First-time Pre Suggestions?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Alexbt
  • Start date Start date
Alexbt

Alexbt

New member
Hi all,

I'm in the market for some preamps to use with my Delta1010LT.

What I'm really looking for are 4 clean phantom powered channels that I can use my new condenser mics with. I can live with the two XLRs built in to my card for dynamic mics. We have an old SoundTech mixer, but there's a lot of hiss on the outputs (even if I'm bypassing things and use the inserts as an output)

However, I do have a price limit around $150 (unless I can get my bandmates to chip in), and I realize there aren't many boxes in this range that do what I want for this price (and if they do it, they don't do it well!).

The only such boxes I have found so far are by SM Pro, who makes an 8 channel box that has terrible reviews but is $99. They have some other boxes, like the PR4, which is $79, but I have found no reviews and I'm sure they would be bad.
Nady also has a box, but from what I've read it's only good with low impedance and dynamic mics.

I have heard a lot of good things about M-Audio's preamps, and my first thought was an Audio Buddy. Sure, it doesn't have 4 preamps, but I could always get two.

I have however, heard many good things about the DMP3, and it's very tempting.

If anyone has any other suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I'm very new to the whole preamp game and I'd really appreciate being pointed in the right direction.
 
The DMP3 is a great box. The Rane MS1b is amazing - AND cheap, but at around $150 per channel.

On many of the less expensive options, you're going to lose more sound quality than you might care to... With most decent preamps, you get what you pay for.
 
I have an M-Audio Buddy, and it seems to work ok with my mic, an AT 4040. It is clean, if that is what you want. I have heard on here, that the Audio Buddy does not make a full +48 v of phantom, that it is around 42, and this can mess with some mics. I don't know if this is true, so you might want to check this fact out, and see if it could affect you. It is one of the few pre's that they never stae +48 v of phantom power. Even the specs on the DMP3 state that it hsa +48, so....

I originally got this info from scrubs, and he seems to know quite a bit about some of these products. I even think he has a DMP3, if I'm not mistaken. You might try and check with him....
Ed
 
I just got a DMP3. I am definitly diggin it. Duper clean and lots of gain. You can get one for 150 and have two channels, and then buy a couple more when your bandmates chip in.
 
I have a pair of MXL 990s, and a pair of 991s, as a reference.

The reason I was hoping for 4 pres was to do drum micing. I intend to use the 991s as overheads, and I wasn't sure what to do with the 990s. I'm thinking they may make good room mics, in which case I can probably get away with using the SoundTech mixer.
 
Another vote for the DMP-3 here. It's a great little pre.

But if you really need 4 channels and that's your budget then I'd go with a Yamaha MG10/2 mixer. 4 mic pres with phantom power, I think they're $99 over there. For the money the pres aren't too bad at all. I have only used them in a live situation but I'm fairly confident that they'd be useable for studio recording. Not great but certainly better than alot of the crap that's out there.

If the mixer you have is really noisy then it should be a step up from that anyway.
 
Ditto on what Kevin wrote. I used one in the studio and it worked well.
 
If you must go super cheap, consider a small Yamaha MG series mixer. I think there's one with 4 channels in your pricerange. Also check e-bay for used DMP3's. I got mine for about $90 there and it works like a charm.
 
Are the Pres in it as good as the DMP3?

I've just got this weird feeling that a mixer is going to be noisy, since the one sitting to my left is :P
 
In my opinion, no they're not quite as good, that's not to say they're no good at all. I think the price difference fairly reflects the difference in quality, after all one has 4 channels for $99 and the other has 2 for $150.

However the pres in the MG mixer are not noisy at all. They just don't quite have the clarity of the DMP-3.
 
I just got an old Soundcraft Folio F1 that has 8 mic pres, with phantom power, and I think it sounds good so far. I haven't tracked a band with it yet, but based on what I've heard, I think it'll be just right for drums. Not too much high end edge, lots of mids, and pretty tight in the low end. I paid $150 at a local shop, I've seen them go for a little less on eBay, if you have the time to wait.

I've also heard that the M series have really good pre's, but you're looking at a bit more money.

I just posted a little shootout I did here:

Cheap Mic Pre Shootout

Good luck!
 
