best preamp under or around $500

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videodrone

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best preamps for mic & guitar under or around $500

If I can get away with buying a good one for $500, Ill do that, but my budgets for around $500 perferably under,

I need one for a mic and guitar,
 
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Using DBX 386

Have used the dBX 386 Stereo Tube Pre on Vocals and Acoustic Guitar; also on transcriptions from various other analog media to HD on computer. 386 has digital outs. Adds warmth; no noticeable coloration. Cost me $500 at GC.
 
Grace 101 is a good bet{I have two of them}$550.00 for a single channel..Checkout the RNP also it looks like a good deal{I don't have one} its two channels at about $500.00..And theres the Summit but I can't remember the model..It seems like it would be a good one to check out also..If it was me and I could save say $500.00 more I'd got with the Great River sigle channel..Good luck


Don
 
Henri Devill said:
And theres the Summit but I can't remember the model..It seems like it would be a good one to check out also...
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I've heard some good things about the Summit TBA-221. It's supposedly a bit pronounced in the upper-mids, but the variable impedence thing supposedly helps you to change the sound up a bit.

By the way, I'll chime my $0.02 in and say the best pre for under $500 would be a Symetrix SX202 modded with the High-speed Mic Pre Chip by Jim Williams at Audio Upgrades. Total cost $300 + whatever you can score the 202 for. Just so I can be different from everyone else. :D
 
Adds warmth; no noticeable coloration. Cost me $500 at GC.
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If something adds "warmth" it adds coloration. Coloration is anything added that changes the signal coming out of your mic. Every preamp adds some coloration, its just that "straight wire with gain" preamps add less then "character" or "cheap, crappy" preamps.
 
chessrock said:
By the way, I'll chime my $0.02 in and say the best pre for under $500 would be a Symetrix SX202 modded with the High-speed Mic Pre Chip by Jim Williams at Audio Upgrades. Total cost $300 + whatever you can score the 202 for. Just so I can be different from everyone else. :D
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I have two Symetrix 302 mic preamps and they're nice.
 
Yo videodrone- I'm selling a 6 month old pristine DBX386 2 channel pre. If you're interested, I'll let it go for $350. Feel free to email me.-Richie
 
Im surprised the rnp hasnt been mentioned yet. My personal fave for 499.00 is my 8 channel yamaha mla7. I think the vtb2 will be at that price point.
 
darrin_h2000 said:
My personal fave for 499.00 is my 8 channel yamaha mla7. I think the vtb2 will be at that price point.
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They're targeting between $800 and $1,000 for the VTB-2 according to Alan (as of a couple of weeks ago anyway).
 
c9-2001 said:
hey buck, have you ever delt with the envoice? i plan on buying one with in the week
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Yes.... I've had an Envoice for about 2 years now.

The Envoice has a ton of features for the money, as you probably already know, and it goes from totally transparent to a wonderfully warm tube sound.
It's extremely "clean" and won't add a bit of noise to your recordings.

The EQ is stellar on the Envoice, as is the compression.

With the optional S/PDIF in/out, the Envoice is a whole lot of preamp for the money.
 
DJL said:
I would think the Symetrix 302 would give the FMR Audio RNP8380 a good run for the money as a transparent/clean mic preamp
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Symetrix is known for solid designs (very simple, straight-forward), but they get a bad reputation for skimping / cutting corners on the quality of the components they use. That's why they're such good candidates for modifications.

As far as I know, the the older ones like the SX202 used a different opamp that has since been discontinued. The 302 uses a chip that isn't very widely-liked among the techie guys out there -- although some will say that the design itself is much more important.

To my knowlege, there aren't any mods that can be done to the 302 to make it any better. As it stands, it's still a pretty good pre, and an excellent value for $200 or so, but nothing more.
 
I am really really surprised that the RNP hasnt taken over this segment of the market instantly without remorse. Its just not a question anymore, its like saying do I want this $500 Ford Pinto, or do I want this brand new Porshe for $500 instead? Its a fucking no brainer and I cant for the life of me figure out why people are still asking this same old boring wore out question.
Buy an RNP. Buy something else with it thats cheap. Return the loser, and then enjoy your RNP eternally.
No, the Symetrix and the DMP and your mommas homebrew dont compare when you start getting thick. Next step up from an RNP is an ISA series, Red Series, Great River original series... next step down from an RNP? Everything else.
Seems like no one snatched them up like they claimed they would.
I was one of the 1st in line, and I now have 4 channels, looking at 2 more. My only regrets are the stuff I had to sell that didnt live up to the hype. At the price, no comparison. If you want more color, the closest thing will be an API at around $550/channel plus power supply or a Neve 1272 copy at around $1300 for 2 channels. Otherwise, its a steal. Buy it. Sell it to me if you dont like it.
 
for the price i can't tern down such a quality product.. i wanted to to find a used one b/c i didn't fill like spending $320 on the Envoice right now..

do you know anywhere that i can get it under 299... wanna sell me yours ;)
 
tubedude said:
I am really really surprised that the RNP hasnt taken over this segment of the market instantly without remorse.
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with the rnp, the $500 market becomes pretty diverse with the grace 101 and earthworks lab 101.
 
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