It doesn't have a lot of knobs or fancy tricks. It does one thing, but it does it extremely well. I love the sound of this thing. Everything sounds better through it. I actually prefer it to the sound of my 6176 for most things, even though the 6176 has a few more tricks up its sleeve.
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Wonderful Preamp
May 13, 2012
Reviewer:
leecvo
from Brookfield, WI United States
I was sent the ME-1NV along with a high-end microphone for a "try-out". I wanted to demo the mic, not the preamp, but I'd read about it and was curious about the hype. I was disappointed in the mic. However, the G.R. pretty much blew me away. It makes ALL of my mics sound better and has become my everyday preamp. It's not "clean" a la Millennia or Grace. It has a character that my sales rep attributes to the "iron" in the transformer, a solidity to the sound, almost a "thickness", but NOT a hyped bottom end.
There are 2 switches that offer tonal options. The 1st is an impedance switch which changes the high-end and gain due to the impedance change. The second switch is "Loading". The sales rep told me it changes something in the transformer. I think of it as the "thickener" or "balls" switch. It's a subtle effect, but I leave it in most of the time. If you want "accurate", keep looking. If you want "musicality", this preamp may be what you're looking for. Highly recommended!
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GR ME1
December 21, 2011
Reviewer:
Jim Martignetti
from Tyngsboro, MA United States
Great Preamp, good for rock and metal on vox and prob anything. The guys at Front End Audio do a great job finding the right gear for me!
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Awesome Preamp
March 3, 2009
Reviewer:
Cameron Dye
from Durham, NC United States
I own a Pacifica a Brick and a Presonus and the Great River is the one I would choose if I only had one to go to. Use the loading to add a little heft to the track. Crank the gain and lower the output for thicker and do the opposite for cleaner. This isnt going to give you the Millenia sort of clean its going to be a nice clean with a bit of character. You can run literally anything through the GR and it will be at least good but probably be as awesome as a preamp can deliver. The Great River never lets you down it always sounds nice tight and full. Ive heard its based on a Neve 1073 preamp but with improvements. All I know is it sounds great and Ive never had any issues with it breaking down. Ive owned it for about 2 years and its still my favorite. I also like using it with a compressor using just 1 cable with the patch insert which is very nice. The only improvement would be a HP filter which to me is minimal. A great piece of equipment.
Sooo good 
GR ME1 
