Mic Pre for live recording

[guinsu]

Ok, I know the mic preamp question gets asked 5 times a week, but my question is a little different (I swear!). I play bass in a 3 piece band (might one day be a 4 piece). We record live with 3-4 mics and a line out from the PA for vocals. This goes into my Fostex VF16 which is great, though the inputs record a little low.

I was thinking of using a mic preamp/mixing board to boost the signal a little. I've looked at the Mackie VLZ Pro boards, good prices, the only problem is it is a full mixing board. I would definitely prefer just the preamps b/c I want something really portable and easy to set up. I've also seen the Presonus Digimax online, its got everything I ever wanted and more, but its pricey. So I thought I'd ask here if there were any stand alone multichannel (4 6 or 8 channel) mic preamps that are good for quick set up in a live situation and aren't too pricey.

I know the quality of the sound from the preamp goes up with price, but I am only looking to make soundboard bootleg quality recordings here, just so the band can learn from our mistakes and to have a record of everything we've done live.

 

[Randy Yell]

The M-Audio Aidio Buddy is a two channel mic preamp/direct box that sells for about $80.Very clean,quiet and transparent for the money.Two of them would give you four channels for $160.

 

[knownuttin]

That would work. If you think you might want the Mackie for other things, the preamps (on the VLZ Pro) are still one of the best values in the home reccer price range. You could use the direct outs on each channel to bypass all the mixer circuitry when recording.

 

[guinsu]

mackie

Yeah I have considered the Mackie board, I had heard of its good reputation. I was just wary of its bulk (not that its that big,but a mic pre is smaller).

 

[Track Rat]

Well, yes and no. The mackies (up to a 1604) are rack mountable.

 

[jgourd]

For these low track count recordings I have a 3U high SKB rack with 2 Aphex 107 tube pre-amps and a MOTU 828. All this connects to a Firewire card on my notebook.

Buck and Mac2 can attest to the great sound I get with this setup.