Help choosing mic pre

  • Thread starter Thread starter sibleypeck
  • Start date Start date
you might want to look at the art pro mpa @369 or the art studio mp @99.00 both pretty hard to pass by and both have very good trackrecords its real hard not to own a studio mp at its price how can you go wrong for 99 bucks
 
Sorry Chess?

I tried that once and Instead of getting an email from the dude I got an angry one from Ebay. Spanking me for being bad.:rolleyes:
 
Aw man. The ebay police got you ! ! ! That is too funny.

I guess you just have to excercise patience. Wait a few weeks and someone else is bound to be selling another one. Good luck.
 
Yeah they gave me a warning, next time I go to the web jail. Have you even looked at the google results for Prison, Male. To make a long story short they dont fuck arround. I guess the Inmates do and noone seems to try to stop them.

If you do look at the site, try not to leave confused. I did now I keep wanting to go back.:eek:
 
I'd like to chime in about the VX2000. I have found it to be very clean and flexible. Way better than the ART Tube MP for instance. The input stage has a nice bass rolloff if you need it. The expander/gate is really good at its job. The EQ has its uses and the de-esser works. No quality control problems so far. You can really shape the sound with this pre, which is cool.

Now, here is a trick I discovered the other night. Since the VX2000 does not have a limiter, I was having a bit of trouble with a vocal that was soft and easy in some spots and loud and agressive in others. My solution was to patch in an ART Levelar into the patch points of the VX2000. Wow! This combination gave me a real even output signal regardless of how loud or soft the vocal was and it sounded great. I used the Levelar in the Limit and auto mode.

I think the Levelar is one of the most overlooked pieces of gear out there. Used as a limiter inserted into a pre amp (it would work with the meek MQ3 too) it is a wonderful limiting tool that is musical and low in artifacts if it is not over used. A pro turned me on to it and his opinion was that unless you get a Tube Tech or an LA limiter, you won't find anything better (his opinion). It is made in a mono version for $100 and a stereo version for appx $200.

With a VX2000, a Levelar and an RNC compressor, you'd have a pretty killer signal path for a bit over $400. I know thats not the standard response you get on this board when it comes to mic pres/vocal strips, but you might be surprised what a great combo the three would be together. My only disclaimer is that I don't OWN an RNC yet, but I have worked with one my buddy has, and its an awesome piece of gear in its own right.
 
Trebles,

I have wanted an Art Pro MPA ever since I started looking at preamps. I really can't explain why. It's just an instinct.
 
crawdad,
Thanks for the tip on the VX2000/Levelar/RNC combination. Are you serious about the price ($400)?!
I'll see what I can find out about those pieces and get back to you.
 
sibleypeck--yeah, a bit more with tax. The VX2000 is 129 at Mars and everywhere else i believe. The mono Levelar is about 100--cheaper if you find one used on Ebay or somewhere--and I have seen the RNC going for 175, if you hunt around. Those are the figures I made my ballpark guesstimate with. With those three pieces, you have an incredible amount of sound sculpting hardware--anything from totally clean to fat and squashed. The expander alone is a lifesaver for me right now because I have a computer with a fan and all kinds of noises around the house. Cuts out all the noise between vocals and guitars, etc. By watching the signal to noise ratio, I've cut many tracks where you never hear the garbage in the background--thank God. I have two Tube MP's and wish I had two more VX2000's instead, because I only use them for bass sometimes or if I need one more preamp in a pinch.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top