Mic Pre Poll, a very comprehensive one (newbie material)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Speeddemon
  • Start date Start date

Which mic pre (this time...) ?

  • Joemeek VC1Qcs

    Votes: 33 18.2%

  • Grace 101

    Votes: 43 23.8%

  • M-Audio DMP-3 (+ FMR RNC)

    Votes: 37 20.4%

  • Drawmer MX60

    Votes: 5 2.8%

  • Focusrite Voicemaster

    Votes: 7 3.9%

  • Focusrite Tonefactory

    Votes: 2 1.1%

  • TL Audio VP 5051 (Ivory series)

    Votes: 5 2.8%

  • Mindprint Envoice

    Votes: 10 5.5%

  • other, specify in post please

    Votes: 39 21.5%
  • Total voters
    181
Ed?
Click to expand...

Im not sure you will get a reply fast from Ed anymore as its been a while now sinse ive seen him post here.

If anything i learnt from Ed it was this alot can be achieved with basic gear its more the knowhow and experience to know the piece of gears limitations and how to get the best out of any piece of gear you own rather then searching for audio nirvana all the time.

Ed used fairly basic gear and used it dam well his favourite pre's he seemed to talk about alot were his lil budget A R T mic Pre's
and he always posted his work up to prove his points it wasnt all talk either.

I still think his message was lost so many times as many still seek or are on a quest for perfection in gear before they have actually mastered the basics.


Dont get me wrong here i myself am no expert but i do listen to sound advice when it is given even if it does take me a little longer to accept it at least in the end i see the light.


Would it not be better to start out with simple gear more like what Ed use to talk about and then hone your skills before get worried about which mic pre is best?

why not go out and buy yourself a few art pre's and just use whatever else your desk has assuming you have a desk then learn to get around what you have and soon enough you will know if more expensive pre's are where its at.

Maybe the money would be better spent improving your sound enviroment or adding another usefull mic to your mic closet ? anyway its all just how i see it anyway just an opionion
 
Wow

this thread was dead for like what, a month or so. Dragnalus brings it back up again, and who do we have here again:
Mr. "I Rate All Speeddemon's Posts 1 star, eventhough they might contain something useful"...
That lame ass fuck is no hair better than goddamn Osama. Either post something useful yourself, or cut it out, you goddamn filthy maggot! My VC1Q vs. Envoice Thread (see Rackforum) was very useful and full of real owner/user-info, and yet you think it's oh so funny to rate it 1 star. Cool... yeah... almost as cool as seeing Alan Hyatt being accused for shit...

:mad:
Goddamn lame ass stupid no-good-for-a-human-being fuck. :mad:
 
Hi Speed!

Forgive my ignorance, as I've only been here about a month, so maybe you can help me with a few questions:

1) Who is it you are so pissed at?

2) How does the rating system work? What if you rate a thread 2 stars and I rate it 4 stars.... who's rating shows up on the board?

3) Do you live in Germany? I'm asking because technically Germany would be the Dutch/Polish border, unless you live in a Klein Bottle, in which case there could actually be a Dutch/Polish border.

Thanks for your help. Sorry if I'm such a dumbass!
 
Hi Speed:

Perhaps you've already selected a mic pre because this thread is a bit old, but in case you haven't I just wanted to add a couple of things:

trebles said:

Ed used fairly basic gear and used it dam well his favourite pre's he seemed to talk about alot were his lil budget A R T mic Pre's
and he always posted his work up to prove his points it wasnt all talk either.

....

why not go out and buy yourself a few art pre's and just use whatever else your desk has assuming you have a desk then learn to get around what you have and soon enough you will know if more expensive pre's are where its at.

Maybe the money would be better spent improving your sound enviroment or adding another usefull mic to your mic closet ? anyway its all just how i see it anyway just an opionion
Click to expand...

This sounds like pretty good advice, but I just wanted to add one thing we've all heard Ed say: "Buy cheap, buy twice." It can be argued this is less true today because higher-quality gear can be had for less and less money. But if I recall, I don't think Ed was using those 1/3rd-rack TubeMP that go for about $70 here in the states.

