Do Channels Matter on a MIC PRE?

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hottsauce_21

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Well, I'm looking for a Good MIC PRE, All i really Need is a 2 Channel Mic Pre, I would get More channels, But I have a Budget on it, $500 - $600, I know i can get more channels for that Amount, But i heard around here that the more channels on a Mic Pre it has worse quality, So if that's Bogus please let me know, But im lookin for a Dual, non- tube, And please tell me what i can expect from it? I'd spend more on a mic Pre, But i seen This Vocal Processor i'd like to get, since that might help bring my vocals out, It's a Antares AVP-1, If thats A BAD IDEA and i better just get something else, please tell me.

Thanks for takin your time to help
 
That is obviously bogus, and I'm sure you know it, because you can't really be that stupid. Of course the amount of channels will not affect the quality. The amount of channels per dollar will just as obviously affect the quality.

This is such basic knowledge, that anybody over ten has it. Now exactly why you want a $500 mic pre for using with your radio shack mic when you do karaoke rap still beats me. :D

Sorry for the newbie-bashing, but I'm still convinced you are a troll. If you aren't start using that thing between your brains, and start listeing to peoples advice. Like:

Don't put down $500 on a mic preamp if you are a newbie. It's a complete waste of money unless your are a semi-pro in your recording quality and knowledge. And you aren't.
 
regebro said:
This is such basic knowledge, that anybody over ten has it.
Click to expand...

Well fuck me with a stick... and here I thought I was over 10.

There are several 'multichannel' mic-pre's that have a woefully underspecified power supply... which causes the sound to get worse with the more channels you use... a Mackie desk is an excellent example of the phenomenon...
 
regebro said:

Sorry for the newbie-bashing, but I'm still convinced you are a troll. If you aren't start using that thing between your brains, and start listeing to peoples advice. Like:

Don't put down $500 on a mic preamp if you are a newbie. It's a complete waste of money unless your are a semi-pro in your recording quality and knowledge. And you aren't.
Click to expand...

....what tells you this person is a newbie at recording? His number of posts on this BBS?

A good piece of gear is never a waste of money...whereas a bad (and probably, but not necessarily, cheap) piece of gear IS.
 
Sen said:
....what tells you this person is a newbie at recording? His number of posts on this BBS?
Click to expand...

The fact that he knows nothing about recording, perhaps? And yes, I think that an EXPENSIVE peace of gear is a waste of money if you don't know how to use it, and all your other things are crap. You are also confusing 'good' and 'expensive'. Just because you don't buy pro-equipment does not mean that you buy crap. What is 'good' is a relative question, and in general you could say that it is equivalent with 'good enough' for beginners, and for non-beginners 'better than what I had before'. If you define 'good' as 'the best' you end up having to build a pro-studio from scratch, which of course is unreasonable.

Now $500 for a mic preamp is not nessecarily a bad deal even for a beginner if you get a 8-channel preamp or so. But few beginners need 8-channels of preamps, unless they are doing some kind of live recording, in which case they would probably be better off with a decent mixer, or if they are using computers, a good multi-channel I/O card.

I guy who claims he does karaoke-rap in his livingroom surely do NOT need a 8-channel mic preamp to create his rap demos, right?
 
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Fletcher said:
which causes the sound to get worse with the more channels you use...
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Well, now, how many channel you USE and how many channels it HAS is not really the same thing, is it?

That the quality of the sound on a Mackie mixer gets worse when you use all 8-channels than when you use 1-channel, is a completely different thing from claiming that the more channels a mic preamp has the worse it sounds.
 
regebro said:
You are also confusing 'good' and 'expensive'. Just because you don't buy pro-equipment does not mean that you buy crap.
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Just because you don't buy pro-equipment does not mean that you buy crap.

I didn't mean to start a debate or anything, but isn't that what I just said.........."but not necessarily, cheap".........

cheers
 
ok, stupid question, but i'll bite...

go with the tried and true:
RNP - 2 channel clean $475
DMP3 - 2 channel in the middle (clean/colored) $119
i personally think the DMP3 might be really cool for rap.

side note - i'm not a rap fan, but any musician (which any recording engineer should be) can't just throw out a whole genre. you'll miss out on so much possibly good music. opera, country, blues, jazz, classical, and even rap have things they can offer to all of us musicians. i love rock and roll, but i've learned from rap. so don't go dissin...you might be missin (maybe i am a rapper)!
 
Sen said:
I didn't mean to start a debate or anything, but isn't that what I just said.........."but not necessarily, cheap".........
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Well, I didn't contradict that either. Just because it isn't pro-equipment it doesn't have to be good, or expensive. ;)

In any case, it's all pointless wordplay. My point was (and still is) that for somebody just getting into recording, paying $500 for their first mic pre is too much. They will not be able to use that kind of quality. For a beginner, a combination of a nice, transparent mic preamp and an SM57 will probably work quite well, and cost no more that $300 in total, including a cable, a mic stand and a pop-filter.
 
