M-Audio Tampa vs. Presonus Eureka vs....

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quietb03

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Ok, to keep a long story short, I used to have the Firebox interface to go along with my KSM27 microphone and I really liked the quality but had to sell my Firebox for other reasons. Couple months later I got a EMU 1820 interface for the mic and the quality isnt as good to me on the vocals... I'm thinking it could be the preamp's on the 1820 so I wanna get an external pre/channel strip to use through the 1820...I think I'll try somethin different and not buy $100-$200 stuff this time and save up like $500-$600 for a decent pre...I'll be doing hip hop vocals and was really looking into a channel strip (tampa or eureka) but its not a complete must ..which pre do u recommend in the $500-$600 range?
 
The pre's on the E-MU 1820(m) are Ted Fletcher Pro, which should be a step up from the FireBox... I suspect something else is afoot.
 
E-MU 1820, or 1820M? If you purchased the standard 1820, quality wise I don't suspect your doing better than a Firebox - probably a little lower actually. I'm not just referring to the pre-amps either.

In regards to pre's, I've owned a Tampa and really like it. At the price they are going for now, it is a great deal. The compressor is pretty nice too, although I didn't really put it through it's paces. Has to get rid of the Tampa for $$$ purposes, but I'd buy again if I could. Search in here on the Tampa, and you'll get some posts with favorable comments on it.
 
I bought 2 Tampa's. Gave one to my bro for his stuff. I'm pretty impressed with it. The pre section is very clean and the compressor is nice. I paid like $450.00 each when they came out and they're still worth it.

Never tried the Eureka. Was gonna buy one and got talked out of it by a friend that bought it. He said he liked the Tampa better.

So, between my opinion and his....take it for what its worth... :D
 
I've owned a Eureka and sang it's praises for a short time. However after a pre shoot out one night I realized that I may have wasted a good portion of the 500 I spent on it. It was a bit harsh sounding, the eq was OK at best and the comp really didn't seem usable(and yes I know how to use a comp). I ended up selling it and buying a second Joe Meek 3q which has done very very well for me. You should consider snatching one of these up, they're only 200 bucks, and the eq is decent and the comp is very usable. Also seemed to have a much more rich sound than the Eureka.
 
warble said:
E-MU 1820, or 1820M? If you purchased the standard 1820, quality wise I don't suspect your doing better than a Firebox - probably a little lower actually. I'm not just referring to the pre-amps either.
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For this price range I can't be doing much worse than the Firebox as far as quality with the 1820. I guess everybody has their opinion on favorable sound though. Im also looking into the Presonus VXP. Thanks for the responses.
 
I've got a 2nd hand Tampa on my desk right now that has a little hum problem (it hums the song in the wrong key - badda bing) Other than that, I'm very impressed with it, and hate to give it back to the seller. It has a big, clear sound that I'm finding is a notch above the Focusrite platinum sound. M-Audio is running behind in repairs, and has a 4 week turnaround right now, so I hate to send it in, but I really don't want to give it back either. These pres, at $200 to $300 used, seem to be a good value and an obvious step up from the bottom feeder preamps.
 
i'm on record (all over this forum) professing my love for my Tampa. if you do a search for Tampa, i'm sure you'll find what i have to say about it. :D

in my experience with the Eureka, it just can't compete. i'll steer clear of calling it "crap", but let's just say i found it considerably overpriced considering the sounds i heard coming from it.


cheers,
wade
 
quietb03 said:
For this price range I can't be doing much worse than the Firebox as far as quality with the 1820. I guess everybody has their opinion on favorable sound though. Im also looking into the Presonus VXP. Thanks for the responses.
Click to expand...

Well, if I were to get a 1820, I'd opt for the M version. I've actually seen favorable comments towards that one as opposed to the standard 1820. But as you stated, everyone has their opinion on favorable sound.
 
Hey Robert...that hum might be from the big ass transformer. I had a nasty hum and was told to just turn the transformer 45 or 90 degrees and it worked! Try it and see if it's the same thing...
 
Dogbreath said:
Hey Robert...that hum might be from the big ass transformer. I had a nasty hum and was told to just turn the transformer 45 or 90 degrees and it worked! Try it and see if it's the same thing...
Click to expand...

Hey DB, are you talking about the one on the power cable? I hadn't thought of that. Damn, it's in the car and I'm meeting the seller today to return it. If you read this in time, please confirm if that's what you mean. Thanks.
 
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