I've done various sound effects, sound design and audio work so I'm fairly picky on audio gear. When I decided to ditch the typical audio setups I've been using during the pandemic for online calls, I went through intense research. I know I needed a high gain preamp to work with the Shure SM7B I was getting.

Didn't want super clean like a Grace or Millenia, instead I wanted a just little bit of character, and this thing absolutely delivers. Every review I ever read about the Great River mic pres had something good to say, even if someone preferred another unit for a specific purpose. What am I using it for? Sales calls...literally, all day long. How do I know it helps me? Because I work with audio software developers and they always take note of how good I sound. I give credit where it's due, and that's the Shure SM7B and Great River ME-1NV. It's cranked on the gain (almost all the way) and going into SPL Creon, and sounds amazing. Don't wait, get it now.

I've owned the NV1 pre for over five years now and recently had the opportunity to pick up another or an Avalon VT737-SP ...easy choice! *(I've owned two 737's in past for several years as well so well equipped w both units)

The NV1 can easily achieve the Sonics of the 737 wo any tubes (now the 737 does have extra eq and opto compressor but the compressor is idealistically useless ,to me). The 737 could make 7/10 vocalist sound crystal clear and we'll rounded (we will say smooth but i do not like that word ), but not the warmest preamp and again the compressor doesn't make it easier and the eq still won't give you as rich as a sound than hitting that creamy iron at around 35dB ! While the NV1 will sound terrific on 10/10 artist , if you can't get a good sound from an NV1 I'd move on to another project as no preamp will make that artist sound good.

If you want "clean" or "crystal clear" w the NV1 simply turn your gain down and crank the output to taste ...it also has a great impedance section for different mics and it works great for added sonic features for condenser mics ....tube and SOlid state based...

The DI section is also second to none ,though I have only needed to use it a handful of times, it's never failed to give a huge vintage tone or clean gain for say keys ....

I would recommend this preamp to any beginner level engineer as well as any seasoned veteran and that's no lie...on top of being portable (also rackmountable if desired, for about 35$) and built like a freaking tank that's going to fly through the Astro Belt! Oh the metering is very useful too when wanting to dial and sculpt your Sonics.

My first real preamp, this thing blows my mind! Turns something as simple as an SM57 into a delicious cream machine. Never record bass or vocals without it. Honestly basically use it for everything because if you turn the input gain down it's super clean. If I could marry this thing I would.

I've read reviews of pres over the years where people say things like "The first time I used it, it was like the fog lifted," or "the clouds finally dissipated." For me, the ME-1NV is the pre that gave me that experience. The sound is clear, rich, musical, and textured. My other main preamp experience is with the Grace M101, which I also like, but to my ears, the Great River is quite a few steps up the quality ladder. I've also used the Focusrite ISA Two, which I like, but yields a kind of crisp, almost digital sound. That's great for some uses, but lacks the dynamism of the Great River. The ME-1NV has a bit more "character" than either of those pres, which I think of as a gentle warmth and resonance in all registers of the voice.

My use case is primarily narration and storytelling for radio and podcast, and the Great River paired with a U87 is as close as I've ever come to the elusive Golden Channel. Highly recommended if it's in your price range!

This is easily the preamp that I've ever owned. I researched preamps from the Neve Shelford series to API. I watched and listened to youtube videos. When I heard this preamp I knew it was the one. From the first recording I am very happy with the sound. Granted, the initial sound wasn't the sound that I was going for. It took me a short while but I found the sound that I'm happiest with. Make sure that you read the manual that comes with it to ensure that you understand how the different features and knobs affect the sound. Play with the knobs and buttons to get to the sound that you want. Nitish Kulkarni is my sales engineer and guided me through the purchasing process expertly and I just wanted to express my great gratitude at his professionalism and eagerness to help me.

Sounds sooo good! best mic pre for the money.

Great mic pre from an incredible company. This unit is awesome!

