The ULTIMATE Entry-Level Mic Pre Poll... :op

What is the BEST Entry-Level Mic Pre????

  • Art Tube MP

    Votes: 82 15.3%
  • Art Tube PAC

    Votes: 13 2.4%
  • Presonus Blue Tube

    Votes: 52 9.7%
  • Bellari MP105

    Votes: 2 0.4%
  • Bellari MP110

    Votes: 3 0.6%
  • Bellari RP503

    Votes: 5 0.9%
  • dbx Mini-Pre Tube

    Votes: 12 2.2%
  • M-Audio AudioBuddy

    Votes: 56 10.4%
  • M-Audio DMP3

    Votes: 187 34.9%
  • Behringer VX2000

    Votes: 27 5.0%
  • Rolls CL151 Mic Pre/Comp.

    Votes: 5 0.9%
  • Joe Meek MQ3

    Votes: 92 17.2%

  • Total voters
    536
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i think we should get back on topic, namely:

what's with all the "aboot"s anyway? Is that some kind of Canadian or Scottish spelling?

:confused:
 
WATYF said:

Try and keep the posts constructive.. you've said your peace... thanks... but the derogatory comments aren't really helpful.

I think you're missing the point that, for wascal, that IS being constructive. If he was being derogatory he would have called you a silly chimp or made some sort of derogatory distortion of your name.

I think, in his own inimitable way, he may have been making the following point: you've gotten a lot of feedback on this question, and we aren't talking about gear that is either rare, expensive, or hard to locate. Why not just go down to your local Banjo Center or phone up your favorite mail order house and buy the top three candidates, test them exhaustively for a few days, and return the two you like the least.

It is obvious that (with the possible exception of the RNC), everyone is going to have a little different opinion on what is crap and what is gold. We can extend this thread until 2006 and you'll never get a consensus, nor will you ever know who's opinion is most likely to coincide with your own. And in the end it's only your opinion that counts. Meanwhile, you still won't have a preamp.

Even if you make a "mistake" and end up reselling at a loss, at some of these prices you've probably "lost" more on a bad date. You survived that, and you'll survive this. And wascal's point is, i think, if you continue to get into recording as a serious hobby or business, whatever you get for under $300 won't satisfy you for very long anyway!

How's that for constructive? :D
 
i would guess canadian.

they are "different" up there.

i looked at the grace 101. kinda spiffy at 600$ for mono.

dmp 3 looks very nice at 199$ dual channel.

an audiobuddy and an RNC would make a pretty decent signal path i think.

and no im not new. i was new a couple of weeks ago.

the manley voxbox is upward of 4 grand. looks pretty decent.
 
WATYF aren't there *other* things you should be doing rather than procrastinating ? :D

Let the thread die in peace and get back to writing songs.
 
man... I feel so... dejected...

why's everabodda gotta keep pickin' on me....

:p


Yes,.. It's Canadian. :p and yes, I know that I could do the whole "try it out and return it" thing... but I just thought I'd give everyone the oportunity to speak their mind aboot this topic, just like we do here aboat every other topic. :p

How 'boot I throw yet another wrench into the gears of this now dying thread...

what aboat vintage gear??

a buddy of mine (whose advice on this topic I trust) suggested that I should also look into finding a vintage tube preamp. I may be able to find one in my price range, and he's saying that with a nice vintage tube pre I could get a much better sound then these entry level pre's.... what say ye...?


talk amongst yourselves... :p


WATYF

P.S. Sorry dres... I've been busy (though not too busy to waste time posting here... :p ) I got two new mics and a new video card all in the same week... I'm OD'ing on new gear over here... :D (That's the only kind of OD'ing I would recommend) :cool:
 
WATYF said:
what aboat vintage gear??

a buddy of mine (whose advice on this topic I trust) suggested that I should also look into finding an vintage tube preamp. I may be able to find one in my pricerange, and he's saying that with a nice vintage tube pre I could get a better sound then these cheesy entry level pre's.... what say ye...?:

Ye says your buddy is full of shit, how aboot that, eh ? With a budget of $200 you ain't getting no vintage tube preamp unless you use a five-finger discount.

Besides, if you spend all of your $200 you won't have anything left over to buy a clue.
 
WATYF, IMHO it's risky to buy a "vintage" mic pre as the one you rely on
unless you're handy with electronics, etc.

The DMP3 by all accounts is a nice new mic pre that should serve you well.

