Hands Down- Best Preamp money can buy?

[chris-from-ky]

I've looked around on these forums and on sites like mercenary audio to see if there is a definitive "best" in the world of preamps. I am the kind of guy to equate quality with price. "It costs more, it must be better!" I know that's not always true so, the question remains... "If you had all the money you needed to buy ONE preamp, which one would it be?

Thanks in advance for your input,
Chris

[gordone]

The best color is blue!

Originally Posted by chris-from-ky

I've looked around on these forums and on sites like mercenary audio to see if there is a definitive "best" in the world of preamps. I am the kind of guy to equate quality with price. "It costs more, it must be better!" I know that's not always true so, the question remains... "If you had all the money you needed to buy ONE preamp, which one would it be?

Thanks in advance for your input,
Chris

[BlindCowboy]

Originally Posted by gordone

The best color is blue!

I agree. Blue. No, Navy Blue. Well, somewhere in between Navy blue and Blue. But not Royal Blue.

[Teacher]

By Best I guess you mean most versatile i.e sound great/good on almost everything...you may wanna check out the GT VIPRE all those impedance options give you tons of flavors

[charger]

Impossible task, my friend. I can tell you the best preamp with a certain mic on a certain voice on a certain day, the best preamp with another mic on a snare on a different day, the best room mic in a certain room with a certain type of kit... but these are all extremely localized opinions based solely on a)the gear available to me, b)the situation in which the gear is used, and c)my opinions, ears, and skills.

I'll say this, if you can afford it, and you track a lot of rock, it would be nice to have something Neve-flavored and something API-flavored.

[Michael Jones]

It is an impossible task, but if I had "all the money in the world" I'd like to have the following:

Neve 1073
Neve 1081
Great River Mercenary Edition
Telefunken V series
API 312's
Audix 35102's

I actually own 5 API 312's, and 4 Audix 35102's.
The API's and the 35102's will run you about $700-$800 per channel.
The 35102's are pretty much sleepers. If you ever run across them, pick 'em up. You wont be dissapointed. Think API pre meets Neve EQ. Tasty!

[kiira]

Originally Posted by Michael Jones

It is an impossible task, but if I had "all the money in the world" I'd like to have the following:

Neve 1073
Neve 1081
Great River Mercenary Edition
Telefunken V series
API 312's
Audix 35102's

Hey that's cheating. And besides none of them are Dusky Mauve.

[Michael Jones]

Originally Posted by kiira

Hey that's cheating. And besides none of them are Dusky Mauve.

It MUST be Black or Neve Grey to see my rack!
(OK, maybe stainless steel too)

[mshilarious]

Originally Posted by Michael Jones

It MUST be Black or Neve Grey to see my rack!
(OK, maybe stainless steel too)

I have to have one of each color. So far I have blue, silver, and black, and I'm looking for green and red. kiira, if you ever mass produce your tube pre, then I can have dusky mauve too

[minofifa]

how do grace preamps compare? they seem pretty nice (and expensive too) but are they somewhere inbetween prosumer (mackie onyx) and the models that have been mentioned already.

[Track Rat]

What's the best vehical? Is a Lamborghini better than a Hummer? I suppose it depends on where you intend on driving. The Autobahn or Baha.

[Teacher]

Originally Posted by Track Rat

What's the best vehical? Is a Lamborghini better than a Hummer? I suppose it depends on where you intend on driving. The Autobahn or Baha.

I'd want the lambo that can change wheels and raise its suspension in a pinch...or put on wings and a propellor....thats basically what the VIPRE does but musically of course it may not be that drastic BUT similar.

[Fletcher]

Originally Posted by minofifa

how do grace preamps compare?

IMNTLBFHO, they don't. They're cold and shitty sounding.

[foreverain4]

millenia media HD3's

[ozraves]

An intriguing mic pre that might be a step above most anything is the Gordon.

A mic pre that can carry the weight on anything I can dream of is the Great River MP-2NV.

[Henri Devill]

The ART Tube MP anything that goes thru it is pure majesty!



























Or not

[omtayslick]

Originally Posted by Henri Devill

The ART Tube MP anything that goes thru it is pure majesty!






























































































































































































































































































































































































Or not

AND.............. It'll warm up yer kold, strare-ull, dijituhl tracks!!

[distortedrumble]

now yall know the best general pre out there is the behringer pres....yall just dont wanna admit

[Warhead]

Originally Posted by distortedrumble

now yall know the best general pre out there is the behringer pres....yall just dont wanna admit

How can I not agree, yet agree to disagree so agreeably.



The A Designs stuff is top notch...my ears haven't travelled the preamp world as heavily as some.

You gotta admit though...sometimes a Mackie pre might just do the trick better than the high dollar stuff. Not that that makes it the best at anything...just maybe sometimes better than something else.

War

[NathanEldred]

Originally Posted by Teacher

By Best I guess you mean most versatile i.e sound great/good on almost everything...you may wanna check out the GT VIPRE all those impedance options give you tons of flavors

IMHO, the Vipre is very inappropriate for quite a few applications, again my opinion only (and I sell the thing so I must be crazy right?). The slew rate settings and impedance settings do not turn it into a swiss army knife, or into a 'night and day' sonic pallette. It still has the same circuit design regardless.

[SonicAlbert]

I want to offer a dissenting opinion on the Grace preamps. I own a Grace 201 and have found it to sound wonderful, after using it on many piano sessions. Wouldn't describe it as cold or even remotely shitty sounding. As far as being "prosumer", these are as "pro" as it comes. With perhaps the exception of the Grace 101, which is the lone budget model, but the rest of the line makes no compromises.

The original question "Hands Down- Best Preamp money can buy?" is probably an un-answerable question. There are *far* too many factors, and there's also the matter of taste. What works great for one person might be terrible for the next.

So the only real answer is to test a bunch of expensive preamps on your mics, on your music/instruments, and in your space. If I was to try out some budget-doesn't-matter preamps to add to my Grace 201, the first I'd look at would be those made by: DW Fearn, Pendulum Audio, Telefunken, and Great River.

[BruceAMiller]

I kinda like Neve 1081's for just about everything, but often will use a Focusrite for Acoustic Piano (depending on the mics and of course the piano).

API's are great but harder than the Neves, which are rich and warm. TubeTechs and Summits are nice as well.

SSL mic pre's are decent, but carry a rack of Neves and you'll be find.


-Bruce Miller
(Engineering tips at http://BruceAMiller.us)

[engineear]

Gotta have a minimum of 2. Clean & Phatt. DACS Clarity MicPre and GR MP2 NV.

[juststackit]

You all forget the most important thing about your preamps, no your whole rack. Colors are ok, but its how many flashing lights that are on it that make it valuable! I put a light-brite in my studio. I don't know how it sounds, but does it really matter?

It looks cool

and chicks dig it

[manning1]

imho the post by engineear nailed it right on the money.
but you could probably give behringer pre's to a top engineer and i'm sure he or she would get pretty decent tracks occurring.
chris from ky why not rent a bunch of pre;s and see what floats your boat ??
then just for laughs rent an alto S series mixer (a real budget mixer) and compare. frankly i was quite surprised by the alto i tried recently.
for a budget mixer it was pretty punchy and clean. not a high end piece , but definitely useable tracks.