Best Cheap Mic Pre To Me!!

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hanzsprungfeld

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ok.. i'm going to get flack for this.. i know it.. i've had a studio in Allentown PA for 2 years and now that the label my band is with hooked us up with a phat studio instead of recording time, i have delved back into studio land. I've worked on a trident with a producer/engineer with hefty credits and insane gear... i sat in on a project mixing for a new rca latin jazz band on a neve board and an absolutely amazingly laid out and equipt studio.

i've heard a lot of stuff

i really really really like the Digitech VTP-1 preamp. you can find it on ebay sometimes for 300 dollars. it is worth every penny. it makes a 4033 sound like it was a tube mic.. or back off the gain and make the 4033 sound like it's just a mic..

very clean.. very real and can be very dirty if you want too! someone please try it out. a lot of studios that you wouldn't think would own this piece have one.

rock on
 
I've got one..I like it alot!It does really sound good with the 4033..I paid 250.00 used I think they went for about 900.00 new .Made by IVL in Canada for Digitech.Also a good strait wire pre thats a real bargin is the Event EMP1.. aprox 150.00 to 200.00 used.. sounds great with a SM 81 for acoustic guits ect.

Don
 
hanzsprungfeld said:

i really really really like the Digitech VTP-1 preamp. you can find it on ebay sometimes for 300 dollars. it is worth every penny. it makes a 4033 sound like it was a tube mic.. or back off the gain and make the 4033 sound like it's just a mic..

very clean.. very real and can be very dirty if you want too! someone please try it out. a lot of studios that you wouldn't think would own this piece have one.

rock on
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Do you have examples to post? I have to be honest with ya. I have to be a little sceptical when a newbie posts a rave review about a product, then mentions that they can sometimes be had on ebay for around $300 . . . then I go to ebay and find a couple for that amount.

Please don't think I'm trying to accuse you. I'm not. It's just that I have done this before . . . not on purpose, mind you. But I did mention some nice things about the Rode NT2 at the same time that I was selling mine on ebay, and I realized I should really be careful about doing that!

If you have something to share, and you can swear up and down you aren't one of the sellers, I would really be intersted in hearing it, because I have also heard things about this digitech every now and then that surprized me.

Thanks!
 
i would not pay $300 for that now...with the quality preamps available to us now for alot less, NEW!.....

chess, i think you have been around me too long and may be on to something......

no accusations here, but we do have a forum to sell used equipment..........
 
Good call, Gidge, but what if this guy's legit?

Then our paranoia just might have gotten the best of us, and we wind up chasing away a perfectly good newb for no good reason.

Do you want that on your conscience? ? ? :)
 
like i said "no accusations here".......and you know you suspect it to so dont go getting all innicent on me:D

anyway $300 on ebay equals about $175 in the real wrold.......
 
I don't know about this guy and his connection to those Ebay items....But 300.00 is about what they are going for in the real world...These are good sounding pres{colorfull}..They have EQ,Loops{send /return} each channel{2} ABS/EBU and SPIDIF outs selectable sample rate of 44.1 and 48..They prob. didn't sell because of the Digitech name..These went for 900.00 new, add tax and you are looking at close to 1000.00..


Don
 
They prob. didn't sell because of the Digitech name
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C'mon What do you have against the name "Digitech"? It's cool and futuristic. I mean, you Pro Tools guys buy from "Digidesign", and the only difference between the two is that one is "tech" and the other "design". Also there's that Pokemon knockoff "Digimon", and some of the world's most experienced Pro Audio professionals, all of whom happen to be under the age of eleven, can attest to the "awesomeness" of that particular facet of what has been dubbed the "'digi' phenomenon".

Now that I've offered indisputable proof that Digitech makes nothing but really, really high end professional-grade stuff, does anyone want to buy my mediocre Studio Twin multi-effects box from 1996 for, I don't know, a few grand? It's "vintage", and can only go up in value from here.
 
Come on guys, let's get serious now. :() if that's possible.

Henridevil, how do you think something like this would compare to one of those Peavey vmp dealies? And I think we just scared off Hanz.
 
