty, pretty damned good, actually. I have never had such an easy time getting the sounds I want. I really can't recommend this box enough.

So, anyway, I was thinking about getting either two RNP8380 and racking them (because they are 1/3 of a rack space) with my Really Nice Levelling Amplifier (which is also a delight to use) or a WA-412.

I have never used Warm Audio stuff before, but it seems to be fairly well regarded. It'd wind up being cheaper, has a few more features.

Any opinions out there?

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Lamar Fandango
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Re: Warm Audio WA-412 vs RNP8380

Post by Lamar Fandango » Fri Oct 11, 2019 6:09 pm

I had a Warm Audio WA-251 LDC from Sweetwater that was a disaster. Shoddy soldering, a washer rattling in the PSU, and a few other bad ideas. The WA-412 has been around longer, so maybe the WA-251 issues were a result of rushing a product to market. I never even plugged the mic in. It went straight back to Sweetwater...and they made me happy. The WA-412 is a pre and the WA-251 is a mic, so take it for what it's worth.

I had a pair of FMR RNC's that I treated like dish rags and they did nothing but function flawlessly.

I also have an Apollo 8. I use an older Audient ASP008 with digital output to bring the track count up to 12, and I have a UA Solo 610 for a softer, colored sound. It sounds better than the 610 unison plugins, but I might choose a different "color" preamp if I wasn't addicted to the Solo 610 as a bass DI. But the Audient 8 channel addition has been super handy.

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Re: Warm Audio WA-412 vs RNP8380

Post by marqueemoon » Fri Oct 11, 2019 9:03 pm

Apparently these are discontinued, or I'd suggest buying new. My bandmate has one and it kills for what it cost.

https://reverb.com/brand/sytek

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tdbajus
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Re: Warm Audio WA-412 vs RNP8380

Post by tdbajus » Sat Oct 12, 2019 6:32 am

I had a sytek back in the day. It is a very solid piece of equipment, just clean gain.

I never loved it, though.

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Re: Warm Audio WA-412 vs RNP8380

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Oct 12, 2019 6:53 am

tdbajus wrote:
Sat Oct 12, 2019 6:32 am
I had a sytek back in the day. It is a very solid piece of equipment, just clean gain.

I never loved it, though.
Fair enough, but plugins to add color have gotten so much better in recent years.

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Re: Warm Audio WA-412 vs RNP8380

Post by tdbajus » Sat Oct 12, 2019 8:00 am

I could def do a lot worse. I guess I am looking for a little novelty.

Actually, I'd really love if FMR made the preamp equivalent to their RNLA. I love the color of that guy- everything sounds just a little bit better going through it.

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Re: Warm Audio WA-412 vs RNP8380

Post by marqueemoon » Sat Oct 12, 2019 8:24 am

tdbajus wrote:
Sat Oct 12, 2019 8:00 am
I could def do a lot worse. I guess I am looking for a little novelty.

Actually, I'd really love if FMR made the preamp equivalent to their RNLA. I love the color of that guy- everything sounds just a little bit better going through it.
Many years ago I bought a Great River MP-2NV. I still love it. A lot more expensive than what you're looking at, but I just checked and the single channel version used goes for mid-800s used.

With the two controls and metering at the two stages you can dial in the exact amount of grit you want. It also has an insert point, so you could patch in your RNLA. Sounds great as a DI too.

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