As a professional voice actor, I need superior quality...and in this instance, in small package for when I'm on the go. The 1NV gives that to me in SPADES. Don't let it's half-rack size fool you. This piece has every bit the sound quality of a full size rack model. The first time I used it, I was blown away. It gave my voice serious "presence." And this was putting it up against both John Hardy & Vintech full size pres.
The build quality is also quite solid.
The ONLY reason I didn't give it the full on "WOW 5 star" (and I almost did) was because I'm not an audio jockey, I'm a voice actor. I'd almost prefer to see this model with tonal attenuaters rather than the 3 additional buttons for different mics and/or sonic differences.
While I get that for production, I'm not techie enough and don't necessarily need that.
Other than that...I'll just say it myself. WOW...Mind Blown!

Sweetest thing I've ever heard. Didn't expect to pad my mic just to be able to drive it more. But once i did, heaven

I've had my GR for around 8 years now and it has been one of the greatest investments i've added to my studio. great sound on mics and direct bass is awesome!!

This pre amp is unbelievable! It sounds amazing and has so many options. Whether you want a crisp clear recording or some colorization this is the perfect preamp. Well worth the money! Would highly suggest it to any recording engineer!

I'm writing this review more about GR's customer service than the amp itself as others have testified that it's an amazing pro-quality pre. I was using a monster cable XLR on this unit and for some reason it jammed and wouldn't come out. Of course it wasn't the ME-1NV but I contacted GR to see what I could do to fix the problem. Dan Kennedy responded promptly and kindly to my request and told me to send it on over for him to fix. Not only did he fix the problem, he even soldered a new XLR end onto the cable!!!

This guy deserves our money because he makes great gear and cares about his customers. Awesome!

This is a serious piece of gear in terms of price but it is absolutely unquestionably worth even more. How good do you want you music to sound? That is really the question. I have used it for my U87 and TLM 103 through it and it is just..........yeah. The input and output metering is very helpful for gain staging! The gain knob makes perfect sense like a guitar amp or something and the output knob is pure volume control.

Been tracking with this pre for a little while now and it''s made a big difference on a variety of sources. Loves an SM7 - you can get the gain you need without too much noise. It's well made and gives your sources an added presence and overall sense of dimension and quality. The only down side is that you'll want ten more of them! Baby steps...at least now I have a very fine vocal chain I can trust to sound fab.

I've had this for about a year now and If your looking for a great pre, buy this. I was using the stock RME FF800 pre's for awhile, which are awesome as well, but the second I heard the GR with my KSM44 I was blown away!! The crisp yet warm airiness to it made my vocals/mic shine! (Rap vocals and singing). Best pre in its price range imho.

This preamp has absolutely exceeded my expectations.

I am usually recording at my small home studio , struggling to find a clean sound recently upgraded from centrence micport pro/ mxl 4000 to gr me - 1 nv /akg c 414 xl 2/roland quad capture , and have great clean results , just remember i am not a professional singer , but i can still see great and clean result in my home studio .... hoping everthing goes great in the end ... :) over all great product , u get for what u pay .... did a lot a research before i purchased ....... so 100/100 on this .... Thanks sweetwater ...

Amazing dynamic range! The analog feel/tone is all there. Obvious difference in quality compared to others. LOVES bass! high gain setting does not = noise

I use this pre with an AKG SolidTube (that has a custom Telefunken tube), a Rode NT1A an Audio Technica AT4033 and a Shure SM57. With each mic it adds something unique and wonderful. The input gain can really change the characteristic of the sound. The AT4033 is normally bright to the point of being somewhat thin but when I crank up the input gain on the Great River it really fills out. The simple tone of the SM57 becomes more "bling" by keeping the input somewhat low and cranking up the output level.

Being able to use a single TRS cable to insert my RNC compressor is a great convenience and keeps my signal chain simple and clean.

The only reason I will ever sell this baby is to get the two channel version. ;)

I bought this pre about 3 weeks ago after months of research and input from friends, mentors, and my sales rep. Alan. Here's the results of my "field test."


DI for Bass:
This is THE BEST DI I've used for bass. I've seen several high end DIs in action, but the great river's my favorite. When tracking bass, I adjusted the tone knobs on the bass to get the tone I wanted... I didn't even EQ or compress yet and the track already sounded smooth, even, and fat. It was wonderful. It has really made tracking bass quicker and more enjoyable.