Chess,I've never used the Peavey..So I can't say..I use it as a change of pace to my Grace 101 and Event EMP..I've gotten good results with it for DI'ing keys{string pads}{its a sonic change from my Avalon U5 DI} and some lead voxs..I do like the sound of it with the AT 4033..Chess E-mail me your address and I will send you a CD with some ruff mix stuff that the VMP is all over ..{ Ill send you a track sheet also}The music may not be your cup o' tea{its radio rock in the Matchbox 20 and Counting crows Pop vain}.. Thats really the only way I can explane it..My next pre will be a Neve rack type o' thing and I will still use the VMP for some of its sonic qualitys..My personal opinion is that this is a great deal{$250/$300} on a good pre that is very usefull..

Don
 
yo CHESSROCK

Hey.. i was out of town so missed all the talk..

I'm not actually a newbie
i used to be on the board as Silent Sound back in the day when i had a studio(silent sound studios) in allentown PA where i'm from
i don't know if ED Sonusman (i think his name was) with echostar studios? that guy? i used to get into some interesting conversations with him.. i doubt he rembers me but i think he could back me up somewhat on not being so inexperienced.

i don't have a sample ready but i'd gladly give you one! i have gotten some of the best vocal sounds with that combination of 4033 and that preamp.

i've messed around with Tlaudio tube pre's, straight mackie pres(don't kill me it was just a test), pre's from an old Allen n Heath console(they were quite a surprise), and the digitech VTP-1 all straight to dat on sources such as a coffee house at my old high school, a stereo pair of Audio technica 3525's on a drums set, on just a bass drum, on guitar, on bass guitar, on bass cab, on snare, toms.

i couldn't really direct you to an example until my band's recording is done, but this is what i found if you want to hear...

for stereo mic'ing something live where you get the crowd, the performer... everything.. the digitech won. extremely accurate.. could add color but i never let the gain get high enough.. the eq's are better at taking out that adding

for bass drum, toms, and snare i really like the Tlaudio quad. That's what i still use.. i tried the mackie and allen n heath and got more natural results with the allen n heath, but i couldn't really push them without a nasty clip.. actually the mackie crapped out first and the allen n heath had a more smooth clip.. still nowhere near the Tlaudio which made the drums pretty beefy sounding and evened out transients by them nearing clip(hardly noticeable)

they can of course be funk tight and clean for drums too.

i like the Tlaudio for guitar as well
good rhythm guitar sound for me at least for what i've done with my band is a sure 57 off axis on a fender hotrod deluxe and a boss DS-1 pedal or mesa boogie's studio caliber's built in distortion

for a lot of clean sounds i prefer the vtp-1 with a 4033 with either of the amps i mentioned either with a tele with 10's or my les paul with 11's both tuned to e flat.

for bass, the VTP is WAY bigger sounding than the TL audio or anything else. i mic a bassman cab right over the dome with the 4033 and guess what my favorite compressor is for that? a symetrix! yeah... i tried software plugins behringer's and even borrowed a bass pod pro(ick) and i really really like this old beat up gray symetrix.. go figure..

i really didn't find any use for the allen n heath or mackie pre's.. it was hard for them to contend with the color and depth that the other ones had.


i'm going to gather my resources and never waste your time with writing again and i'll post some mp3's

for now, you can hear what i did with 2 adats 3 years ago on www.mp3.com/wheelie

i talk to much
 
DAMN!

i didn't even realize i was accused of being one of the sellers.. i just like talking about gear and sharing experiences.. i swear on the moon and the sun and the stars i'm not selling one- i found them on ebay too. i looked them up before posting to see if you could still sell them for the price so i had accurate information to "rave" about

i only have one and it stays with me!!

back back back
down down down
mine mine mine
 
Hanz, Give me the nice preamp...There doesn't that feel better!LOL..


Don
 
Well, Hanz, you can never really be too careful around here, these days. It would just be too easy, in theory, for a manufacturer or someone just selling their wares to take advantage of a site frequented by so many people in the market for gear, ya know?

After reading your post, though, I think you've more than passed the test. What you say sounds a lot like what other backers of the digitech say. And it's kind of exciting, actually, to think we may have uncovered yet another diamond in the rough.

People often say it isn't really fat, warm, or tubey sounding, but a surprizingly clean and detailed for a valve pre. Anyway, you got me sold. These things are all over ebay, too. Hot damn.

I would give you my email but it's probably not a good time. I kind of inadvertently put my foot in my mouth earlier and caused a ruckus in the mic forum, so I'm afraid of getting hate mail from some of the members. If you could drop me yours, I would be most appreciative. I'd love to hear some of your work.

- Chess
 
Chess here it is {e-mail}..for CD of ruffs with the VMP

[henridevill@aol.com]


Don Rowe
 
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