Best Mic Pre under $300 Poll..

[Speeddemon]

Right here, chessrock.
I would not say the pres in the M series are better than those on the mindprint or meek. The pres are good but the pre on my mindprint is bigger and more muscular (without any EQ or tube in the signal). I havent used the meek pre on its own enough (without compression) to make a call. The big deal about soundcraft is the EQ which is really, really...really... nice. Also has swept mids. Mackie is really irrelevant as a mixer given the pres and EQ you get with the M series. But especially EQ. There is no compariosn bet mackie EQ and soundcraft EQ. Its nite and day. It would be great if they sold a standalone EQ.
The EQ on the mindprint is also very musical and is swept and has a variable Q in the mids.
The Ghost pres are great if youre tracking bands all day but if youre doing at most 1 or 2 tracks at a time, it wouldnt be your gold channel. If youre looking for a gold channel, I would recommend the mindprint or grace for the same $500 you would spend on a soundcraft. The grace is truly nice and in a dif class, prewise, but the mindprint is a channel strip and does much more and is one of the best strips IMO for $500 and probably under $1k in terms of sound quality and bang for your buck flexibility.

Well there ya go:
1) I like having swept mids (therefore I'm not gonna blow $600 on a Mackie 1402 VLZ Pro)
2) In a couple of years I'll hopefully be tracking bands, now I'm only tracking 2-3 tracks at most. Just me and the occasional buddy that drops by, plays a tune and spills my beer

JusumPilgrim, have you checked out the Spirit Folio SX? That one has 12 mic pre's, 8 direct outs, 3 auxes and 100mm faders. For $400 it looks pretty nice to me, but I have my doubts about headroom and built quality.

cheerz

 

[JuSumPilgrim]

I havent spent time with the folio stuff so I cant make a call. The pres are not the same as the pres on the M series. I dont know about the EQ but I doubt it. Its probably a bigger version of the folio notepad which isnt all that.
It really depends on what your goals are.

 

[Middleman]

Not sure how this thread came to the top but I think there have been some changes since these opinions were relayed.

First, the M series pres are the same design as the ghosts which means they are better than the spirit folio notepad pres. Both of these pres however in my opinion are superior to the mackie boards.

The only other exception I would add is that I compared the Mindprint pre to the latest Focusrite VM strip pre and went with the Focusrite. Not as cool looking as the Mindprint but a very nice Class A sound. It now has the tube sat plus harmonics and a newer version op compressor. Both of these pres, in the Mindprint and VM Pro, sound slightly more professional than the Soundcraft pres. However, I think the Soundcrafts make a great base pre and even the Notepad pres add a very useable sound to most mics. They are very smooth and neutral and work great on colored mics like the NTK.

So on the Middleman hierchy scale of pres I have tried from "Starting out" to "Much better" and based soley on my ears.

Starting Out
Behringer boards
Art stuff
Presonus Stuff
Audiobuddy
Mackie Boards under $600
Soundcraft Notepad
VTB-1
DMP3
Soundcraft M series
RNP
Grace 101
Mindprint
Focusrite Voicemaster Pro
Sytek
John Hardy
Much Better

This pretty much covers the ground between $79 -$1000. OOMV

 

[Middleman]

Just a correction on my comment regarding M series pres vs. Ghosts. I covered this in another thread but need to make a retraction here.

Several mag reviews made the comment that the M Series pres are the same design as the Ghost pres and this is not correct. I was just repeating comments I had read.

Upon further investigation the M series use what Soundcraft refers to as HQL pres (High Quality Linear). These are a far cry from the Ghost pres.

 

[cavedog101]

Mr. Speeddemon....isnt it nice to get a quality education at a very low price?
Here's my take.When deciding upon this piece of gear or that piece of gear the price becomes relative to the service the gear is going to provide you.While at this time, you may only be recording a limited amount of tracks together, eventually you will need something more.The suggestion of the M4 Soundcraft is a very sane and plausible suggestion.You spend a little more yet you get so VERY much more in performance,flexibility for the future, and features that a single-channel or dual channel pre cant give you.A few moments with a track you've carefully recorded, run through the the Soundcraft eq and you will understand what I and some of the others are saying.I never buy or use pres in my studio that are less than the ones on my console.It wouldnt make any sense.I have 32 pres @ approx. $135/channel which sound better than any of your under $300 pres could ever sound...so which is a better buy?
This is what you'll find in expanding your vision to include tomorrow.......peace