Some tough decisions. I think I may shop around and see if by some chance I can find the DMP3 on sale. (Time to hit up eBay ;))

I mean, it's not like I don't need a mixer anyways. I sure could use one, though dedicated preamps may make a difference.

Since I don't have much experience with pres, does it really matter as much since I don't have fantastic mics? I'm quite clueless on what to do... :P

EDIT: Just listened to the shootout. I can hear the difference. :D
Thanks for posting that. What would be really cool is if I could hear the difference between the Yamaha mixer and a DMP3. I know which will be better, but I want to hear by how much. ;)
 
Unfortunately, I don't have a Yamah or DMP3 handy. My first instinct, having put together my own rig is that you should get a mixer with nice solid pre's. A Soundcraft or Allen & Heath, perhaps. Then add "character" pre's as you go. But there will be situations where you may want to track 5 mics at once, or even mix multiple mics to one track, and having a mixer makes that lots easier.

So I would say, get a small mixer, but find one that has well-regarded pres (try them out if you can). Then, get one of the better "tube" pre's to use on "focus" things like vocals, snare, etc. I've heard good things about the Studio Projects pre, the FMR RNP, and of course, there are the API lunchbox options, all the Neve reissues, etc.

My next goal is to put together one great channel> Great mic>Great Pre>Great eq>great compressor.

Isn't it all too much fun?!
 
sound wise, I would take 2 audiobuddy's over a yamaha mg mixer. the audiobuddy's are also di boxes, if you have a need for that. like Kevin DeSchwazius said, the clarity is'nt great on the mg mixers.
 
Mackie 1202 VLZ Pro

Mackie 1202 VLZ Pro - you can very likely pick one up off Ebay for $150. 4 XLR's, phantom power with plenty of clean headroom. Pretty hard to beat that.
 
I can only vouch for what I know, own and use. That being said, I'd definitely look into the M-Audio DMP3. 2 channels of clean, high gain mic pre that can be had for less than a hundred bucks if you keep hunting eBay and exercise some patience. I own a couple of em and have no regrets.

That being said, trust your ears! And try before you buy whenever possible. Even if it's 2 crappy 50 dollar pres at Guitar Center, at least you take home a very slight thread of experience that will come in handy later on.
 
Again, isn't the problem with the Audio Buddy that it doesn't output full phantom power? I don't want to damage my mics.

Anyways, I looked into the Allen & Heath boards. They seem out of my range. I did, however, find the Soundcraft Spirit Notepad mixer, with 10 channels (4 of which are XLR). So far I have found it as low as $149, which is at my pricerange. It also boasts studio quality preamps, though I am willing to trust this on recommendation.

I could get the Yamaha MG 10/2 for $99, but I would assume the Soundcraft is better? Dos anyone have any experience with the Soundcraft board? I see that there are higher end Spirit series boards which I assume aren't much different, other than extra pres.

Is the Soundcraft a good buy?

Edit: On closer inspection, the Soundcraft Spirit Notepad doesn't have insert jacks, which is what I would normally use to get at the pres. It seems to have separate mix and monitor outputs, as well as an FX send out, but the monitor out is not assignable, while the FX send is. This only gives me access to 3 separate pres at most unless I am missing something here.
 
Last edited:
I think you're right about the Notepad, no inserts. The Spirit Folio F1 that I recently acquired is a few years old, I picked it up used for $150, it has 8 mic pre's, with inserts on all, plus 8 line ins, 4 rca, 4 1/4". The line ins are in a weird stereo group configuration, I'm not sure that you could use all 16 inputs together.

But, 8 very nice sounding pre's for $150 is a good deal, then you add in the nice Soundcraft eq with sweepable mids, and the ability to do 3 submixes via the aux outs, it's a nice little tracking board.

I would look into the E series Soundcraft boards, I believe they have inserts, though there's some debate over whether the Pre's are the "UltraMic" like in the Folio, or something a little lower end. The M series is said to have a Ghost-like Pre which I've heard great things about as well.

Haven't used a Yamaha, and I would expect them to be quiet and decent quality, but the consensus on small boards seems to be Allen & Heath and Soundcraft.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top