I Need Help Choosing A Pre Amp For My Mic On My DAW... Thank You For Helping!!!

[pennitentiary]

Hello,

I have a really quick audio question to ask. I'm basically buying a microphone for home studio purposes (vocal), on a desktop application workstation using "Adobe Audition" to record & mix. This is the microphone I am getting:

Studio Projects "TB1" Microphone

http://www.studioprojects.com/tb1.html

I plan to buy a pre amp for it and I'm having trouble choosing between these two:

ART TubeMP Project Series (Portable Preamp with 12AX7a Tube and 70dB Gain)

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TubeMPps/

Or

M Audio DMP-3

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DMP3/



A friend of mine said this about the Art Tube pre amp:

"An ART TUBE preamp is a decent preamp but if you plan on getting a tube mic then I'd suggest getting a solid state preamp (something like the m-audio DMP3... but the ART TUBE preamp is good still because I think you can turn off the tube sound"


I have no idea what he means by that... All I know is I need one of these two pre amps because they both fall under my budget for a pre which is under $200. It does'nt seem as if my friend is sure that the Art Tube pre will work well with this microphone since he also mentioned the other one. Not to mention he said something about turning off the "Tube Sound". I'm sort of a novice at this so sorry for the bother.


What do you suggest?



Thank You





By the way this is the setup I will be buying:


1. Studio Projects "TB1" Microphone

http://www.studioprojects.com/tb1.html

2. ART TubeMP Project Series (Portable Preamp with 12AX7a Tube and 70dB Gain)

UNDECIDED ABOUT THIS PRE!!!!

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TubeMPps/

3. M-Audio Audiophile 2496 Sound Card (unbalanced)

Or M-Audio Audiophile 192 Sound Card (balanced)

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=007605&cid=SC
(2496)

http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=007600&cid=SC
(192)

4. Microphone Stand

5. Metallic Pop Filter w/ Long Goose Neck

 

[scrubs]

You cannot "turn off" the tube portion of the ART tube pres. I would recommend the DMP3 or then Rane MS1B. If you really want to play around with the "toob" sound (not really worth it, imo), check out the Studio Projects VTB1. You can run the VTB1 entirely solid-state, or blend in a little toob distortion.

 

[pennitentiary]

You cannot "turn off" the tube portion of the ART tube pres.

What exactly do you mean by this? I'm sorry I'm quite the novice and I'm buying this equipment so I can record albums at home.

 

[danny.guitar]

What exactly do you mean by this? I'm sorry I'm quite the novice and I'm buying this equipment so I can record albums at home.

Tubes color sound. Sometimes in a good way, other times, like in really cheap gear, not so good. And what kind of "color" you want is usually a matter of taste.

What he's saying is if you don't like the sound of the tube pre, you're stuck with it.

A clean/transparent pre like the DMP3 might suit you better until you can afford a nicer tube one.

 

[pennitentiary]

Thank you for your response.

A friend of mine said this:

the art tupe pre may be just a bit better of a choice because it is a metal chassis and you can control the tube circut.

What would he mean by this?

 

[Big Kenny]

It means you can attenuate the amount of "toobiness" by the turn of a control knob. The Tube mp you are talking about does not have this "V3" technology. This one does http://www.artproaudio.com/products.asp?type=79&ca.t=1&id=99s Get the DMP3

 

[tdukex]

The DMP3 excells on acou guit. The ART doesn't.

 

[pennitentiary]

Maybe I also forgot to mention that this is for vocal recording... Thanks For responding.

 

[pohaku]

Given the choice -- DMP3. No contest.

 

[scorpio01169]

i have an A R T tube pre....and i love it. i use it with a studio project b1 and the samson co1, for the cost you cant go wrong

 

[gracejames]

What kind of music are you recording? So, i assume this new pre will be for both vocal and all other instruments?

 

[pennitentiary]

What kind of music are you recording? So, i assume this new pre will be for both vocal and all other instruments?

This will be used for rap and r&b music.


It seems as if most of you seem to be geared at the M Audio DMP3 pre amp for use with a Studio Projects TB1 microphone. I guess I'm going to have to go with all of your opinions. I hope it does great on my vocal music recordings.

Does anyone have anymore pros/cons about the DMP3? Or feel as if I should buy something else? Remember my budget on a pre is under $200

 

[gracejames]

Ok. Yeah, with your budget and doing rap/r&b, i would go for DMP3.