To Buy or not to Buy?

A

applesmasher

New member
Ive got a sm57 and an art tube pre. Im gonna be getting a SP- B1 or possibly a MXLV67. What I need is advice on wheter or not it would be worth it to buy a DMP 3 preamp or a similar step up for the condensers, or if i should save up for different mics and equipment?

-edit- btw the setup is mainly for recording of vocals.
 
I have compared the DMP3 to my Behringer mixer (clean but strident) and my Meek VC1Q (warm). I like the DMP3 a lot on acoustic guit--a whole lot--and have preferred it (to my surprise) over the Meek on some vocal tracks. It is reported to be a very nice DI as well. IMO the DMP3 is a no-brainer must-have in a budget studio. In the near future I will ad an RNC resulting in two channels of clean, musical pre and compression for a total expenditure < $300. Can't beat that.
 
I used to use an art tube pre (actually the TubePac with the built-in compressor) and I thought it was OK until I upgraded to a Seasound Soloist. There is a massive difference in sound!

I have a TC Electronic Voiceworks enroute right now, should have it by Wednesday. I can't wait to hear the pre on that!



I guess that doesn't really help you. But upgrade to the DMP3, from what I've heard it's really good, and it's got to be better than what you've got!
 
I think that the v67 with the DMP3 is a good chain there. I think that a 2 channel isnt enough to get you by though. you really need an 8 channel to record a band.
 
supposedly the art tube has more "flavor" than a dmp3. Hmm im still wondering jsut how different they are going to sound. Im not looking for anything totally professional right now so, a little difference in darkness or "flavor" probaly wouldnt matter. But if its a huge noticeable improvement in "quality" then I think it may be worth it. I wonder if theres any audio recordings on the interenet comparing the difference in the preamp sounds. I looked at the listening sessions but they didnt use a dmp3 or art tube that i could see.
 
for the sm57 i've heard the vtb-1 is better then the dmp3 as for condensers the difference between them would prolly be rather small......

applesmasher said:
Ive got a sm57 and an art tube pre. Im gonna be getting a SP- B1 or possibly a MXLV67. What I need is advice on wheter or not it would be worth it to buy a DMP 3 preamp or a similar step up for the condensers, or if i should save up for different mics and equipment?

-edit- btw the setup is mainly for recording of vocals.
Click to expand...
 
applesmasher said:
supposedly the art tube has more "flavor" than a dmp3. But if its a huge noticeable improvement in "quality" then I think it may be worth it.
Click to expand...

I have no comparion recordings for you of stuff I did with a PreSonus BlueTube (a cheep tube pre which I bought after testing it against an ART Tube and other similar) and a MindPrint DI Port (said by some to be similar to the DMP3), but your experience would probaby mimic mine ... it'll sound like you lifted a blanket off of your tracks. You could still use the ART for certain things, but the difference in your overall recording will likely be drastic if you use mostly a DMP3 or other clean pre. Stacking all that cheep tube isn't "color" in my experience, it's mud.

If you think you want 8 or more pres of clean right now to record that many tracks simultaneously, as Darrin suggested, you could look into a Mackie 1202 VLZ Pro ... the pres on that board are pretty good for a budget solution ... don't know how they compare to a DMP3 though. Anyone?

Somewhere on this board Participant did a test of the DMP3 with the FMR RNP preamps, and I believe amended it (or added a new one) with the SP VTB. Do a search and see if you can find it ... it linked to acoustic guitar clips and might at least give you an idea of how the DMP sounds in at least one situation ...
 
Great thanks for your reccomendations it is appreciated. After looking it over, I think ill get all the other upgrades I need first, and then if my budget allows ill get the dmp3.
 
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