Does every pre-amp have phantom power?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Student
  • Start date Start date
S

Student

New member
I am considering buying a (cheap, yes) pre-amp to 'warm up' my tracks at recording level using a little compression. I record with a c-port.

I have checked the forum for the Behringer MULTICOM® PRO MDX4400, and it looks as if it is not bad at all, for that price.
But I could not find any info on phantom power on it. Can someone that owns one tell me if it has that, please?

Or is is such a matter-of-fact that it does not need to be mentioned, do they all have it?

Thanks.

Student

(Always studying)
 
Welcome to the board Sir Student!

The piece you speak of, Behringer MULTICOM® PRO MDX4400, is not a mic pre-amp. It's a compressor/limiter. A mic-pre-amp doesn't necessarily come with phantom power but usually any decent one does, especially the newer ones. What do you use for a mic? You only need phantom power for condensor mics.
 
The MDX 4400 is *not* a preamp, hence there is no phantom power to be expected. This unit is a compressor and nothing but a compressoer. It expects line level, you can't plug in a microphone. You need a preamp to bring your microphone signal to line level before you can even think about using a compressor. There are, however, so-called channel strips that often combine preamp, compressor and EQ in one unit. If you need to buy cheap, there is the Behringer VX2000; it has phantom power, too. It is mono, though. I can't tell you anything about the quality of the unit. There are lots of other brands as well. Most preamps and channelstrips these days have phantom power, exceptions are very rare.
 
Thanks, that explains it.

The Behringer VX2000 is a single channel unit, right? So you need 2 of them for stereo, or for 2 channels.

Thanks for the welcome, no need to call me Sir. I have not earned that yet. But I do appreciate it.

The mics I use so far are:

the Behringer ECM 8000 (thanks to earlier post on this great board)

and a large diafragm: T-Bone Sc 450 http://www.netzmarkt.de/thomann/thoiw6_artikel-152310.html

Also a AKG320b, an old gig mic I got 15 years ago, dynamic.

Thanks again.
Student
 
as you might see on this board everyone hates behringer gear except for the composer pro.. so from other people's error you might want to check out a different company.. My presonus bluetube works well for a cheap one

and all mics benefit from a preamp..

T
 
I have been searching a lot indeed, and found that the best I can do is to spend the same money on a better single channel unit first, then buy another one at a later stage.

If I can find a European supplier for the Studio Project VTB-1, then that will be my choice. Even if I have to wait a few months.

Thanks,
Student.

Learned something again. Life is good.
 
Behringer...

I personaly love the Ultragain Pro....Ok....don't torch me, but why don't people dig Behringer?....Anyway, I've used the ultragain in a few different situations, and rooms, and I reackon it's a nifty little tool that gives off a nice warmth....
 
The behringer 2002 catalogue states .....quote,
" Beringer's Invisible Mic preamp: included in every microphone input of each of our consoles and outboard preamplifiers"
Why pay $500 'oz'dollers for a ultragain preamp,
when you can spend $150 on the behringer entry level mixer and get two of em built in?
Btw they both have phantom power.
 
Ultragain...

I agree, there's no way I'd pay $500 for one, but I do like them that's why I looked around and while in L.A. I picked one up for $100 US....I think THAT was worth it....
 
Student, given your choice of a T.Bone mic, I suppose you're German. You might wanna put that piece of information in your profile as it helps others when making recomondations. The SP, I'm sure, is a great pre for the price, but in Germany you'll pay twice as much as the distributor obviously is paying off a brand new Porsche. If you wanna go for a Behringer, you better take a look at the Tube Ultragain which is only 10-10 Euros more than the Ultragain 2200. Neither of the two have a compressor section, though. The Ultravoice VX2000, as I said, is mono. If you want to make stereo recordings, you can't use the compressor as there is no stereo link. It is designed for voice anyway, so maybe it's a better idea to get a different pre as a second channel.

BTW: even though Behringer claims there is no difference between their mixer pres and the outboard pres, I don't tink the small mixers will sound as good as the MX8000 or the outboard pres, because you can't take the EQ out of the signal path. And the EQs in Behringer mixers really aren't that great. They're okay for mixing. But I'd never use them when recording.
 
