rANE ms1b, sp vtb1, oR dmp3

If you are thinking of the single channel Rane, you should look into the Rane DMS 22. It's two channels of the same pre, eq and a stereo summing buss. I got one for under $200 on eBay. It's rather nice, particualrly for the price.

BTW, don't worry about coming out of a pre balanced and going into something unbalanced. Some cable voodoo will solve that without need for a transformer.
 
Looking at the schematic, the DMS22 does not appear to use the INA163 burr-brown opamp. I found the TL071 and another one that I cannot yet identify.

About the only thing that bugs me with Rane gear is my MLM pres have a paltry +12v phantom power. The DMS22 has +48v, which makes it attractive. The DMP3 is also +48v.

My particular use is for on-location recording using two SDC in ORTF configuration to capture live bands. The recording medium is a Sony mini-disk stereo digital recorder.
 
chessparov said:
Jeff, you have a good sense of humor!

So much of this is personal taste and how mic's and pre's interact with one another.
Sometimes an objectively WORSE piece of...gear can sound better in popular music because it has a certain "sound".

On Springsteen's "Nebraska", for example, he carried around the 4 track cassette demo for a while in his pocket (!) that eventually became the album. They tried to make it "better" in the studio
with the E Street Band hot off the road, using 2" analog, blah blah blah. But they couldn't match the authentic tone of the little cassette tape done by Bruce, all by his lonesome.

The point of the story is don't get too hung up in what's "best".
(been there done that)

A good performance is a good performance!

Chris
Click to expand...

i can't stand nebraska. i've heard certain of bruce's sometime bandmates can't either.
 
bgavin said:
Looking at the schematic, the DMS22 does not appear to use the INA163 burr-brown opamp. I found the TL071 and another one that I cannot yet identify.

About the only thing that bugs me with Rane gear is my MLM pres have a paltry +12v phantom power. The DMS22 has +48v, which makes it attractive. The DMP3 is also +48v.

My particular use is for on-location recording using two SDC in ORTF configuration to capture live bands. The recording medium is a Sony mini-disk stereo digital recorder.
Click to expand...

Could be. Chris Duncan at Rane, perhaps one of Rane's senior techs, told me there is no difference between the MS-1b and DMS22 pres except one is surface mounted and the other isn't.
 
Hi. I've already got the VTB1 and the Soundcraft M8 which I use for clean uncoloured sound and am thinking of adding either the DMP3 or Rane Ms-1b for even cleaner sounds. Would either of these be an improvement over my Soundcraft M8 / VTB1 for a clean uncoloured sound? I will be using it for vocals with a Rode NT1a, Studio Projects B1 and Audio Technica 4040SM.
 
(Sigh)

Look. It's bad enough that you've asked the same question about 5 times now. But to dig up a 3 year old thread to ask it again is really bad form, mate. I don't think you're going to find any different answer than what you've already gotten. If you're looking for justification for a specific answer, then just do whatever it is you obviously want to do.

And they say I'm obsessively analytical!

Sheesh!
 
Sorry! I was just trying to find out if they would be any improvement over my Soundcraft M8 in particular and haven't found anything that compares these pres to the M8. I'm unable to audition them for myself due to where I live and rely on reviews and other users opinions.
I'm really sorry for dragging this on and won't do it again.
 
I understand, but

If you're going to do it, maybe periodically bump you're original post. Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that anyone who is around right now has any experience with the Soundcraft.

IMO, which is just one opinion, mind you, I really think at this level of things, you're not going to notice any significant improvement between the ones you're considering. The possible exception might be the VTB-1, simply because it's going to be the most different than what you have. This may or may not be a good thing. It might be worse. As I said before, if it were me, I'd say look into a different vocal mic.
 
If you're like me, you might notice a "something different" sound, but certainly not anything worth spending the money on. A different mic will give you a much more noticeable sound difference.
I speak from experience. My main pre's were my Allen & Heath MixWiz board for a couple of years. I then got sucked in to the "Golden preamp" craze and decided I would build some SCA's since they were highly endorsed by the likes of Michael Wagener who even says he prefers their A12 to the real deal API it's "inspired" by.
5 bought and built 4 of the A12's and 2 of the N72's. They were cool to have and they sounded OK, but I couldn't tell you if they sounded "better" than the old MixWiz. So I sold them for a few more bux than they cost me.
-Of course, I'm not counting the hours of labor it cost me to build them, but it was a fun and enlightening experience for me.
If you're really looking for a different preamp, I'd suggest something with a lot of character rather than another clean preamp.
The API & Neve clones that I built just didn't sound remarkable enough to justify the price and if they're clones of the real thing, I'm guessing they sound pretty damned close to them, certainly closer than my MixWiz. Just didn't do it for me. I can think of LOTS of other toys I'd rather spend my money on; Mics, converters, monitors, amps, plug ins...
-
 
Thanks. I've already looked into getting a new mic. Thinking out the Audio Technica 4040. I've already got quite a good character pre with the SPL Goldmike so would like a good transparent, uncoloured one to compliment it. I was originally thinking of selling the Soundcraft M8 and VTB1 and buying a Mackie Onyx. Then I thought about keeping the Soundcraft, sell the VTB1 and get the Rane MS-1b. My thinking was to record vocals as clean as possible and use various plugs to change character when needed.
 
I will definitively state that, although the MS1b is a very clean sounding preamp and I highly recommend it, you will not be able to hear the difference between it and your M8 pres.
 
I agree with scrubs. The character difference between pre's is pretty miniscule-especially in the price range you're talking. When you can afford to dump 2-3 grand into a pre, you'll hear a difference. But then you'll have to judge that difference for yourself.
Point is; if the pre you're using now doesn't sound bad, save your money. No preamp in the history of audio will ever sound remarkably better than a clean, neutral one. And clean, neutral sounding pre's are VERY cheap to make. Like $5.00 in parts cheap.
 
'clean, neutral sounding pre's are VERY cheap to make. Like $5.00 in parts cheap'

Oh shit, why didn't someone tell me that before I wasted all that cash on a Buzz Audio MA2.2.

One pre that never seems to get mentioned these days when it come to clean, transparent pre amps is the Johny Hardy M1. I lusted after one of these for a while. However, Dan Richards calls the Rane MS1b the poor man's John Hardy, so I say grab one if you see one cheap.

If you save a bit more and still want a transparent vanilla pre, why not check out the DAV BG1.
 
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