Pre amps???

T

Tyler22

New member
I just got a new microphone finally. I got a Shure KSM32. I am going to use this mic for vocals. I was wondering what are some good pre-amps to get? $300-$400. Somewhere in that price range. Is there much difference in quality from a cheap one, and a mid grade one?

Thanks alot!

Also, I was planning on putting it in a rack.
 
Take a look at the Groove Tubes Brick preamp. Others to consider are the Rane MS1B, and Aphex 207.

You've bought a nice mic there, so I think it's worth it to spend a bit more for a preamp. There's no point in pairing that mic with a super budget preamp.
 
Buy the small Mackie Onyx 1220 Mixer. Great Preamps and EQ, it beats alot of preamps that cost alot more.
 
SonicAlbert said:
Take a look at the Groove Tubes Brick preamp. Others to consider are the Rane MS1B, and Aphex 207.
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+1 on rane, brick isn't bad either, also could consider mpa gold if you want a bit more mid presence for vocals and bit of tube vibe. I'd put the rane right up there at the top of the list though, nice pre.

very very nice mic you just bought by the way, great choice. blows away mics costing quite a bit more, every bit as professional as a neumann IMHO for vocals and instruments. Quite a step up from chinese mics too, at least a step away from them in terms of smoothness and coolness.

Cheers,
Don
 
I'm in a similar boat: I was given a Neumann M147 last summer and due to budgeting reasons I've only been able to run it through the preamps in my Behringer mixer. Seems a bit wasteful. But although I really want to get something that will help realize its potential a bit more, I only have $300 to spend. I don't figure I will get anything great for that price, but I don't need a built-in compressor or anything.

It was suggested to me that with the M147 I probably don't want a tube preamp, because I don't need the added color. Any advice?
 
McParadigm said:
I'm in a similar boat: I was given a Neumann M147 last summer and due to budgeting reasons I've only been able to run it through the preamps in my Behringer mixer. Seems a bit wasteful. But although I really want to get something that will help realize its potential a bit more, I only have $300 to spend. I don't figure I will get anything great for that price, but I don't need a built-in compressor or anything.

It was suggested to me that with the M147 I probably don't want a tube preamp, because I don't need the added color. Any advice?
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Shit... yeah, any Neumann coupled with a Behringer pre is pretty rough. Any of the suggestions in this thread would do - and any that claim to be tube preamps in that price range probably wouldn't be worth the cost anyway. So, Rane, Aphex, perhaps a Grace 101 if you hold out for an extra 100 or so...
 
Double said:
Buy the small Mackie Onyx 1220 Mixer. Great Preamps and EQ, it beats alot of preamps that cost alot more.
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No it doesn't, it sounds like a lot of preamps that are just as cheap. I have cheap preamps and I have expensive preamps and there is a difference, Mackie leans to the cheap side, not bad, but not great.
 
jonnyc said:
No it doesn't, it sounds like a lot of preamps that are just as cheap. I have cheap preamps and I have expensive preamps and there is a difference, Mackie leans to the cheap side, not bad, but not great.
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Have you personally tried the Onyx preamps yourself or are you just spouting off. I had some local musicians come in and we ran some blind A/B tests; the Onyx preamps in the 1220 mixer against the FMR RNP 8380, DBX 286A, ART MPA, Focusrite and a PreSonus (sorry can't remember the model numbers on the last two, they were not mine). The Mackie Onyx preamp won every time. I sold the others.
 
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cusebassman said:
Shit... yeah, any Neumann coupled with a Behringer pre is pretty rough. Any of the suggestions in this thread would do - and any that claim to be tube preamps in that price range probably wouldn't be worth the cost anyway. So, Rane, Aphex, perhaps a Grace 101 if you hold out for an extra 100 or so...
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I'll look at them. I had thought about a ART MPA Gold Microphone Preamplifier. Anything I should know about it, or reason I should decide against it?
 
Double said:
Have you personally tried the Onyx preamps yourself or are you just spouting off. I had some local musicians come in and we ran some blind A/B tests; the Onyx preamps in the 1220 mixer against the FMR RNP 8380, DBX 286A, ART MPA, Focusrite and a PreSonus (sorry can't remember the model numbers on the last two, they were not mine). The Mackie Onyx preamp won every time. I sold the others.
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wow, then your other preamps must have been set to crappy settings. the onyx and all of those can do good things, I thought the dbx pre was the 386 not the 286 but I'm probably wrong. focusrite sounds a LOT like onyx, same with RNP, really really similar. strange thing, buying all those pres and then selling them, I would never sell a collection like that completely since they offer so many things (like gain enough for ribbon mics and colors to your sound)...
 