Rossi said:

BTW: even though Behringer claims there is no difference between their mixer pres and the outboard pres, I don't tink the small mixers will sound as good as the MX8000 or the outboard pres, because you can't take the EQ out of the signal path. And the EQs in Behringer mixers really aren't that great. They're okay for mixing. But I'd never use them when recording.
Click to expand...

I had a MX8000 for a little while, and I`m really embaressed thinking about it. The worst console I have ever heard or used.
The eq sucks, no difference if you mix or track, it still sucks.
No headroom in either the pre`s or summing amps in the mixbus.
Do yourself a favor, don`t buy a Behringer micpre!

Amund
 
Neve, that's just plain wrong: the MX8000 has *plenty* of headroom, much more so than a Mackie. 28db on the Bus. I have never ever heard anybody complain about headroom on the MX8000. If at all, it may have too much headroom, as some people complain it doesn't sound "hot" enough.
The EQs aren't exactly great, but when you swich them off for tracking, they can't do any harm. However, you can't do that on the smaller Behringer mixers, and that's just my point. The EQ is okay for mixing. As with all Behringer gear you have to be careful with the settings. The controls are overly sensitive, and that seems to be something that irritates a lot of users, especially those who had other gear before that was less unforgiving. Never use extreme settings on Behringer gear. On the EQ cutting frequencies sounds better than boosting. But that's true for all inexpensive mixers. In Germany, a used MX 8000 goes for 500-700 Euros, which is a steal IMHO. I wish I could have bought a mixer that size when I was starting out.
 
I have the ultragain pro MIC2200 and I think it's a decent pre for it's price... I have no experiences about the tube ultragain but it might be worth those few more euros...

Riku
 
Rossi said:
Neve, that's just plain wrong: the MX8000 has *plenty* of headroom, much more so than a Mackie. 28db on the Bus. I have never ever heard anybody complain about headroom on the MX8000. If at all, it may have too much headroom, as some people complain it doesn't sound "hot" enough.
Click to expand...

No , I`m not wrong, the headroom is nonexistant, because the PSU for the console isn`t capable of delivering the current the mix
bus needs to sound good. It may measure 28db, but that`s all.
This is the problem on Mackies console too.
As soon as you start hitting the mix bus with drums, guitars and bass, the stereo field collapses, and there is no chance of getting any clarity in the mix.

Amund
 
Neve, did you say that the MX 8000's external 400 W power supply is insufficient? Name one console of the same size that has a bigger supply. The PSU is oversized by design and has a lot of headroom as well. You better check your amplifier and monitors if your stereo image collapses. Besides: we were talking about mic pres, and you don't mean to imply that a 400 W PSU is not enough to power a few mic pres?
 
I got stuff from Thomann before, they are great for 'Hot Deals', and excellent service (I also got my C-port from them).
And I could have gone for the T-1953 TUBE ULTRAGAIN if it were not for the SP VTB-1 that just came out.

In the meantime I have priced some internet companies for the SP in Europe, they are indeed treating them as Rolls Royces, pricewise.

So I am trying to order an SP VTB-1 from the USA now. $179, but I am waiting to get the shipping costs confirmed. I am also checking up on a return policy. I'll update you helpfull lot on the progress.

I never owned a 'real' pre-amp before - you must have guessed - so I really appreciate the info on the various makes and models.

Thanks.
Student
(Holländer)
O, I'll update my profile.
 
Rossi said:
Neve, did you say that the MX 8000's external 400 W power supply is insufficient? Name one console of the same size that has a bigger supply. The PSU is oversized by design and has a lot of headroom as well. You better check your amplifier and monitors if your stereo image collapses. Besides: we were talking about mic pres, and you don't mean to imply that a 400 W PSU is not enough to power a few mic pres?
Click to expand...

MX8000 is a useless console if you want any serious audio from it. There`s NO point in arguing with that!

BUT, I`m comparing to consoles twenty times the cost of the B......
It`s good enough to learn tracking/mixing on, and of course there is enough power to the pre`s.


Amund
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top