Mic Pre starter

[ashulman]

Anyone know of a good starting price on mic pres that don't sound like junk?

[Wide Awake]

Expect to pay at least $200 USD for a good preamp.

M-Audio DMP-3 $200
ART DPS $180
Studio Projects VTB-1 not sure of the recent price, under $200
Grace 101 $550
Presonus MP20 $500
Summit Audio
FMR
HHB

....lots of choices. If you want something inexpensive with two channels, many people really like the M-Audio DMP3.

[ashulman]

Thanks, that gives me something to consider.

[acorec]

Try to stay away from the blue tube. I had one that is less than a year old. It smoked up last weekend. I replaced it with a focusrite platinum pro. I am not knocking the blue tube because of the electrical failure. Really, nothing I recorded with it ever sounded good. The unit is noisy if you use any of the tube drive. I kinda learneed my lesson with it. Cost effective pres are probably the one place, other than microphones, to not be cheap about.
In my experience, Focusrite Platinum pro (amazing sound) $550
Subtract 1 Blue Tube $150 = Great preamp for $400.

[chessrock]

Rane MS1-B.

[maestro_dmc]

What part of So Cal are you in Wide Awake?

[Gidge]

the Audio Buddy is 2 channels for $79 and it doesnt sound like junk.......beyond that, Wide Awake has it covered......

[Michael Jones]

Originally posted by Gidge
the Audio Buddy is 2 channels for $79 and it doesnt sound like junk.......beyond that, Wide Awake has it covered......

Gidge, I respectfully disagree. I had an audio buddy once, granted, it was 6 or 7 years ago, so they may have changed, but I thought it was junk! Worst sounding POS I ever had in any chain.

[Wide Awake]

Originally posted by maestro_dmc
What part of So Cal are you in Wide Awake?

San Diego

Where are you ?

[Dr. Bell]

The audio buddy is a great starter pre... it gets a little bit noisy at the very top of its range, but this is only really a concern when you're miking quiet things with dynamics. It has a little bit of a grainy, midrangey sound to it, but for $79 it is a huge improvement on the built-in pres on most home recorders. I say get it, learn what a pre does and how to use it, and then maybe try something more expensive down the road if you get more serious about things. I do agree, though, that this is an exception when compared to other pres in that price range... watch out for that PreSonus stuff, I had the "TubePre" for about a day and hated it. Not a good investment.

[maestro_dmc]

Originally posted by Wide Awake
San Diego

Where are you ?

San Berdoo

Woo Hoo!

[tdukex]

Originally posted by Wide Awake
San Diego

San Diego is cool, but not as cool as Oceanside.