Even though I just picked up a (seemingly) nice quality Oktava MK012
microphone I'd NEVER buy one for my main one due to the company's
quality control issues unless it was checked out by The Sound Room
and purchased direct from them. For $60 though it's a toy for me really.

The 75 hz roll-off on the DMP3 should be handy for your MK012's too,
as they have a "thick" vocal sound quality, and should mitigate their
tendency to "pop".

Chris
 
Yeah... I wasn't diggin' the idea either... and the ones he showed me weren't exactly in my price range so maybe he just meant I may get lucky and find some schmoe who doesn't know any better who's sellin' a nice pre for chump change...

my bro does that kinda stuff... "pawning" for old gear. He found a nice Fender Bassman head (I think a '65) and the guy at the pawn shop had no idea what it was worth so he sold it to my bro for 75 bucks.. :p It sounds great,.. all he had to do was replace a tube or somethin' cause it had a hum in it.

anywhoo... I doobt I'll go the "vintage" route... way too much effort... :cool: I'm lazy... I want something that'll work without me knowing a thing aboot it. :p

WATYF
 
Dont be fooled into thinking that the Behringer VX2000 has the same pres that the 602a has. It is a compleate redesign of the Focusrite Voicemaster. Not only that but most reviews have it sounding indistinguishable from it .

Based on this The VX2000 is by far the best Pre on this list, Period.

For under 200.00 theres a STA with 8 pres availible too.

I went with a Yamaha 8 pre rack for crystal clear sound, I have a Blue tube for color. And Im Impressed enough with the VX2000 to get one of those too. Its worth the listen.
 
Wide Awake said:


Ye says your buddy is full of shit, how aboot that, eh ? With a budget of $200 you ain't getting no vintage tube preamp unless you use a five-finger discount.

Besides, if you spend all of your $200 you won't have anything left over to buy a clue.


THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE MOST PERFECT POST IVE EVER SEEN!!!!!

I AM ASTOUNDED!!!!!

ALSO LMAO!!!!!

:p
 
i have the ams catalog in front of me and on the same page (41) there are the focusrite platinum series voicemaster and the behringer vx2000 ultra-voice pro.

the layouts of the controls are so similar its eerie. coincident? i think not!

each has 17 knobs(!)

darrin has the goods once again!
 
man... there's so much hostility around here....

where's the love???? :p

actually,.. I was hoping that someone would let me borrow their "clue" so I wouldn't have to pay for my own.... :cool:

WATYF
 
jeap said:



THIS HAS GOT TO BE THE MOST PERFECT POST IVE EVER SEEN!!!!!

I AM ASTOUNDED!!!!!

ALSO LMAO!!!!!

:p

I hate to be modest but I agree. If there was a post Hall of Fame I think it would be a good candidate for induction. Unfortunately, I shot my entire load on that one and now it's all downhill from here.:D
 
You Mean the Behringer VoiceMaster...Oops vx2000. I just might do that. Im going for a Korg Rack tuner first. I found one for only 80.00.
 
Is there any particular reason why I'm getting reamed left and right just for asking advice aboot a mic pre??? I thought that was the purpose of this website, to get advice on gear and techniques... but apparently, asking for advice on pres is taboo. *sheesh* :rolleyes:

I'm still not decided. Now I've heard from a couple of sources that I might prefer the "color" that some of the pres like Joe Meek add, instead of just going with crystal clear signal amplification... but in any event, this appears to be the extent of the help I'm gonna get from people around here. So, thanks to all who actually had something constructive to say.

WATYF
 
The mic pre in a Meek voice channel is fairly transparent, it's the
compressor that mainly gives the distinctive "color".

One engineer that just received a grammy for his recording work used
the Joe Meek VC1Qcs and partly gives that unit the credit BTW!

Chris

P.S. Either type can work well, why not plan to eventually get both types?!
(clear/colored signal chain equipment)
 
c7sus said:
You say you are too lazy to learn about pres.
I don't quite get this... what do you think I'm trying to do here..? and by researching all over the net? Since the whole purpose of this entire website is to get input from people on these topics, I still fail to see why me asking for as much input as possible is such a bad thing... And for the love of pete... I'm not talking aboot the advice people have given. (why is this so hard to grasp?) I'm talking aboat the rude people who feel they must insult those who they don't think are asking questions "just right", or who don't know things that they think everybody should know.

Like I said,.. thanks for all the input. It's aboot time to put this thread to bed.

WATYF
 
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