I hate to do it but....advice on pre in the $400-$600 range?

  • Thread starter Thread starter EleKtriKaz
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EleKtriKaz

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I know this is the most commonly posted topic in this forum, but I fealt it necessary to ask with my specific gear in mind. I am looking for a nice preamp in the $400-$600. It will be my first (and for a while only) preamp, so it needs to be something I can get a lot of use out of.

I currently have an Aardvark Q10, RNC (soon), Rode NTK, Rode NT3, and a couple Shure 57s. I am mostly recording electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, bass, and vocals.

The music I record is mostly slower, Lo-Fi type stuff...clean guitars, rarely use distortion. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
Grace 101 around $500.00..A good honest pre no bullsh*t no Toobs just good clean signal! It will let you really hear what your mic's sound like for the first time..And the DI sounds really nice for keys....JMHO


Don
 
Henri, do you have two? is it hard to match them so the balance is correct when you record a stereo sound from the keyboard?
 
if you are doing lo-fi, why do you need such a good preamp....the Q10's pres are pretty good....
 
Cross, Ya I have 2, no its not hard to balance them{you gotta balance a 2 chan. anyways}..Before when I had 1,I had to use my I digitect vmp1 2 channel pre ..or do the best I could to match a Event EMP1 to the Grace which was better to me{sonicly}than the Digitech..Theres always some kinda workaround..YMMV


Don
 
I only use the Mono out on synths.

This is an interesting range right now, I would consider the $950 new great river MP1NV, Its my next long range goal for a front end box.
 
Avalon U5 is a good alternitive for Di'ing also at about 500.00..Very nice on bassguit ect.The Great River is my next pre also..DarrenH2000 I bet you willl love it!I've been gettin' my pre's a channel at a time ..LOL..So much dam money:rolleyes:


Don
 
For a good clean pre, I second the Grace 101. The Avalon and Great River are clearly a step up, but not in your stated budget. Actually, I've gotten a lot of mileage out of a Joemeek twinQcs. Everybody talks about how colored it is, but it has given me some fairly clean sounds on guitar and vocals. It's best trick has been handling a direct input from a Fishman stereo blender. It sounds very good for Acoustic D.I., and goes real good with almost any tube mic run through the same Joemeek. It's an option for those songs I just cant seem to play without singing.-Richie
 
Gidge, I understand your point about not needing a preamp for Lo-Fi...calling it Lo-Fi was a bit misleading. I just don't know what else to call it. No matter what style of music I want to have good quality gear and good production value. I'm not a natural singer, I have to try pretty hard, so I can use all the help I can get with my vocals. Also, I will be recording other people...not just myself.
Thanks for the input everyone, I will look into those preamps mentioned.

Both the Avalon U5 and the Grace 101 look good. Opinions on which one might be better for me? Pros and cons for each? Thanks again.
 
the avalon U5 is JUST a DI box right? Not actually a preamp you could use with mics right?

if im correct then its probably not what your looking for
 
Well the Avalon is a DI, but it's a preamp too, it's just that the inputs are unbalanced as opposed to balanced for direct input of a microphone. The RNC has unbalanced inputs as well, but it is used with microphones all the time.
 
for about $500-650 , you can get a peavey vmp-2 and its one of the best preamps this side of $1500+. Two channels, and four tubes per channel.

I did this vocal with it.

 
The Avalon is a DI box!Not a mic pre!Sorry for the confusion...Go with the Grace micpre..Just got talking about the Di function of the Grace and one thing lead to ..Well you know LOL..Again sorry


Don
 
CyanJaguar said:
for about $500-650 , you can get a peavey vmp-2 and its one of the best preamps this side of $1500+. Two channels, and four tubes per channel.
Click to expand...

CJ,

Where do they sell the Peavey for this price?

I'll be looking for a dual mic pre in the comng year.
 
I think another option worth considering would be the High-Speed Mic Pre from Jim Williams at Audio Upgrades:

www.audioupgrades.com

All you do is score a used Symetrix SX02 off ebay, send it to Jim, and for $300 he'll turn it in to two channels of his high-quality transparent pres.

It's worth a look.
 
tdukex said:
Where do they sell the Peavey for this price?
Click to expand...

Contact a local Peavey dealer and ask them what they'll do. I think I got mine for about $600.
 
ElecKtriKaz,


You may want to scan the Mic forum. The RNP is hitting dealers. Harvey and a few others have given this OUTSTANDING ratings for its price point and near NEVE staus.

I believe the street prcie is just under $500.

Check the Mercenary Audio Website.

http://www.mercenary.com/
 
Vurt said:


Contact a local Peavey dealer and ask them what they'll do. I think I got mine for about $600.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Vurt. I'll be looking into this, as well as the RNP.
 
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