Double said:
Have you personally tried the Onyx preamps yourself or are you just spouting off. I had some local musicians come in and we ran some blind A/B tests; the Onyx preamps in the 1220 mixer against the FMR RNP 8380, DBX 286A, ART MPA, Focusrite and a PreSonus (sorry can't remember the model numbers on the last two, they were not mine). The Mackie Onyx preamp won every time. I sold the others.
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What model of Focusrite and Presonus did you use? :confused:
All of the others you listed are on the lower end, so you have not supported a good debate to jonnyc's post.
 
Double said:
Have you personally tried the Onyx preamps yourself or are you just spouting off. I had some local musicians come in and we ran some blind A/B tests; the Onyx preamps in the 1220 mixer against the FMR RNP 8380, DBX 286A, ART MPA, Focusrite and a PreSonus (sorry can't remember the model numbers on the last two, they were not mine). The Mackie Onyx preamp won every time. I sold the others.
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Yep, you're talking to someone who at one point had more low end preamps than any one person should ever have. While the Mackie is a little less sterile sounding than most of the cheapie's I used it definately didn't blow anyone away. So have you ever compared the Mackies to some good preamps or are you just spouting off? See you said it "beats a lot of preamps that COST A LOT MORE", and it doesn't. None of the pre's you mention in that shootout cost a lot more than the mackie, they all fall under about the same price catagory.
 
McParadigm said:
I'll look at them. I had thought about a ART MPA Gold Microphone Preamplifier. Anything I should know about it, or reason I should decide against it?
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Bump on this. I'm looking at the Brick, but I'm just not sold. Seems like it would be a good choice for an M147, but I'm mainly going to be using it for vocals and everything I read emphasizes the Brick as great for instruments.
 
actually, all of the pres he mentioned cost a lot more than each pre in a mackie onyx does, considering the additional cost of the rest of the mixer.

That's how I tend to think about it anyway.

And of the cheap ones listed, I still would recommend the mpa gold and focusrite as two that have very different sounds and are very very useful in any level of studio (unless you already have lots of great sounding pres that cover all the bases, obviously). then I'd get into mid level stuff like a grace 101, but that's super super clean, great pre though. also the UA solo or 610 or 110 or whatever those types are called, all interesting, the 610 is warm to muddy but nice (too tubey for some folk). also the pres in the meek strips are very very nice, but the comps can be too colored for some folk, but then you don't have to use the comp on everything, the pre alone is nice (love the pre in the sixq, think that's the one with the switchable input solid core transformer on it (iron switch)). then into high end your API, neve, etc., nothing high end will be obviously better than anything good at any cheaper level at first, but when you start mixing you'll notice high end pres are so much better at staying put in the mix, keeping that sparkle, and magical in so many ways.

end of my summary about preamps, all I have to offer in 500 words or less LoL. probably completely opposite to some other people's ideas here though.

Cheers,
Don
 
dkelley said:
actually, all of the pres he mentioned cost a lot more than each pre in a mackie onyx does, considering the additional cost of the rest of the mixer.

That's how I tend to think about it anyway.
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I think John stated it in a great way in the other thread on Mic Pres:
Massive Master said:
Good sound + reasonable price = Preamps. No channel strips.

Think about it - A $500 preamp might have a preamp worth $500.

A $500 channel strip is a going to have a cheap preamp, a cheap EQ circuit, a cheap compressor, etc. "all in one." It's not a bargain if you're compromising the most important part.

That said - There *ARE* some budget-friendly channel strip units out there at around $500/channel... Someone mentioned the Toft ATC2. Great unit. Fantastic EQ. "Nice" compressor, "good" preamps.

THAT said, if I wanted a powerhouse front end, I'd go with your original thought of a pair of Grace 101's or (even better, IMO/E) a pair of True P-Solos. I'd rather capture an amazing sound and EQ it in the DAW than capture a mediocre sound and EQ it with a mediocre EQ circuit on the way in (only having to EQ it again later anyway to fit it in the mix).

The pair of great preamps takes away your excuses.
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Bump out of aggravation.

I'm torn on what to buy for a few reasons:

1. I'd really like to get the best possible pre in my limited price range ($400) to make the most of that Neumann. This seems like it would lead me to get a single pre. But...

2. I record a lot of acoustic guitar using dual AT2020s, so it would help me there to have a dual pre. Also, I've been told a few times that with the Neumann I probably want a cleaner, direct sound, but with the ATs on acoustic a tube pre would sound better.

I'm mainly worried that getting dual pres in that price range isn't going to amount to much of an improvement, but that getting a single pre is going to limit my acoustic recording.

Mostly I'm looking at:

1. ART MPA Gold.
2. FMR RNP (a bit out of my price range, but if the difference is big enough...)
3. Grace 101 (a single pre, but otherwise sounds like the best of the bunch)

I also realize that there's a chance the Neumann through the Grace might sound a lot better on that acoustic than anything else, but I sure do love the way the dual micing makes that Martin sound.
 
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