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
boingoman said:
You'd notice a difference with those over the Behri, but yeah, I have to agree. No use driving yourself nuts deciding which $300 mic pre is the best. Wait awhile and spend your time deciding which $700-$1000 mic pre is best. :D
Click to expand...
That's exactly what I thought :) No point buying one, and then noticing that you want to upgrade almost rightaway after receiving it. I believe it's better to change the tube on behringer though (ecc82 can give a lot more headroom)... oh, and I'm just upgrading all of my cables to pro ones :D
When my Rode NT1-A arrives I'll probably do some recordings and then decide to upgrade my micpre to $1000 range :cool:
 
This is a very nice preamp. I have the two channel version I bought for around $250 used, I think they went for around $450 new. Built like a tank too! There is nothing cheap about this preamp and I mean nothing. From the buttons and knobs to the ins and outs, all are of the highest build and material quality you can get. Oh and it sounds dang good too.

HHB FAT MAN
 
EDAN said:
This is a very nice preamp. I have the two channel version I bought for around $250 used, I think they went for around $450 new. Built like a tank too! There is nothing cheap about this preamp and I mean nothing. From the buttons and knobs to the ins and outs, all are of the highest build and material quality you can get. Oh and it sounds dang good too.

HHB FAT MAN
Click to expand...

Is that yours?
 
EDAN said:
I have the two channel version, the one listed is only one channel.
Click to expand...

I tried searching for some...they are no longer around....and a bit hard to locate...either, everyone likes them...or they didn't sell many! :D
 
I would put my vote for the mackie VLZ pro series
at this price range it is among the best.
Hear how it stands agains a John Hardy M1 preamp costing almost 4 times the price

http://www.gearaudition.com


Best Regards
Rusty
 
Line6 UX2 is by far the best pre....A/D converter/ input device in that price range...do the pepsi challenge with this one...its what we all have been praying for. :)
 
rustyblue said:
I would put my vote for the mackie VLZ pro series
at this price range it is among the best.
Hear how it stands agains a John Hardy M1 preamp costing almost 4 times the price

http://www.gearaudition.com


Best Regards
Rusty
Click to expand...

You CAN'T tell the quality of any pre-amp based on a single track!

Why does nobody know this?
 
Hi. I've got an SPL Goldmike, Studio Projects VTB1 and Soundcraft M8 and am wondering if the DMP3 would be a good addition for an uncoloured/clean preamp?
 
News flash,
I have the behringer mounted right below my Universal audio LA610.
yes the 610 is better but. . . . the Behringer is transparent. sounds great on vox and acoustic guitars and I could by 12 of them for whay I paid for the UA.
Your Mic's and your mic pre's are you most important investment but when you can't afford the elete units, the behringer will do just fine. The results of your recordings will be more influenced by the performance and material then the gear. I promise!
 
2catstew said:
........but when you can't afford the elete units, the behringer will do just fine. The results of your recordings will be more influenced by the performance and material then the gear. I promise!
Click to expand...

Much as I dislike Behringer as a company, and as cheaply built as their products are, I start agreeing with you at this point in your post. It'll get the job done in inspired hands, and a great performance of a great song trumps great equipment any day.
 
for about 233 (currently) a channel you the sytek mpx-4a rules.
 
my vote is for my ART MPA GOLD, true high voltage tube dual mic preamp, great tone, excellent finess (tone-wise and UI wise), and definitely the nicest warmest yet still very clean high gain preamp I've used under $600.

For crystal clear without tubes, grace 101. for cheap, dmp, but they're becoming hard to find I've noticed. But the art has more useful gain than the delta, and I use ribbons, and the continuously variable input impedence from 150 ohms to 3kohms is unbeatable even in the costliest preamps (although tied in a few very expensive units). If you own a 57, buy an MPA GOLD, you'll need the input impedence control to get the best out of your mic.

Don
 
Best pre-amp for this purpose

I have read through the tread and do not think I have found this addressed. If I missed it, please call it to my attention.

I sing and accompany myself on acoustic guitar. Currently I am using an Emerald Opus X 30 12-string with a b-band pickup and a CA Legacy Vintage 6-string with a Fishman Pro Pre-Blend. I have several wooden Santa Cruz guitars etc. which do not have pickups.

I want to buy equipment that I can use for both live and studio.

The microphone forum recommended I purchase either the Shure SM7 or the EV-RE20 for vocals since they match best my vocal range. One post warned me that I needed to get a preamp with plenty of power for the Shure SM7.
Is there a preamp you would recommend for this purpose? It needs to have at least two channels. One for a microphone and one for an input from my acoustic guitar. I would prefer a four channel preamp since I hope to mic my guitars that do not have a pickup some day. Cost is an issue but if I have spent thousands of dollars on guitars it does not make sense to cheap out on the other equipment.

For live performances, I plan on going from the preamp to a self-powered speaker like the Mackie SRM450.

As always I am open to constructive criticism. :)
 
2catstew said:
News flash,
I have the behringer mounted right below my Universal audio LA610.
yes the 610 is better but. . . . the Behringer is transparent. sounds great on vox and acoustic guitars and I could by 12 of them for whay I paid for the UA.
Your Mic's and your mic pre's are you most important investment but when you can't afford the elete units, the behringer will do just fine. The results of your recordings will be more influenced by the performance and material then the gear. I promise!
Click to expand...


I have the Ultragain 2200, and bought a DMP3 last month.
Comparing ,ok, the Dmp3 has a more "neutral", flat sound, but vox recordings seems sits better with the Behringer.
 
my recommndations but there are many others (and I put these on a high level of sound quality than the behringer 2200, although the dmp3 is a good neutral preamp):

for cheap, lots of gain, and two channels, if you want new, pick up an ART MPA GOLD (there are lots of mpa variations, make sure it's the one called gold). Make sure you run the channels in high plate voltage mode (button in with blue light on), it'll sound very good.

for slightly less insane gain levels but also a really good preamp, check out the Rane (forget model number), their entry level preamp is really good. simple, but does the job great.

both are cheap, rane is, I think slightly cheaper, but you get fewer features (and it's solid state, no tube gain stage like in the mpa gold, not that this is inherently a good or bad thing, just an interesting point).

Cheers,
Don
 
duped...really liked your tunes and mixes, nice tones great guitar sounds.

this preamp thread is getting some beef to it, a lot of votes...the staticians would be proud.:)
 
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