Preamp choices and a question

[Englebert]

Hello everyone!

I am on a lookout for a new mic pre. Currently I am using Mindprint DI-Port and while I am quite satisfied with it I would like to have something different to complement it. To me Mindprint is pretty clean and transparent, perhaps a bit on the bright side. So I am looking something with "color", my budget being 500-1000€. Main use would be vocals, but I´m of course open to other applications as well. My humble mic locker includes Studio Projects C1, AKG C3000B,2x Rode NT5, 2x Behringer ECM8000, 3xSM58

So far, following names are in consideration:

-TL Audio Ivory series
-SPL
-Summit Audio 2BA-221
-tfpro/joemeek
-Focusrite Platinum series

I would like to hear your experiences and opinions about these gadgets. Also feel free to recommend other candidates - however, please keep in mind that I live in Europe so those American brands that everybody seems to love (Great River, RNP etc.) are considerably pricier here (If they can be found at all!). Second-hand is no option either, since Finnish used gear market is pretty much dead.

And BTW, before anybody starts ranting, I am not asking anybody to make my descisions for me or give absolute answers. I am fully aware that everything depends and I have to hear them out myself etc. I´m just doing some preliminary research here. Just share your experiences, I will not hold anybody responsible for my actions

I would also like to hear some insights about using hardware compression and EQ while recording. So far I have always recorded everything "flat" and only applied EQ/comp at mixing stage using my Waves Renaissance plug-ins. Since I don´t have a separate control room I would think adjusting EQ/comp while tracking isn´t practical. Does this make sense? And would the integrated EQs/comps in voice channels in my price range (TL Audio 5051 for example) be any improvement from my Waves plugs?

Thanks to everyone who got this far Every contribution will be graetly appreciated!

[ozraves]

Given your budget and that you want color then I'd suggest looking at a Sebatron two channel unit. www.sebatron.com

BTW, TFpro and Joemeek are two different companies.

[Englebert]

Originally posted by ozraves
BTW, TFpro and Joemeek are two different companies.

Yeah, I know. But the products seem to be more or less the same...

Actually, I seem to remember seeing some green boxes labeled "promeek" somewhere. Would they be "Joe´s" or Ted´s?

[manning1]

these high end pre's are very good. but i'll throw this out.
i got fed up paying and paying - so i started to build my own.
over the past 5 yrs ive managed to do some decent pre's
for very little outlay. there are lots of schematics on the net.
all you really need is a little box with a few ultra low noise transistors in as a mic preamp. if you want to get fancy and
get free gain, put a lundahl or other high quality xforner in
ftont for abit of iron. another approach iveseen used is to
build a low noise transistor stage for 12 buks and feed the output into a clean line mixer for added gain if you need it.
diy has saved me a lot of money.

[maskedman72]

great river mp1nv mic pre.

[Englebert]

Originally posted by manning1
these high end pre's are very good. but i'll throw this out.
i got fed up paying and paying - so i started to build my own.

Building my own custom pre sounds fantastic, but unfortunately I am just about useless when it comes to electronics

But thanks anyway!

[Englebert]

Originally posted by maskedman72
great river mp1nv mic pre.

Great River seems to be a forum favorite, but I´m afraid it´s darn hard to get a hold of one here.

But again, thanks anyway.

[maskedman72]

go to www.mercenaryaudio.com

[Englebert]

Originally posted by maskedman72
go to www.mercenaryaudio.com

I´m afraid that is not so easy. As much as Great River & such are praised around here, I don´t want to buy anything this expensive without trying it out myself. Ordering stuff from America and then returning it is just too expensive, not to mention all the hassle with customs etc. Only way to maybe make it somewhat feasible would be ordering a bunch of different pres and send back those I don´t like. The problem is I don´t have the cash to do that. And as much Fletcher and his service is praised around here, I don´t think he´s willing (and certainly not stupid enough) to send thousands of $$$s worth of preamps to some jerk thousands of miles away for no collateral.

But as always, thanks.

Keep´em coming!

[maskedman72]

if you have a credit card than that is your collateral.
buy 2 or 3 you are interested in and send the others back. mercenary has a awesome satisfaction policy and they double the manafactures warranty.
good luck!

[Englebert]

Originally posted by maskedman72
if you have a credit card than that is your collateral.
buy 2 or 3 you are interested in and send the others back. mercenary has a awesome satisfaction policy and they double the manafactures warranty.
good luck!

Hmm... that´s good food for thought. Maybe I should do some research and calculations about customs, shipping costs etc. And then there´s different voltages... we´ll see. Maybe I´ll contact Fletcher.

BTW, I am still very much interested in all opinions and thoughts about the pre´s mentioned in my original post.

Anyone?

[maskedman72]

i would try doing a search on this bbs using the models of pre you are interested in. you should find a wealth of info on them.
i have bought from fletcher in the past and i will say it was a great pleasure dealing with him. he talked to me and answered all of my questions and helped steer me in the right direction on what the best choice for my situation and taste was.

[darrin_h2000]

there use to be a link to a site with a bunch of different mic and pres to listen to and alot of reviews were posted there. Ozraves hipped us to it, I just dont remember the link.

[acorec]

Originally posted by Englebert
Hello everyone!

