Neve 1073 vs. Stam 1073 Pre-amp - Shootout & Sound Test Comparison 

The Neve was abit more open and clear but the Stam def made it sound way more warm

Fantastic shootout. Kudos guys. I’m always amazed when I look at these Neve clone shoutouts. To my ears, the Neve sounds ‘more compressed’ (Brad thinks the opposite). One of the things I hear quite often with the clones is a bump in the low mids/mids. Like someone took 1K and decided that should be a thing everyone should hear more of. The Neve doesn’t have that. The harmonics it imparts (mainly in the lows and lower mids) all swirl around and just make anything cohesive. Folks talk about ‘clarity’ vs ‘character’, I mean… who wants ‘clarity’ out of a pre? You want magic! I did close my eyes before the shootout began. And mind you, I was listening thru garbage iPhone earbuds (but I turn them sideways for more frequencies when I try and do ‘serious’ listening thru trash - sometimes you wanna get a mix A/B’d so you know what the majority of consumers are going to hear…) but I still heard that silkiness right away. Brad, I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the Chandler LTD strip (the lower serials). In all cases, fantastic post. Cheers, Mates

You guys are not getting it: Stam audio neve is based on vintage neve preamp while the 73lb is newer tech with SMC components made in China by machines. "The Neve Sound" is the Stam Audio one, that's what made Neve famous, not the "modern" SMC component Neves that we can buy today from the company. The idea of "the neve sound" is to have a certain character, not a clean mic preamp. If you want that, buy yourself a Grace Design m101 and you don't get much cleaner than that, if you want it to sound like a vintage Neve, buy yourself a clone identical in schematics and components to the original ones.

Thanks for the nice properly done shootout. STAM is definitely useful almost ready for mix. If filters were engaged then it would almost be indistinguishable.

Would’ve been cool to see the waveform from each mic. I liked the Stam a bit more...not much.....just a bit. Great video!

Nice shootout. The Stam sounds great. The Neve sounds good, but suffers from being a 500 series unit. Neve style modules in 500 series are never quite as rich sounding as their 500 series counterparts. I wish this had been a shoot out between two 19’ rack units.

Yes for this somg the stam, but the clarity of the neve is awesome, i definitely see my self using it in a more busy mix.

I wouldn't say one is better than the other, just a tad bit different flavors. The Neve sounds a bit softer and creamy, and the Stam is a bit more in your face. The terms are probably overused, but the Neve sounds more "vintage" and the Stam sounds like a tad more "modern" version of it, which makes sense. Both sound good.

Wow...Vocal was Awesome. I like Stam. Great video. Keep do more videos guys.

David, as always, thanks for your time & effort! This video made me sell my stam mpa, & buy a Neve 1073 lb. Hands down, to my ears, it's night & day where it counts. If eq could fix the difference, I'd do that. It won't. . I own 2 killer Stam mics, Stam & Josh are awesome, but I'm inspired by the Neve's sound. The Neve DI sounds amazing on bass guitar, too

Great shootout, thanks. I think the Stam could be EQ'd to sound just like the Neve, but then you also have more tonal choices because of the EQ. That gives you more options to dial in the tone for each vocalist and instrument. So the Stam is more flexible. They both sound excellent. For David's voice, the Neve got thin at times, so the Stam wins by a nose.

I prefer neve, because i hear more headroom which to me can literally be worth

Finally the right way to compare. Thanks so much

Stam is really great gear. Stam gear is like Pacman, slowly devouring my other gear and replacing it with Stam.

What draws me to the Neve is the sustain on lower volume passages. The switch from loud to intimid is carried better and not noticeable in contrast with the stam.

listen to the «s»-es... neve is more comfortable there... stam seems to have a highshelf on it... neve is a step closer to my face

Neve for sure...warmer, fuller but the Stam sounds great for sure

thanks for making this.. Im sold the neve sounds really great... the way it captures the vocal and smooth around the edges with depth to it. Stam sounds good 2 tho.

After relistening, I noticed that the Stam Audio has more midrange texture and more push.

Stam. Way closer to an original which is never ever harsh.

Stam is more full and harmonically saturated. Get's closer to vintage neve sound but still not quite there to a good vintage 1073.

