Best Mic Pre for the money?

[famous beagle]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if I can get some opinions on what people think is the best external mic preamp for the money. Something, say, below $500 would be a good starting point.

Thanks for the input.

 

[fraserhutch]

Um, you might want to do a search on this forum as this question has been asked 1000 times, answered about 50,000 times, and argued over endlessly

 

[chessparov]

If you define your objective, you'll get better advice.

For example, if your primary application is for practice, rehearsal, songwriting, etc., "best" becomes less critical. IMHO anything below an artist demo, or song demo (to be plugged to a publisher) fits into this parameter.

Assuming the above is true, you could get a "nice" sounding pre for under $200, and use the rest of the money elsewhere in the signal chain.

Chris

 

[baekgaard]

From memory, I think many threads here will point to the RNP for roughly that pricerange.

At a lower cost, the DMP-3 gets some reference also.

Both are rumoured to be reasonably clean sounding (have very recently bought a DMP-3, but have not yet had time to test it, so cannot tell yet). Both are also often considered good value for the money.

If you want something more coloured, the VTB-1 or a JoeMeek 3-whatever offer more colour in the lower price range. For me, the JoeMeek sounds pretty warm unless you overdo the compression.

Try a search, and include some of the above. That will also give you pointers to even more preamps to consider.


-- Per.