Best Mic Pre under $300 Poll..

  • Thread starter Thread starter NoFO
  • Start date Start date

Wich mic pre offers the best quality for the price?

  • ART TPS $180

    Votes: 28 4.1%

  • ART DPS (TPS with digital outs) $250

    Votes: 31 4.5%

  • Behringer Ultra Gain $170

    Votes: 34 5.0%

  • M-Audio/Midiman DMP-3 $199

    Votes: 159 23.2%

  • M-Audio Audio Buddy $120

    Votes: 23 3.4%

  • Presonus Blue Tube $150

    Votes: 83 12.1%

  • None of the above, (specify in post)

    Votes: 115 16.8%

  • don't be cheap, save your cash and buy something elitist

    Votes: 174 25.4%

  • Screw it all, go MIDI all the way

    Votes: 39 5.7%
  • Total voters
    686
OneArmedScissor said:
Btw, Full Compass sells DMP3s. You could probably get it a little cheaper than $160. They also sell MS1bs if you care to go that route.

Hey, you know what. You could probably buy one of each and see if the price difference in the Rane is justifiable to you, then return whichever one you don't want.
Click to expand...

Thanks OneArmedScissor for the suggestion.

I bid low on a DMP3 last night and didn't win it.

I ended up ordering one today from Bay View Pro Audio. Total came to $147.40. $147.40= $149 (sale price - - best I could find on the web) - $1.60 (member discount - - you have to become a member to order anything online there) +$0.0 (free ground shipping) +$0.0 (no sales tax - - I live out of state).
I could have won the ebay price at $117 and then paid another $10 shipping but I felt it was a good idea to buy new and have the warranty. So I now have a new dual channel pre amp for under $150. :)

Now it's time to start producing some music.
 
That's a good price... the going street price for a new DMP3 is about $160.
 
No one here thinks the ART Pro Channel Tube Mic Preamp is a good investment? It even comes with a compressor and either digital or tube preamp options.

You can bypass the compressor too. Since I bought a RNC, I can chain those two and really compress cleanly and get a good sound. I just want to know if anyone has one and if they have had good success with it. For $300.00, I think it's a good deal!
 
What about Yamaha MG mixers??? I was looking for MG 12/4, 6 pre´s for 200 bucks. Do you think that the DMP3 is far better???.
 
We use an MG16/4 board live and its ceertainly as good as any of these cheap mic pres and is probably the same op-amp and parts as most of em....at this price point there's very little difference other than packaging and certain extras...phase reverse is always a good thing ...Still, I was personally amazed at the amount of headroom and clarity we got by adding the Yamaha MG to the live rig...plus you get a decent sounding EQ and theres the two channel buss you can route it four ways as well as have inserts on every channel....ah well...it just seems a bargain to me and for those who have run a lot of sessions, you understand why its a bargain...plus you get a router and monitor mixer for you DAW users....
 
Does anybody have experience with both units, DMP3 and Yamaha MG mixers??? For recording???
 
I just recorded with a Yamaha MG series mixer for the first time. I gotta say it sounded pretty good. Sorry, I don't have a DMP3 to compare. Just thought I would say that I liked it. Clean sounding, quiet, seemed a bit more detailed and present than the older Mackie pres (I don't have VLZ's). High end is a little mushy. My other pres are a VTB-1 and ART TPS. The TPS basically sucks. The VTB-1 with the tube set to zero seemed better, but not hugely so. Once you add tube it's not apples to apples anymore. For the money, the Yamaha is decent. The four busses come in handy. I'll get by until I get my API 3124.
 
my 2 cents...

i've tried the presonus stuff (noisy), the dmp3 (a bit sterile), and the art stuff (really noisy), and i really like studio projects vtb-1... just sounds better to me and tracks sit better in the mix when i use it. of course, i am not comparing it to high end signal chains, but for a budget home studio, i think it is a great deal. i also agree that the low cost yamaha mixers and the soundcraft notepad mixers are probably a good option for this purpose... decent pre's, more inputs.
peace - jv
 
DMP-3 vs MG series

I've used the MG16 mixer and the DMP-3 and my opinion is that the DMP-3 colors the sound much less. The MG preamps didn't sound crappy, just more colored, maybe a tiny bit darker/thicker. Just MHO. To comment on the neve preamp kits, I have heard some good things about the sound, but in addition to the cost of the kit, one must also build or purchase a power supply, and either build or purchase something to house the units. The kits are also NOT for beginners from what I've read, and the intructions are still being developed. Cheers and good luck!
 
The Rane pre is pretty nice.We had a shoot out last week.It scored well better than others in the same price bracket.
The Symmetrix mod is a good idea.Do they really need it?
 
nada

So far in my vast experience (NOT), The M-Audio Tampa has been a great pre for my needs. The opto comp is very clean and useable. Mainly using it on bass and drums trying vox next when I get my studio rebuilt. The last one I bought was about $350.00. (they're mono so I bought 2) Pretty good bang for the buck.
Also heard some good stuff about the ART Pro Channel. About $400.00. Don't have one yet but it's next.
Just my 2c...............Kel
 
What do you guys think of the Focusrite Voicemaster channel Strip? I been thinking real hard about how to spend my next 500 bucks and I thought this looked like the bext bang for my bucks as far as getting a nice vocal recording is concerned... any thoughts?? :confused:
 
Art Pro Channel

At $299.00 it's a steal. I bought one about a month ago after reading umpteen reviews.This thing gives nice color and has shitloads of gain. Musicians Friend upped the price $130.00 last week ,possibly because the are selling like hot cakes, but, you can still find them at the original $299.00.

Check it Out!
 
the old standby

I don't know if other people already put this one out there, but my old standby for the inexpensive end is the good 'ole Aphex 107.
 
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