Simultaneous DI and Mic'd tacking through a Neve Preamp. That's all your really need to know.

I just started getting into 500 series outboard units to add to my home studio. And what better to place in the first slot of my Rupert Neve R6 chassis but the RND 517 Portico, a combination mic pre/instrument DI. When people say you have to hear NEVE gear to believe how good it is, it's no exaggeration. I don't own any high end microphones, but the RPN 517 takes what I do own to another level. It makes anything you plug into it sound rich and full. I've tried to see at what level the signal starts to break up and it just doesn't happen. My vocalist tells me it makes him want to sing even more now. But not only vocals. I tried it on my snare with a plain Jane SM57 and the only way I could describe it was like a "silky gunshot". Incredible. Now, if I could just afford to trick out every mic I use with one.

All that being said, it's only part of the story. The RPN 517 also sports a DI, and with a turn of a knob you can either select just the DI, or turn it completely the other way for just the mic pre, or blend the mic and DI. If you're not recording and don't need to isolate separate tracks, it's a great way to use one preamp on vocals and guitar and save board space; or use the DI on a guitar and blend a mic on a cabinet from the same guitar. And not to worry, there is a variable phase knob so you can blend the two signals just right with out it dropping out of phase.
There is also an instrument thru output jack as well, which we use it all of the time as first in line to send our guitar player's signal out to all of the other amps and guitar interfaces. And not like I understand what 2nd and 3rd harmonics are, but holy wow - it really does add another level of musical richness to just about everything to which it is connected. On bass especially, this is the unit you want use, whether you use anything else or not. It just sounds AMAZING just as a DI. So good.

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The 517 is my first investment into analog gear. Tracking with this top shelf pre is a game changer and there's a NOTICEABLE difference when mixing. The compression is beautiful. The Mic/DI blending feature is killer when I'm tracking acoustics. Can't say enough about this unit, I got a second one on the way!! It's worth every red cent.

I bought it, recorded some tracks, was kind of impressed but thought it was kind of a strange animal. Di plus compression plus some features of the 511 but not as much control of them.

So I returned it.

Then a week later I played back a song that I had used the 517 to record bass on.I realized I had made a huge mistake! The bass just sat perfectly in the mix, this big but kind of relaxed punchiness. I had been anticipating being blown away so much that I missed the quiet, incredible musicality of this thing. Of course, now I was broke because I had spent the refund on other things but a month later I found one...

...thanks to Kenny for recommending this. NEXT time I'll listen...probably. I don't record electric guitar or bass without the little blue compression light on the 517 telling me I'm doing it right.

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This is a very versatile unit that could be used on pretty much anything. The preamp sounds great of course, and with the silk feature can add a little extra color. The unit may have benefited from smaller steps on the gain knob, but its a very minor gripe at worst and you can use the intrument/mic balance knob as a fine-tuning knob if you want. The instrument input provides a lot of flexibility and sounds great. I still plan to use my RNDI in most cases, but for those situations where i want to blend the signals in realtime it will be a great tool. The real surprise for me was the compressor - it is better than i expected - very smooth and very easy to manage. it is not going to be right for every situation, but for doing some light control while tracking, its a joy to use.

all in all, another great piece from RND that offers one heck of a bang for the buck.

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I combined it with an API 550A.........nice sweet sound. Tried it with vocals and a Neumann 193, bass thru the DI, guitar cab........smooth controlled sound. Very musical and clean. I see lots of potential for this preamp.

517 is a real big step up for me after TL Audio. Incredible sound, incredible compressor (in spite of the fixed ratio and fixed attack&release times).

This is a good preamp. I worked on a 5088 for about a year, tracked lots of guitar and bass... some drums... some vocals. These pres really shine on guitar and bass. Nice, big, round bass. They are quite forgiving on heavy distortion guitar and smooth on clean guitar. Drums sound good, too. This is just a great pre... it is not even close to a 1073 or 81.... but it is just an entirely different beast. With the addition of the vari-phase and compressor, this is a tough one to beat. Get 2 and you will not be disappointed.