TheNightman77
New member
Hi All,
I've been researching this topic for a long time now, and I'd really like to pull the trigger soon on a mid-range preamp (or possibly even 2 channel stereo preamp) in the range of about $600-$1000, with some small wiggle room on the high end if the recommendation is that the small increase in price really is worth the extra dough. Although this topic has been beaten to death, and reality is there is no right answer due to the subjective nature of the topic, perhaps someone can make some recommendations that will work for my purposes, based on my specific setup and style of music that I record.
My current recording chain includes a Presonus Digimax FS Octpre into a MOTU 828mkii interface. The 10 pres between these two units are the only ones I have at the present, and it seems apparent to me that having at least 1 mid range preamp would do my recordings a considerable service. I bought the OctPre because I wanted to record drums, and though they are serviceable enough, I'd really like to get a better sound overall out of vocals and guitars. I use Yamaha hs80m monitors.
I tend to play music with heavier guitars......not drop C breakdown type metal, but rather hard rock, alice in chains/iron maiden/metallica type riffs. I use an sm57 for guitar mic, but also have an audix i5 at my disposal that I use on occasion. The vocals I track are entirely clean and I do not utilize screams/growls. I've actually been quite happy with the bass tone I am able to get when I direct in to the Presonus, so bass is not a major area where I need improvement.
So given that I am intending to use this preamp for mostly heavier electric guitars and clean vocals, are there any recommendations for preamp units that may be right for me? Some pre's that I'm currently looking at are:
- Grace Studios M101
- Api512
- Avedis ma5
- Chandler "little devil" 500 series
- Neve preamps (I've heard these are terrific for metal, but not sure if any are within my price range? Maybe the 517?)
- JDK Audio r20
- Peavey vmp2
Of course any other unit suggestions are encouraged, as well as feedback on the above units. As you can see from the above, some of these units are standalone, some are 500 series that require a power supply, some are 2 channel mic pre's. I haven't fully decided on which way to go, and I don't do much stereo recording, but of course it would be nice to have that option as long as the preamp quality isn't sacrificed. I have listed a few 500 series pres as there are a ton of choices, but at the same time, I see the cost savings vs standalone units only kick in after 3 or 4 units are purchased, which I don't currently have the budget for, and I don't really think I'll be purchasing that many in the future. I've also heard that the lunchbox sometimes doesn't supply enough power to some 500 series pre's. So at this point I'm mostly leaning towards a standalone unit.
Many thanks in advance for any suggestions that you can provide me with! I can post additional information on what I'm looking for and my current equipment if necessary.
I've been researching this topic for a long time now, and I'd really like to pull the trigger soon on a mid-range preamp (or possibly even 2 channel stereo preamp) in the range of about $600-$1000, with some small wiggle room on the high end if the recommendation is that the small increase in price really is worth the extra dough. Although this topic has been beaten to death, and reality is there is no right answer due to the subjective nature of the topic, perhaps someone can make some recommendations that will work for my purposes, based on my specific setup and style of music that I record.
My current recording chain includes a Presonus Digimax FS Octpre into a MOTU 828mkii interface. The 10 pres between these two units are the only ones I have at the present, and it seems apparent to me that having at least 1 mid range preamp would do my recordings a considerable service. I bought the OctPre because I wanted to record drums, and though they are serviceable enough, I'd really like to get a better sound overall out of vocals and guitars. I use Yamaha hs80m monitors.
I tend to play music with heavier guitars......not drop C breakdown type metal, but rather hard rock, alice in chains/iron maiden/metallica type riffs. I use an sm57 for guitar mic, but also have an audix i5 at my disposal that I use on occasion. The vocals I track are entirely clean and I do not utilize screams/growls. I've actually been quite happy with the bass tone I am able to get when I direct in to the Presonus, so bass is not a major area where I need improvement.
So given that I am intending to use this preamp for mostly heavier electric guitars and clean vocals, are there any recommendations for preamp units that may be right for me? Some pre's that I'm currently looking at are:
- Grace Studios M101
- Api512
- Avedis ma5
- Chandler "little devil" 500 series
- Neve preamps (I've heard these are terrific for metal, but not sure if any are within my price range? Maybe the 517?)
- JDK Audio r20
- Peavey vmp2
Of course any other unit suggestions are encouraged, as well as feedback on the above units. As you can see from the above, some of these units are standalone, some are 500 series that require a power supply, some are 2 channel mic pre's. I haven't fully decided on which way to go, and I don't do much stereo recording, but of course it would be nice to have that option as long as the preamp quality isn't sacrificed. I have listed a few 500 series pres as there are a ton of choices, but at the same time, I see the cost savings vs standalone units only kick in after 3 or 4 units are purchased, which I don't currently have the budget for, and I don't really think I'll be purchasing that many in the future. I've also heard that the lunchbox sometimes doesn't supply enough power to some 500 series pre's. So at this point I'm mostly leaning towards a standalone unit.
Many thanks in advance for any suggestions that you can provide me with! I can post additional information on what I'm looking for and my current equipment if necessary.
