Mic level boost

[tree]

Hello,
I am looking for an inexpensive ($50-150) preamp or small mixer or any other way to boost my mic level. I just use a Tascam 424 and a sm57 to record various acoustic instruments, sounds, vocals. Ideally, I would like to mic sound sources from a distance without extra noise from the piece of equiment. only need one or two channels. leaning towards something transparent but willing to check out tube stuff. a bypass or on/off might be useful maybe. main thing: good boost, very quite. I've glanced at audiobuddy and S.P. VTB1. any experiences, ideas, things to check out would be wonderful.

thank you.

 

[tangerine]

You could always try a DI unit you would find this to be an inexpensive way to get around your pre amp problem.

 

[manning1]

tree.
micing distant sources is always problematic.
its the nature of the beast.
i dont know what to suggest on this one.
ive a suspicion that to get what you want might involve a lot of expense for you. because the mic pre's capable of large amounts of noise free gain can get quite expensive from my experience.
then there is the other issue of the inherent noise in any microphone you use.
all i can suggest is to try various mic pre's out to see which you are happiest with.

 

[NYMorningstar]

micing distant sources is always problematic.

maybe for you

its the nature of the beast.
i dont know what to suggest on this one

Then why post?

ive a suspicion that to get what you want might involve a lot of expense for you. because the mic pre's capable of large amounts of noise free gain can get quite expensive from my experience.
then there is the other issue of the inherent noise in any microphone you use.
all i can suggest is to try various mic pre's out to see which you are happiest with.

It's not all about expensive equipment manning1 but I understand your perspective seeing that you are a salesman. Most pres today have very little noise at a low cost.

If you need to mic a distant instrument you need to use sound baffles and directional mics. Because of the reflective nature of sound you can usually achieve the best sound isolation by placing absorbent baffles behind the instrument your tracking. Place the directional mics so that they point into the baffle. This will reject any sound coming into the area because the back of the mic doesn't pick up sound well. The sound absorbing baffles prevent reflections of sounds from bouncing into the mic. Put the piece of equipment your recording between the mic and the baffle with the sound projecting into the front of the mic.

Here's a link to many options for preamps tree, happy shopping (don't forget, a directional mic too)
https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=45841&highlight=cheap+pres