Mic Preamp Characteristics - colored or clean suggestions

[ghetto3jon]

hello. in my studio i would like to have a few pre amps, each with a definite personality. i'm planning on getting a bellari rp220 or an art pro mpa for a more colored sounds, but i would also like a pre that's more transparent and clean. does anyone have any suggestions for a clean, transparent pre in the $300-$600 (new) price range?

[Massive Master]

Can't remember the model - It's the only one they have - RANE.

Clear, clean, inexpensive, and one of the best-kept-secrets in audio, period.

Probably around $150 a channel.

John Scrip - www.massivemastering.com

[ghetto3jon]

thanks. i'll see if i can track it down.

[ghetto3jon]

do you mean the rane DMS 22? it's a two channel, one rack space unit.

i've also heard that the aphex 107 or the symetrix 202 are inexpensive, and relatively clean and transparent. does anyone else have any opinions on any of these in regards to their cleanliness and transparency (rane DMS 22, aphex 107, symetrix 202)?

thanks a lot.

[Track Rat]

This is the one he's refering to.
http://www.rane.com/ms1b.html

[SonicAlbert]

I'd suggest the Grace 101 in the upper limit of your price range. I've also read good things about that Rane MS1b. A two channel pre within your price range is the RMF RNP.

[eeldip]

i have the symetrix which i really like. yes, clear, a bit bright stock. but, of course check out the monte mods to make it much better. with a few hours behind the soldering iron i would bet on an sx202 against almost any clean and clear preamp in the under $500 category.

the aphex pre is very similar in design to the sx302 by the way, which is the inferior symetrix pre.

also when you get your bellari crack it open and see if you find any socket mounted 4560 (or any 45xx) opamps in there. for that matter take a note of what the opamps in it are. i just did the black lion mp105 solderless mod and it improved the sound of the mp105 by quite a bit.... enough that i would say that improving the opamps in any bellari is a totally worthwhile quick fix. and of course tuck those sovtek tubes in a box for emergencies only.

[ghetto3jon]

hey eeldip,

what tubes do you reccommend? (same for the art pro mpa?)

[eeldip]

the EH tube from this page is the one black lion recomends

http://store.yahoo.com/triodeel/12axec7057.html

i use NOS GE grey plates which i like for their smooth top and affordable price for NOS. ($10-$15)

i worked on some litigation for a toxic cleanup of a tube manufacturing facility (GE's actually) and i hate to see any more of these made... its quite nasty business.

but i dont really hold myself to that... i have purchased new JJs and i have to say i dont like them very much for pro audio applications. they seem to have a lot of gain and hype at the expense of quality.

[chessrock]

As far as NOS tubes go, I'd look around for some T'ung S'ol 12AX7s.


As for new ones, I've had really good luck with Svetlanas.

[Industrial]

Well, price, as you might guess, doesn't always correlate with quality.... I've actually been impressed with some of the Behringer stuff [which I've personally tested against better models in my studio].... but if your looking to go with a bigger name brand, as opposed to the more generic stuff (like Presonus which is a nice brand).... I'd reccomend the Aphex 207 (although if you've got the money, the 1100 which has digital.

The Aphex 207, which offers two channels of compression, has a very low-noise instrument input, and is modestly priced at roughly $400 (current selling price as of this message)... The Aphex has one of the lowest noise characteristics on the market and is very close in spec to the multi-thousand dollar brands which are only marginally better in that respect... In fact, the Aphex 1100 actually beats vitrtually all the best models for noise (including the infamous top of the line Millenium, etc...).

If your looking for a little harmonics (aka "color") in your preamp, the Aphex 207 is sure to please... The unit will give a bit of that... The unit is sonically clean as far as thermal noise goes, but it intentionally adds a bit of distortion for the customer looking for the little bit of 'warmth'.

[ghetto3jon]

how about the m-audio DMP3. i'm starting to hear good things about that one, and it's affordable. does anyone have any experience with the DMP3 against the aphex 107 or symetrix? (please keep in mind i'm most concerned with transparency, i'm looking for a non-colored pre)

thanks!