 

[chessparov]

While it's certainly not up to the class of some of the pre's discussed here, for the "financially challenged" musician who has hardly any $$, a sleeper is the DBX 286a for around $100.
It's also IC based, except they tweaked some things to have it sound better than most of the other units based on the same chip. Plus being a channel strip, it has EQ, compression, de-esser,
and a gate. Not an Avalon obviously, but certainly good enough to use down the line for rehearsals and playing at the local bar
without worrying (too much) about any spilled beer.

In my limited messing around with, I agree that the M4's sounded a lot better than the Mackies on both pre and EQ.

Chris

 

[BrettMckinney]

Middleman..your little table of crap to good interests me. I'm looking for a good mic-pre at the moment..1 channel. I'm using a very cheap mixer for the pre's and want something better. I was looking at getting the VTB-1, but do you think the DMP3 sounds better? I'm hoping i'll notice a big difference in vocals going from my Alto mixer to a good pre.

 

[Middleman]

BrettMckinney

Yes, I do. The DMP3 has better transient response than the VTB-1 to my ears. Especially from around 350Hz to 3KHz.

 

[BrettMckinney]

Thanks champ..i trust your judgement!

 

[Henri Devill]

You realize a lot of the gear snobs you speak of will turn their noses up at these "hybrid" tube/solid state units. I don't see anything wrong with them, as long as they sound good. In a way, it seems like it could offer a little of the best of both worlds.

Speaking of the hybrids, do you know anything about the digitech vtp-1? It's got my curiosity.

I've got one in the rack..Its on the dirty side...I got it cheap..I dont use it much..nuff said


Don

 

[SilentSound]

Digitech VTP-1

you got my attention.. I have on in my rack as well. One tube sounded a little dirty and the other extremely clean. I changed both to old RCA tubes I had lying around and it is the most open mic pre i've used. I've had a mackie 1604, tlaudio 4 channel tube pre, old allen n heath console, a new behringer 1604 vlz pro ripoff, a tascam digital board's pre's, and then came along the VTP-1. Tt is tops for vocals, overheads/room mics, and synth. very clear an open. The eq sucks. The preamp is great. I notice even more since i switched to 24 bit recording a few years ago. I haven't really heard any of the pre's that were spoken of in this post, but assure that if you find and buy one, it's quite a worthwhile investment.

the horse has just been beaten again

 

[acorec]

OK Skycries, i had the same thought for a post as your Best Mic Pre for under $300", let's take some of their suggestions and put it to a poll....

Chris

The pre-amp in your mixer is the best under $300. There are no good pre-amps in that price catagory. The closest is the DMP3 and it is only OK.

 

[Poni]

Re: Re: Best Mic Pre under $300 Poll..

The pre-amp in your mixer is the best under $300. There are no good pre-amps in that price catagory. The closest is the DMP3 and it is only OK.

So what would you say are the less expensive acceptable preamps. THANKS.

 

[DJL]

Speaking on the subject in reference to the DMP3 vs VTB-1 and etc... there was another cheap preamp poll on this board a while back and the DMP3 was the favored preamp of the bunch.

 

[Warhead]

If you're going that cheap and want a no frills preamp, go with the Rane MS1B. They go for about $150 and are clean and pretty fast. I like it on snare and acoustic guitar for some tracks. Even if you have some other pres, it ain't a bad one to have around.

Just a pre, phantom power, and phase reverse and it cannot be rack mounted...no meter either...but hell it's $150.

War

 

[BEARD_OF_CHEESE]

im going to go with the sytek ~212$ per channel but you have to buy 4

the pres on a Hill minimix or multimix or rackmix etc..console are a freaking bargain if you can find one..

and the soundcraft pres are ok too..

and i never heard the rane pres but i bet they are good..

 

[JohnnyMan]

While it's certainly not up to the class of some of the pre's discussed here, for the "financially challenged" musician who has hardly any $$, a sleeper is the DBX 286a for around $100.
It's also IC based, except they tweaked some things to have it sound better than most of the other units based on the same chip. Plus being a channel strip, it has EQ, compression, de-esser,
and a gate. Not an Avalon obviously, but certainly good enough to use down the line for rehearsals and playing at the local bar
without worrying (too much) about any spilled beer.

