Best budget pres?

  • Thread starter Thread starter thebigcheese
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thebigcheese

thebigcheese

"Hi, I'm in Delaware."
I'm looking to spend under $200, which is obviously not really enough to buy anything very decent, but I really can't justify spending more than that right now. I want as many pres as possible for that price. Right now I'm looking at the SMPro Audio PR8 line. I don't need it to have phase switches, but I want phantom power, preferably per-channel (because using 48v when you've got a dynamic plugged in is bad, right?). I guess I want balanced outputs, too. Doesn't really matter if they're XLR or TRS outputs because I have to make new cables anyway. I've read both good and bad things about all three, so I'd like to know if any of you have experience with any of these or if you have better suggestions. Saving up and spending more isn't really an option right now. It's not that I don't have the money, it's just that I can't spend it. Thanks.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/SMPro-Audio-PR8-8Channel-Mic-Preamp?sku=480830
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/prod...ltichannel-Microphone-Preamplifier?sku=187700
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/SMPro-Audio-PR8-MKII-8-Channel-Microphone-Preamp?sku=240160
 
Oh yeah. Also, I'd like to have 8 pres if possible, but I guess 6 is workable. I was going to buy two Delta 44s to go with the pre so I could get balanced inputs instead of using my 1010LT's unbalanced. I guess in that case, 4 could also be workable, as long as I can get 2 of them for under $200.
 
Oh, really? It doesn't even add noise or anything? I guess it's fine if it only has one switch for multiple channels, then. I record primarily rock that has an acoustic guitar in it about half the time (otherwise just generic rock with distortion) if that makes any difference.
 
and unbalanced in short run wiring won't give you any problems either.... In other words in a typical home setup, unbalanced stuff is just fine.

Consider maybe a small mixer?
 
I considered a mixer, but most of them don't seem to fit my needs. If there's one that has 8 pres in it and I can run it out to the 44 after it goes through the pre, then that would be fine.

I don't know anything about the aardvark. Can you tell me more about it? From the looks of it, it has it's on PCI interface, so then I wouldn't have to buy any 44s, right? As long as it works with Reaper, that could end up being a better deal for me.
 
If you have a PC not running Vista, the Aardvark would probably work pretty well. It is supposed to run on Mac as well, But I don't have any experience with how well the unit worked with a Mac. Just make sure you follow the installation instructions closely, I have one (since replaced) and it has worked just fine for me. Don't know how it would work with Reaper. I use Sonar. Yes, it includes a PCI soundcard and a rackmount breakout box with 8 pres, two of which can be set for instrument DI. Has a headphone and monitor out and 4 inserts (which are really helpful if you use any outboard. Otherwise 8 in and 8 out. Decent conversion (IMHO) and the pres are quite serviceable - easily as good as anything else you will find in that price bracket. The unit sold for a street of $700 4 years ago. Keep in mind that Aardvark as a company doesn't exist anymore. There are a couple websites that archive info and drivers:

http://www.helpdrivers.com/ingles/listado/panel.asp?marca=Aardvark&perif=sonidos

http://asg.hopto.org/


You could do worse. I'm probably going to give mine to my kids' piano and guitar teacher for Christmas.
 
As a rule, I refuse to "upgrade" my audio/video workstation to Vista. It would just cause problems and it would probably run less efficiently. So yeah, it should work for me. First card on the list of Reaper compatibility, nice.

How's the latency on the aardvark compared to the 1010LT? As long as I won't notice, I don't really care...
 
thebigcheese said:
As a rule, I refuse to "upgrade" my audio/video workstation to Vista. It would just cause problems and it would probably run less efficiently. So yeah, it should work for me. First card on the list of Reaper compatibility, nice.

How's the latency on the aardvark compared to the 1010LT? As long as I won't notice, I don't really care...
Click to expand...

I think you can get it down to 3-4ms. It's never been a problem. Use the latest drivers available. It is actually a pretty well designed box. Too bad they winked out of existence. It would have been interesting to see what else they could have come up with as a higher end product.
 
Cool. I'm sold. This will save me a whole lot of money, too, because now I don't have to buy a bunch of cables and two interfaces...
 
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