Portico II vs. The Other Guy

I knew going into it, that having the opportunity to try out the Portico II for my home recording project would leave me regretful I could only use it for a few days, on a few instruments...

I own a far less-expensive Mic Pre at home that I decided to compare the Portico II against while recording bass guitar with similar knob settings on each unit to get an idea of what the difference  in quality would be.  First of all, if you're recording bass guitar, you might find the Portico II to be the ideal choice, because of it's additional EQ and Compressor Settings, which in my opinion sounded amazing direct input or from the mic'd bass amp.  Compared to my own Mic Pre Amp, which did not have these additional features, the initial sounds I got from the Portico II were simply wider and more well-rounded before I even hit the 'Silk' Button, which added a little extra uniqueness to it.  All in all, the Portico II is a great '3-in-1' component that would most like satisfy any home or studio recording set-up on a variety of instruments.  If you can afford to spend the extra money to rent one of these, it'd definitely kick your recording up a few notches.

-Reviewed by Jared Paul Boulanger