In my limited messing around with, I agree that the M4's sounded a lot better than the Mackies on both pre and EQ.

Chris

Chris and readers:

I am in the market for a replacement mic pre and I am on a limited budget. I am attempting to to go the next level from my current situation: A Behringer Ultragain Pro (which I use when I am stereo traking - it has two mono inputs) and an ART Tube MP that I use for almost everything else. After reading many posts I have come to the conclusion that my next step would be to buy a DMP-3.

I also use an Alesis Nanocompressor in my signal chain that I would also like to replace. The DBX 286a seems to have both of what I am looking for. Would this be an acceptable alternative to say, a DMP-3 and maybe a RNC which is what I have been currently shopping for. I like the idea of an all-in-one channel strip instead of two separate components but I am not married to the notion. It seems that the RNC and the DMP-3 are two highly respected units here at HR.com.

Suggestions anyone?

 

[OneArmedScissor]

IMO, you already sort of wasted money by buying the cheap pres and comp. I would NEVER suggest those to anyone, because just a little bit more money gets you a keeper pre, while those others often end up completely useless.

Don't repeat that again. Just get a DMP3 and RNC. If you can manage better than a DMP3, go for it.

If you are really tight on cash, you should probably look at the Joemeek 3Q. It's about $200, with a good mic pre, comp, and EQ.

Other than that, I really wouldn't touch any of the cheaper combo stuff.

 

[JohnnyMan]

IMO, you already sort of wasted money by buying the cheap pres and comp. I would NEVER suggest those to anyone, because just a little bit more money gets you a keeper pre, while those others often end up completely useless.

Don't repeat that again. Just get a DMP3 and RNC. If you can manage better than a DMP3, go for it.

If you are really tight on cash, you should probably look at the Joemeek 3Q. It's about $200, with a good mic pre, comp, and EQ.

Other than that, I really wouldn't touch any of the cheaper combo stuff.

Thanks OneArmedScissor.

I’m half way there. I bought the nanocompressor out of a lack of knowledge and I’d like to believe that I had read somewhere from some posts (maybe back during the VS880 threads on Harmony Central) that the nanocompressor was a great deal. The same applies to the Ultragain Pro.

I am happy to announce that today I ordered the RNC and the MXL V67G (from Harvey’s favorite mics).

I hope to pick up a DMP-3 shortly although in another thread http://www.homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=134812
Chessrock suggests Rane MS 1B so now I’m unsure.

 

[OneArmedScissor]

As I said, if you can do better than a DMP3, then go for it.

The Rane MS1b is $150 for one channel, whereas the DMP3 is about the same for two, which immediately suggests something.

The DMP3 is generally regarded as just a really good deal, but just barely, not quite a "great" mic pre. It's clean, and you get two channels for cheap. The Rane MS1b, however, is generally regarded as the absolute best pre you are going to get under $200, not considering how many channels you need.

To give you an idea:

Two MS1bs would cost about $300. You can see that that is getting to the price range of a RNP, which is $475 for two channels. At a per channel cost, it is also similar to the Sytek MPX-4Aii, which is about $800 for four channels. Those all come out to around the $200 a channel price range.

The MS1b is slightly cheaper per channel, but this is starting to get to the point where the different pres are all great, but great for different applications, so smaller differences in price stops meaning a whole lot. For example, a certain $1,000 pre might be better for a lot of things than a certain $1,200 pre, even if the $1,000 pre has two channels, and the $1,200 pre might has only one. That is pretty much common knowledge and makes sense, but it can apply with much cheaper stuff, provided you have moved out of the "dirt cheap budget" range.

It all just depends. If you need only one good channel, then the Rane MS1b would be a smart choice. If you need two channels, but don't have a bunch of cash to throw around at stuff (who does? hehe), then buying two MS1bs instead of a RNP would still be just as good of a choice sound quality-wise. You would also sort of get the benefit of being able to "pay over time" by picking up one MS1b, and then another at a later time, when you have enough money, instead of spending a lot of money to buy a bigger package, like the RNP or Sytek, all at once.