2488 & Preamps: Perfect Together?

[Bert0529]

OK, a couple of general question here:

1.) Does the 2488 have 8 mic pres?

2.) What is the quality of those pres?

3.) Is the quality of the preamp as audible when recording drum mics as when recording vocals? Where does recording of amplifiers fit in on this scale?

4.) As a hobbyist, I don't have a very big budget. Would it be a wiser investment to spend what money I have on a quality vocal preamp and run drum tracks through Tascam's on-board pres or... do without the vocal specific features and go with an 8 channel pre amp to get a slightly better sound on all 8 drum mics?

I'm not going to have the luxury of farting around with a bunch of different equipment and my ears are too rusty to trust so I need to make the best informed choices I can based primarily on the gathering of information and opinions. In other words, I'd rather put a little faith in this community than default to the budget-busting cycle of upgrading equipment I shouln't have purchased in the first place.

I appreciate your input and opinions.

Thanks...

 

[songsj]

hopefully you'll get a lot of responses to draw your own conclusion from but here is my opinion.

No.1. It has 8 preamps

No. 2 As compared to what? The pre's are probably about as good as most SIAB's now days, but you are not going to get the same quality as the high end pre's will give you.

No. 3 This is personal opinion, I happen to think that high end pre's are not quite as critical on drums, I have found that quality
compression, equalizing, and gating seems to be the most critical.
[ After you've chosen the right mics and placed them properly ].

No. 4. For my money it would depend on the type of music I am recording. If I'm doing country, pop, ballads, etc. and I know I'm going to be working with a great voice . I would put my money into the best vocal pre you can afford. [ Again after purchasing a quality vocal mic ]. I think you will notice the difference most on vocals and the general public will forgive less than perfect music tracks long before they will forgive a substandard vocal track.

Hope this helps, good luck