best rack pre-amp? and why?

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dmbfan1981

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what would be the best rack preamp for the money???

I was looking to spend under $200 whether used on ebay or new.

Also, what precisely will a preamp do for me other than provide phantom power and gain? I have a mixer that has a gain control and will provide phantom power and was wondering just how important it would be for me to buy a budget preamp. Should I just use the mixer unless I want to spend upwards of a 1000 bucks? thanks.
 
yep. that's all a preamp does....

i would pick something up as opposed to using the behri....maybe a vtb1 or a dmp3 if you're looking to keep it cheap

then down the road, after you get some mics and a decent sounding room, pick up a good preamp
 
well I am looking at getting a studio projects mic. b1. but I guess the next question is. Why would I buy a vtb1 instead of using the behringer preamps.
I know that the initial reaction would be " cause behringer sucks," but is there any specifics as to why one would be better than the other? Is it really going to affect the sound of my mic to a substantial degree?
 
at this price range, you just wanna get something that has the least amount of noise possible...

it may be hard sometimes to tell the difference between a behri mixer pre, and a 300 dollar pre if you are listen to a single electric guitar track or something

but when you start building tracks on each other, the noise will build, things lose clarity, and it gets muddy
 
ok, that makes sense to me. I never thought of it in terms of the stacking of tracks and how that noise will build also.

Which preamp would you prefer out of the two that you mentioned?? Any reason why you find one to be better than the other?? I definately would like something that is quiet. I would also like a more warm sound to the vocals. I assume that is more of a mic issue though which is why I am going to invest in a slightly upgraded mic.

Anyone else wish to chime in on this topic? Preamp choices under 200 bucks?? I have heard about the vtb1 before so I am sure many people would agree with that one.
 
personally, i've never used either....

do a search for the dmp3 and the vtb1....it's the two that are always mentioned in this thread...and there's been 1000 of them
 
also, can you recommend the same thing but in a 19" rack mountable unit? under $200. thanks
 
I don't mean to be a nay-sayer about the DMP-3 or the VTB here, but I'm pretty sure you can find a Presonus Eureka for around $200 used. That would give you a pretty decent (and flexible) channel strip. I saw one for around $225 used at the local GC last weekend. (And yes, it's a rack-mounted unit.)
 
yes, as I was searching ebay during posting this thread, I noticed the Eureka. I think it was around 225 or 250. I will have to check it out. I had a presonus tubepre before and didnt really care for it. It didnt have any apparent benefit to the sound of my mic. ( perhaps cause its a $60 dollar marshall mxl mic )

I have heard many good things about the vtb1 and for only 100 bucks I will have to do a lot of research to justify buying the eureka instead.

thanks for the input though. If you would like to elaborate on the eureka and why it is better, please do.
 
I just searched the dmp3 on musicians friend. There are two of them. one 129 and one is 159. Both seem to be the exact same thing based on description. **scratches head**
 
one is probably dent and scratch or a refurb or something
 
ok. I guess I will keep this thread going with some more idiotic newbie questions. If I use my behringer mixer and then run from the behringer out to the dmp3 ( or any other preamp ) Will that affect or color my sound any? I would like to use the mixer so that I can keep several mics and instruments plugged in and still route the entire mixer output to the preamp so that it saves me time pluggin cables.

If I just use the line in and not the XLR, I shouldnt be utilizing the berry's preamps at all. Correct?

I guess I would have to use the XLR if I wanted to keep mics plugged in.
 
i would go straight into the dmp3, and then if you feel the need, go into an insert on a channel on the behri...but personally, i'd rather not go into the behri at all if i didnt have to
 
but what if I wanted to like mic an acoustic guitar with two mics. Should I just use the berry for that or run the berry into the dmp3? Should I buy a different type of mixer for that type of application? Or do I have to have a preamp with multiple channels? Thanks.
 
man I need sleep. so I guess it would do what I need it to do. Great. Thanks a lot for all of the help and for putting up with my sometimes moronic questions.
 
I don't have experience with either, but the general consensus seems to be that the dmp3 is the way to go in this price range, and that it is better then a lot of pre's that cost more.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/MAudio-DMP3-2Channel-Mic-PreDirect-Box?sku=241101V
seems to just be a sale, not refurbished or damaged.

The vtb1 may offer the warmth you say you are after, some seem to love it. Im not sure that 'warmth' is a characteristic u would chase in a cheap pre.

I think the dmp3 is a better pre amp and hard to pass up in this price bracket, but the vtb1 MAY give you more variety in sounds. Thats just from what i have read though...
 
yeah, I guess I should be MORE concerned with how quiet the preamp is. Thanks for all of the help guys.
 
Is there a reason why you don't want to use the preamps on the FW 410? You should be looking at using less gear to get the signal into the computer, not more gear. Especially in the budget price range, you want to keep the signal path as simple and uncomplicated as possible. The fewer cheap electronics in the way, the better.

So I'd say skip the Behringer and at least try using the preamps on the FW 410. At the very least, do this before buying additional gear.

In reality, the difference between the preamps on the 410 and outboard preamps that you will buy from the same company for under two hundred dollars are going to be miniscule.

If you must buy additional preamps, I suggest going with a different manufacturer. This way you get some variety in tonal colors.

But in any case, I highly encourage you to completely bypass the Behringer mixer and either use the preamps on the 410, or use external preamps directly into line inputs on the 410.
 
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