heres a run down on the specs:
http://www.gearpreview.com/music/mix/vm3100.html
they show the vm3100 but they also list the specs for the pro which is a better version. this set up is new. it was released may 5th if im not mistaking. so i dont know if a lot of reviews are out. however you should hit
www.vsplanet.com and get more info. those guys will have it. however i DID find a review about
the vm 3100pro mixer. not the studio pack but the mixer itself. electronic musician may 2000 vol.16,no 5 pages 106-114. it was rated on a 1-5 scale 5 being the highest in four catergories.
FEATURES:3.5 OUT OF 5
EASE OF USE:2.5 OUT OF 5
AUDIO QUALITY:4.5 OUT OF 5
VALUE:4 OUT OF 5
14 OUT OF 20 POINTS WHICH IS 70%. they took off ppoints because the analog outputs are -10db unbalanced and the sample rate was fixed at 44.1k(goes to 96khz in new version)points were deducted because the faders were not motorized.
heres excerpts from the review:
"The quality of the preamps,a/d/a converters, eq and effects is excellent in both models,and the two effects processors on the vm-3100pro allow for an extraordinary variety of editable parameters."
"i wish it had a dedicated monitoring section section,eq and compression for the master and bus outs"
"Limitations notwithstanding, when it comes to sonic quality
the vm-3100 is a real winner"
rob shirak gave the review. so i provided you with the issue see if you can find it for yourself or try the thing out at your local music stores.
as far as the BEST PREAMP under $1000. the PRESONUS BLUE TUBE($199) won the 2001 editors choice award for preamp under $1000. refer to electronic musician jan 2001 vol 17,no 1.
when it was reviewed in electronic musician feb 2001 vol 17.no 2 it was given 19 points out of 20. so if you get an external pre amp i would go with that one. thats my opinion. i bet the PROS who wrote the reviews would say to go with it also. so if you are going to go by a PROS opinion this would be the pre amp for you.
now lets take a look at something you said:
well that's the rappers prob, if he's any dedicated emcee he'll have his own MIC
im in cali and i dont see emcees walkin around with mics in their back pockets. most emcees just rap they dont know a thing about mics dynamic or condenser. so i dont follow that bro. i had to get my hands dirty and go to studios and READ to find out what i know and what i know is a drop in the bucket compared to these other guys around here. if your gonna set up shop you should not expect for someone to bring a mic. you should provide mics and if they dont like your selection let em bring one.
It seemed you were saying software was overall better...I didn't see any of it's downsides.
no what i said was
matter of preference. i have an issue of electronic musician where they broke down software stuff vs hardware stuff. good and bad exist in BOTH worlds
i said its a matter of PREFERENCE and good and bad exist in both worlds. you want the down side of software? how about ram leaks,lock ups,crashing,not enough cpu left and playing with a mouse instead of tangible buttons. like i said MATTER OF PREFERERENCE. as far as which is the best i cant say. look inot some vst or direct x plug ins and see what you get. i have too many plug ins so i gotta get back with you to give youo some names. however i run all the cw fx and the sonic foundry fx. plug ins for compression range from $79-$1,000. the high dollar stuff was for pro tools. i paid $0 for my stuff because i get all my stuff FREE and NOT from the net. however the cw plug ins were about $175 for each fx pack. they have fx pack 1-3. so look into it and the sonic foundry stuff. if your runnin cubase you will be using vst plug ins but you CAN run dirext x plug ins if you have the right software. RESEARCH!!!!!!!!!!!!
czar
ps it seems hard now but you will get whats right for you.