Man..I'm confused on Budget Mic pre's. Please help

gemsbok said:
if anyone has the time to check out the original roger nichols description of the rane mic pre they would have a different thoughts. i took it as he was having a laugh at throwing in a cheapo unheard of mic pre(spur of the moment) and it sounded good for the application he needed it for. everybody instantly took it as this mic pre is the thing to have and better than anything. if ozzy said he now sings into a mr. microphone would you buy one. its just a case of would you jump off the bridge if britney told you to. all these recording wanna bee-s who never owned one all the sudden started recommenending them. dont you think its just a case of roger not using budget a op amp based mic pre for so long that the way it sounded was so different from the taste pallet that it actually worked in a mix. pretty comical
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...I've met (and chatted with) Roger here in FL where we both live (he occassionally drops by a live Reggae Party we throw every Sunday nite in W.Palm Beach)...he truly believes in the utilitarian simplicity of the Ranes, and uses them frequently in his sessions...jeez, Steely Dan's records are just about the "cleanest" sounding recordings you could ask for, and a couple dozen Ranes were used for the last album (not to mention that the Steely Dan records are some of Nichols' most respected stuff...surely he's not gonna screw around and take their "live" reunion album lightly)...he brought the Rane to the mic-pre shootout as a lark (already believing how good they sound, but not expecting them to blow away so many of the high-end pres)...the results were impressive, but Roger would be the first to tell you, that the Ranes are serious pres at budget pricing...I find that they let the "character" of the mic come thru, without the coloration that many other pres tend to impart...very clean and direct input...well worth owning a pair...
...and shit, this may be one of the first times Chessrock and I agree on something...that's gotta be worth something! (...maybe not)...


...here's the link to that original Nichols thread:
http://www.ioforums.net/forums/view_topic.php?id=15&forum_id=5
 
fernandoesmaron said:
Who did compare or use an soundcraft E or M Series mixer and an DMP3 ?

Is the DMP3 really better than the pres from Soundcraft ?
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I have two DMP3's, a Tampa, and a Soundcraft M12. To my ears, the M-Audio pres are clearly a cut above the soundcraft pres in terms of imaging, clarity, warmth, and depth. YMMV. :)
 
Yeah the jazz piece was nice. I was listening to it yesterday while I was reading some stuff. At one point I forgot I was listening to an example of a budget pre and was simply enjoying a cool jazz recording. Nice work!
 
Thanks gents. Thanks to folks like Harvey G, my recordings have been coming along in the past few years. :) They generally sounded like crap before I read the big mic thread.
 
man you guys got me so wrong!

I wasn't dissing budget gear - I am the first proponent of budget gear. Man, say something bad about the dumpy around here - wow! No, I don't have any scientific data about bad pres causing distortion, I have just used them for about 8 years. actually, the pre I would recommend, is the bluetube! damn not everything can be "up front" in a mix. some things gotta chill. record a whole song with a dumpy - so fatiguing! a bluetube is a very inexpensive way to get quality mellow or dirty sounds. I cannot understand why everyone on this board shits on them. that sound is all over the radio now..you people must be deaf from tracking everything through a dumpy.
 
FALKEN said:
...but ive never used a DMP3. but really, any product called "dumpy" can't be that great, can it?
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FALKEN said:
...record a whole song with a dumpy - so fatiguing!
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So which is it? You've never used it? Or you've used it on every track of a song?

Do you use your Blue Tube on every track?
 
Chris F said:
Here's a sample of an acoustic jazz duo cut recorded with a DMP3. One of the piano mics wasn't so great and has since been replaced, but you get the idea. I really like it as a clean pre with lots of headroom. Warning: if you don't like jazz, you likely won't like this cut!
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The bass was a bit too prominent in the mix (didn't like hearing the scraping of the strings and there was a weird rattling/resonance), the piano needed to be more prominent, and the timing of the musicians was a bit off in places, but as far as the preamps, they seemed fine. I don't see why anyone would need more preamp than that in a home or project studio setting.
 
Igor Alexander said:
The bass was a bit too prominent in the mix (didn't like hearing the scraping of the strings and there was a weird rattling/resonance), the piano needed to be more prominent, and the timing of the musicians was a bit off in places, but as far as the preamps, they seemed fine. I don't see why anyone would need more preamp than that in a home or project studio setting.
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You do know that the last post in this thread was from June of 2005, don't you?
 
pohaku said:
You do know that the last post in this thread was from June of 2005, don't you?
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This thread appeared at the bottom of another thread under the heading "Similar Threads" or something like that. I wasn't really paying attention to the dates.

What does it matter, anyways?
 
OK--I am convinced
I just made an offer on a nw DMP3 on ebay for $135 shipped free.
I doubt if it will be accepted...:confused:
T
 
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