Regeblow giving advice to Hottits on mic pres.

Talk about the blind leading the stupid.
 
i never knew there was a special techniques in using an RNP...i plugged my mic into it and it instantly shitted on my mackie pre's....i didn't have to plug it a certain way or do some sort of voodoo seyonce either :D
 
Sen said:
....what tells you this person is a newbie at recording? His number of posts on this BBS?

A good piece of gear is never a waste of money...whereas a bad (and probably, but not necessarily, cheap) piece of gear IS.
Click to expand...

This guy has been trolling and having lots of fun around here. I don't know who he is, but he is fun to torture. He knows recording and is not a newbie. He knows too many terms and always starts out with a seemingly sincere question. He then baits you and flames you. Read his other posts.
 
If I was stating out today with $500-600 for a preamp-

I would consider the M-Audio DMP3 for $200 or the Grace 101 for $550. Also, there is a store on Ebay that is selling new Presonus MP20's in the box with one-year warranty for around $350 or less. That is a "detailed and forward" sounding two-channel preamp with a good feature set- inserts on both channels, no wall wart, sturdy construction, mix buss, IDSS effect, Hi-Z inputs, 20 dB pads, rumble filters, It kicks ass as a bass direct box. If I didn't already have one I would be all over that deal.

I have used the Grace 101 before and I like it a lot, although I never got to try it's Hi-Z input. I'm only recommending the DMP3 based on word of mouth...I haven't had my paws on one yet. I was at Guitar Center yesterday and I almost asked for the tdukex $119 special price :D
 
regebro said:
The fact that he knows nothing about recording, perhaps? And yes, I think that an EXPENSIVE peace of gear is a waste of money if you don't know how to use it, and all your other things are crap.
Click to expand...
That seems to be the popular opinion around here and it is
pure bullshit!
Recording,like playing,is an addictive hobby.A person that has the bug bad enough to be considering the purchase of out board gear
is likely to continue with this hobby for a long time to come,so why not purchase the best gear you can afford?You cant learn
how to use it unless you get it and start experimenting.
Reg,from what I have read in some of your other post, I know you would like to have an aw4416.thats an expensive purchase.
Unless you have some experience with one,you aint gonna know jack shit the day you break yers out of the box,but between manuals and online help you can gradually learn.
My point is this:I think it is better to buy quality gear and learn how to use it,than it is to buy cheap garbage and learn that you should have been wiser in the way you spent your money.
sheppard
 
Yamaha MLA7 8 channel pre for $499 at musicians friend, Its a good one.

Im surprised theres not more hype for this piece, maybe Im the only one to purchase one here. There were a few owners at Recording.org that had one though.
 
uhhhh

depends man, if your going to buy an 8 ch tube pre from like Nady or Behringer or my new company Crapringer then it's probably pretty crappy... but if you buy an 8 ch mic pre from someone respectable company and your shoving out alot of money then most likely it's gonna be a good deal. if you only need two channels then go with a presonus BlueTube 2 chanell tube pre amp
 
The Yamaha MLA7, wow it's been a long time since I heard anyone mention that one! Didn't even know they were still being sold new. I used to own one, and it actually is not bad at all.

My own opinion is that it is better to buy the good equipment from the beginning rather than buy crap and then have to re-buy it all over again many times over. It doesn't matter the experience level, and it is much better to train the ears to know quality sound from the beginning. Even if this person is a beginner, it would be better for him to have great gear.

I don't own one, but I'd suggest trying out the RNP for starters at this price range. Two channels for $500-600 is a bit much to ask, but certainly there must be some other contenders as well.

The Blue Tube is okay, but a preamp that you'd certainly be growing out of quickly. Another inexpensive preamp I've read good things about is the VTB-1. If it were me at that price range I'd check out the RNP and two channels of VTB-1, for starters.
 
I still second the 8 channel offering from yamaha, due to the fact that with 8 channels you can record a drum set, a guitar and go direct in with a bass. at the same time.

That comes in handy, I really like mine alot, why did you get rid of yours?
 
I didn't need the eight channels, and was selling off a ton of stuff from my studio to finance some gear purchases. At the time I was selling off my prosumer stuff and getting into better gear, a process that continues. I use a Grace 201 now, truly a fine preamp in all the best senses of the word.

With preamps it really boils down to money buys quality (like most gear). So my philosophy is, if you need two channels and you have $500 to spend, you get the best two channels available for the money. To me, it's irrelevant that there is an 8 channel preamp available for the same money: you only need two so you focus the money on getting the best quality of that.
 
So i Was Wrong?

Ok, from what i hear, It doesn't matter how many channels there are, it's just that im not gonna find a good 8 Channel Mic Pre for my Price Range. Well, thats cool, im only doing vocals anyways, i make the beats up on a Keyboard and computer. Thanks For your Help
 
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