I am on a lookout for a new mic pre. Currently I am using Mindprint DI-Port and while I am quite satisfied with it I would like to have something different to complement it. To me Mindprint is pretty clean and transparent, perhaps a bit on the bright side. So I am looking something with "color", my budget being 500-1000€. Main use would be vocals, but I´m of course open to other applications as well. My humble mic locker includes Studio Projects C1, AKG C3000B,2x Rode NT5, 2x Behringer ECM8000, 3xSM58

So far, following names are in consideration:

-TL Audio Ivory series
-SPL
-Summit Audio 2BA-221
-tfpro/joemeek
-Focusrite Platinum series

I would like to hear your experiences and opinions about these gadgets. Also feel free to recommend other candidates - however, please keep in mind that I live in Europe so those American brands that everybody seems to love (Great River, RNP etc.) are considerably pricier here (If they can be found at all!). Second-hand is no option either, since Finnish used gear market is pretty much dead.

And BTW, before anybody starts ranting, I am not asking anybody to make my descisions for me or give absolute answers. I am fully aware that everything depends and I have to hear them out myself etc. I´m just doing some preliminary research here. Just share your experiences, I will not hold anybody responsible for my actions

I would also like to hear some insights about using hardware compression and EQ while recording. So far I have always recorded everything "flat" and only applied EQ/comp at mixing stage using my Waves Renaissance plug-ins. Since I don´t have a separate control room I would think adjusting EQ/comp while tracking isn´t practical. Does this make sense? And would the integrated EQs/comps in voice channels in my price range (TL Audio 5051 for example) be any improvement from my Waves plugs?

Thanks to everyone who got this far Every contribution will be graetly appreciated!

Find an old Joe Meek Studio Channel VC1. It is mean and green. Great unit.

[Englebert]

Originally posted by acorec
Find an old Joe Meek Studio Channel VC1. It is mean and green. Great unit.

Do you mean that the current version (VC1Qcs) is somehow inferior?

And Darrin, I have done quite a lot of searching in this and other forums, but I haven´t had very good results. A lot of the posts are like:"It´s crap, save some money and buy real gear" or "It´s great, way better than my old ART Tube MP". I would like to read a bit more in-depth stuff, more about the distinct character of each one of these pre´s. But it´s always good to remind people about "search"-function. It is irritating when the same questions are asked over and over again...

[Bowisc]

I've had my Sebatron VMP-4000e for a few months now and have to say that it is an excellent pre-amp... offers tons of flexibility. It's class-A, all discreet valve (tube) pre-amp, with some very nice EQ switches on the front. It has -15 and -30 pad switches which allow you to drive the input signal resulting in very pleasant saturation of the valves. You can even daisy-chain channels for more colorization. This box doesn't fall apart. The sonics are tight, punchy, HUGE, and you can go from almost transparent (figuritively speaking) to tons of character while retaining signal integrity.

This is not some rinky-dink, home-made piece of gear that is flimsy. The build (by hand) is top-notch and is a combination of PCB and point-to-point. All of the knobs and switches are rock solid. The power supply is massive (60 volts) and quite sufficient compared to a lot starved gear out there.

So far, I've thrown drums, el. basses, el. guitar cabs, vocals (male and female), acoustic guitars... and everything comes out of the other end sound great. This is a pre-amp that will handle quite a bit of application in your studio. It really adds richness and smoothness to things like keyboards and drum machines.

I also have RNP, Sytek, and Great River MP-2NV boxes, and this unit gets the most use these days. I hope to add two channels of Hardy soon.

Take it w/ a grain of salt in the end. Try one out. It's quite a deal for the money.

Bowisc

[ozraves]

Originally posted by darrin_h2000
there use to be a link to a site with a bunch of different mic and pres to listen to and alot of reviews were posted there. Ozraves hipped us to it, I just dont remember the link.

http://www.thelisteningsessions.com

[acorec]

Originally posted by Englebert
Do you mean that the current version (VC1Qcs) is somehow inferior?

And Darrin, I have done quite a lot of searching in this and other forums, but I haven´t had very good results. A lot of the posts are like:"It´s crap, save some money and buy real gear" or "It´s great, way better than my old ART Tube MP". I would like to read a bit more in-depth stuff, more about the distinct character of each one of these pre´s. But it´s always good to remind people about "search"-function. It is irritating when the same questions are asked over and over again...

I mean the PMI versions are different sounding units. The original VC1s are true meeks with muscle. Like Neumann Neumann and Neumann Sennheiser. Different, changed, not for the better.

[Englebert]

Originally posted by acorec
I mean the PMI versions are different sounding units. The original VC1s are true meeks with muscle. Like Neumann Neumann and Neumann Sennheiser. Different, changed, not for the better.

OK. Joemeek has been available here for some time, so finding an older unit might be possible. But as I said, used gear market is really dead here. I guess Finns haven´t grasped this whole "buy it, try it and if you don´t like it, sell it on eBay"-thing...

[Rev E]

Originally posted by Bowisc
I've had my Sebatron VMP-4000e for a few months now and have to say that it is an excellent pre-amp... offers tons of flexibility.

I second Bowisc's recommendation about the Sebatron. I recently got mine. I'm still putting it through the paces, but so far this pre is way ahead of the game. Truly a great pre, great build quality and most of all GREAT SOUND! I love it so far.

[StevenLindsey]

Where did you guys get your Sebatrons if you don't mind my asking. I really don't want to have to buy from Canada. No offense to anyone of course.

[StevenLindsey]

Dang.! Them Canadians want 200 BUCKS for shipping the Sebatron. WOW. Good way to get a little extra for them, I suppose, from somebody. Maybe one day some American dealers will get ahold of some. I'll be waiting.