On Vocals and Acoustic instruments:
I got great clarity and presence, without getting unwanted digital brightness(using an AKG 414 XL-II and a KSM44). There's lots of tonal options with the gain staging, and there's plenty of head room. A low cut is almost always needed because the low end response on this pre is BIG, but I don't mind doing a lowcut, cause I enjoy the low end on other sources.

Overall:
Perhaps the biggest difference I noticed, was that my mixes sounded bigger on songs tracked with the ME-1NV. Mixing has been easier with this pre. Things feel a little more "roomy" and nothing in the mix feels squished. The panning field sounds bigger on all the tracks I've recorded with the great river, which is a HUGE plus in post production. I'd recommend this pre to anyone. It's versatile and pristine. 5 STARS.

I have been using this mic pre for almost 3 years now, and I have never been more satisfied with the sound clarity and warmth. This mic pre is great for both condenser and dynamic mics.

A dynamic mic such as the Shure SM58 or the SM7b sound very warm. The gain on the pre is enough to power these mics up. Unlike mic'ing these Shures or any dynamic to a mediocre amp or mixer, the ME-1NV can provide enough gain without hiss or humms.

With a condenser this pre can create wonders. Provided with the 2 gain knobs you can go real warm or crystal clear by simply adjusting these to your liking.

I am a hip hop record producer and if your looking for something that will help make hit records and record great vocals for the long run, I would definitely suggest you pick a quality pre like the ME-1NV. This will solve all your Rap vocal problems. AND should be the first on your list before thinking about recording any vocal.

New to recording but have been making music for many years. I also have done live sound reinforcement so I have some knowledge and I build my own guitars and amplifiers. With that, I think I am at least minimally qualified to make a review of a piece of analog gear. I have a few different preamps and the Great River by far has more of that 70's sound. It's full bodied yet does not distort easily unless you want it to. It's hard to believe this is not a tube preamp because of it's warmth and three dimensional sound, it has tone that rivals tube amplification yet has that solid state clean. I bought it because I heard a few preamp shootouts on the internet and I thought the Great River sounded best, it does, I thought it sounded better than ones costing more. As soon as I heard it I knew I recognized that sound, I found out what that sound was, a Neve. This is NOT a purely clean, crystal clear preamp, it does add color, but the color is pure and beautiful.

This is my first peice of Class A equipment and there is such a huge difference in sonic quality. The fact that I am able to choose between transformers in the HI Z and XLR input. Then switching between 600 ohms for a very colored sound or balancing it out with the 300 ohm switch for a more even sound is amazing. I ALWAYS get tonal exellence out of this peice and it has also inspired me to start building my own Class A equipment which I am doing (1176 LN).I also have a friend that favors the sound of my GR me-1nv to his vintech x73-I. That sais alot. Vital peice of gear in my studio. if you have 1100 bucks and are contemplating what pre to get stop wondering because you are in for a treat of sonic cream pie. :)

Derrick @ room3studios.com

I had only used the pre's in my Mackie 32/8 board and thought they sounded fine untill I bought this GR unit. and after working with this for a few months I will never go back to using crappy pre's again. The vocs are full and in your face, it makes everything now clear and stand out so much more in the finial mix. Its such a noticeable difference.

This was my first quality preamp for my home studio, even though I've used other great pres in another studio. The difference in my recordings is very apparent. Very simple to use, tons and tons of tonal options from clean to color. If you want flexibility out of your preamp to handle multiple studio tasks, this is a great choice. You can't go wrong with it.

It doesn't matter what mic you plug into this unit, it will sound much better. The ME-1NV has been an absolute pleasure to own, and frankly, worth every penny. Vocals seat much better, and my home studio projects capture magic that was missing before I owned a Great River. If I were an engineer, I'm sure I could quote all the technical reasons why this sounds so great. However, as a mere home recording enthusiast, I'll simply tell you that I never believed a mic pre could make such a positive difference until I started using my Great River.