Neve 1073LB is a light version of a Neve 1073. It has nothing to do with a Neve 1073DPX or a Neve 1073 Classic. Neve 1073 Classic costs 3 times the 1073LB

Hello, I really like the quality of your microphone can you tell me the brand of your microphone I have the neve 1073 plug-in on Universal audio I wanted to know if it is sufficient for logic pro x or I have to buy a preamp , physics I'm looking for a preamplifier with a lot of heat for the studio which will be the best esque the result is as good in plugin version as the physical version thank you

Hey great videos! Just one note, that is a "AMS Neve", which is not a real Neve! AMS purchased the brand from mr. Rupert Neve but it's definitely not the same as the actual units he used to build! Anyway Stam seems to be manufacturing great gear from the heart of South America which in itself is a great achievement! Keep up the good work, cheers!

The transient response it’s better in the Neve. Also the detail in the mids. The Stam seems a bit smeared all over the frequency range and it sounds further back in the sound stage. Great shootout! Cheers!

That neve has more presence..or a tab bit more gain i think...after coming back the next day....I choose the Stam

stam rocks!!

OG 1073LB wins for me. Thanks.

Really great but. The two different takes make it very hard to do scientific (less variables) type comparison. If the mic is the same can’t just one take be processed in post as a send per preamp? Then there’s basically zero variables

Neve has a touch of more low mid, but the stam is impressive

The preamps are nice but I'd love that mic!

did you get the optional Sowter output transformer in the Stam? that's why it's an option, for the extra depth & bottom end that it gives... u probably know that, but great video, & wonderful vocal!. I'd like to hear what the Stam sounds like on your voice with the eq turned up & down in the correct frequencies. What do u think about the eq section in that Stam?

I liked stam better for this song both sounds great

very interesting. I had ordered one but it was taking literally a year to come when I actually ordered it for a project that was a few months away at the time. I may reorder at some point. I do believe in the product but I needed to purchase an option for production and it was sad that they could not deliver.

You gotta test an original 1073 classic with that to really see whats what

The Neve had better consonant intelligibility. More attack in the lower regions of the spectrum. The reproduction was overall more weightful. The STAM's sonics was less colored which is an attribute I'd rather allocate to 'melodic' instruments such as strings. I would have opted for the Carnhill transformer option though.

neve is more balanced. can def hear the difference. that manly sounds great. might have t pick that one up. currently have the ref c

I cannot hear a significant difference. In a mix the differences would be inaudible

Both sound good. The neve sound clearer

I heard gain on the acoustic from the Stam, Neve is cleaner.

Use a REAL racked Neve. The lunchbox Neve stuff sounds totally different and IS different. That being said, the LB still sounds richer.

Guys-500 series racks don’t draw enough power on a single channel to recreate the Neve sound, hence a lot of the 1073 clones on the 500 series format use 2x modules for 1 preamp. While there is a case to be made that your money is better spent on a stam 73 than a Neve 73 “lunchbox” (or wtvr the model is called), you’re not exactly comparing apples to apples here.

Stam all the way! 🎧🎙🎶 (Btw, what was really interesting to me was that, when the Stam was in use, the video was brighter and dude sang more "livelier"; vs. when the NLB was was in use, the video was darker and dude seemed melancholy/struggling to smile through the articulation of lyrics. Maybe it's just me, though! 🤷🏾‍♂️) Hymn

thanks!

Stam sounds better to me

which mic do you like better. The Manley silver or the stam sa 800

you can use a saffire scarlett interface too and you will barely listen to a difference..the mixing really matter not that

Why didnt they use a stam mic? Arent supposed to be just as good? Make wonder if i should be looking at them.

Sounds the same! The Neve is a tad more open around 3K?

I'm rockin wit stam but then again I do trap music

Neve 1073 was definitely more full to my ears

Not enough harmonics coming through the stam

Chinese Kung-Fu masters had similar battles where one would poison the other before the fight. Weakening the opponent for a clear cut advantage. The STAM sounded beautiful and can clearly stand on its own. However, this would've gone down much differently if the STAM were up against a real Neve 1073 (not the weakened 500 series).

What model neve preamp was this

Great voice 👍

Hi guys. I have just purchased a Neve 1073 3Lb preamp. And the manual says it was designed to work with the API Lunchbox. But the smallest API now is 6 slots which I dont need. So my question is this : Will the Neve 1073 3Lb work with a BAE 3Lb 3 Channel 500 series rack ? Or do I HAVE to buy the API 6 slot ?

Neve !!!!!!

This is not vintage Neve tho...

Nice vocals, I felt the STAM was better!

STAM is actually uncomfortable to listen to next to the NEVE. It's like he's the main voice on the NEVE and on the STAM he is just a background voice or "just another singer"

Stam... definitely warmer

These are very very close.....too close..