Speed, since you live in Europe, I would think you can find MindPrint stuff pretty easily? I don't have an Envoice ... I have the DI Port, which apparently has the same basic innards as the Envoice, but it isn't tube; it's a 2-channel mic pre + AD/DA converter. It's neutral and clear with LOTS of headroom. Some people say it sounds a lot like the DMP3 but has a bit more high-end detail. Maybe it's hyped in the highs, but I wouldn't call it hyped compared to the Focusrite Green series-based pres of the Digidesign MBox. My friend has that and I tested my DI Port against that pre, going into 24-bit Pro Tools sessions. The DI Port sounded more balanced; seemed like the MBox pres thinned out the signal a bit, like it was missing some low end.

I'd think one 2-channel clean pre like the DMP3/DI Port/Grace and one 1- or 2-channel phat colorful pre (Peavey?) would be a very versatile duo, once you have mics you're happy with and a good sound card/converters.

This isn't so much a recommendation as than some perspective, I guess. I hope it proves useful. Happy pre shopping, if you haven't decided on a pre already.
 
Harvey,

How about the John Hardy pre's?
You can get his personal model for $995.

I read on Rap that they give the right impeadance for dynamic mics,which the Grace dosn't do.
Is this right?

If you have a moment,could you explain how a pre that is optimized for dynamics accomplishes this?
Is it a variable impeadance?

Thanks.

Best to you,
Pete
 
Harvey,

How about the John Hardy pre's?
You can get his personal model for $995.
And for a little more,you can get one that can be expanded later,a cool option!

I read on Rap that they give the right impeadance for dynamic mics,which the Grace dosn't do.
Is this right?

If you have a moment,could you explain how a pre that is optimized for dynamics accomplishes this?
Is it a variable impeadance?

Thanks.

Best to you,
Pete
 
littledog said:
Hi Speed!

Forgive my ignorance, as I've only been here about a month, so maybe you can help me with a few questions:

1) Who is it you are so pissed at?

2) How does the rating system work? What if you rate a thread 2 stars and I rate it 4 stars.... who's rating shows up on the board?

3) Do you live in Germany? I'm asking because technically Germany would be the Dutch/Polish border, unless you live in a Klein Bottle, in which case there could actually be a Dutch/Polish border.

Thanks for your help. Sorry if I'm such a dumbass!
Click to expand...

1) I'm not sure, because the coward fuck hasn't revealed him/herself yet. But since a month or 2 all my threads (even the informative ones, not just the lame ones in the Cave ;) ) get 1 star ratings. And if that someone would at least the guts to step up and say something like :"Speed, you're a dumb fuck. I don't like you, and I'm way smarter and I have better threads, here's the proof:" or something like that... (THIS IS BY NO MEANS AN INVITATION TO 'FUNNY' RESPONSES!)

2)On the bottom of the screen it says: Rate this thread (GO). There you can choose a number of stars (5-best, 1-worst) to rate a thread. The ratings will be summed and divided. So if someone rates this thread 4 , and someone rates it 2, it will show 3 stars.

3) I live in the Netherlands, but I'm half Polish.
---------------------------
Geekgurl, what I hear from the Mindprint stuff, is that it has a rather high load impedance for mics (>5kOhm), and that works as a shelving EQ, creating more high-end.

Right now I'm mostly turning to getting a Joemeek VC1Q (for possible color and options) + an Audiobuddy or DMP-3.

Would it BTW be wise to buy BOTH the Audiobuddy (for dynamics) AND the DMP-3? I hear that the Audiobuddy has a lower load impedance, which seems to suit dynamic mics better.

Your thoughts?
 
In the range you're looking at, the Presonus MP20 may be a good choice (or the VXP if you're looking for an all-in-one-type unit). Class A, transformer balanced, and flexible...you can get a very clean sound out of the pre, or a warmer API-type sound if you want.

And a few questions for a few of the earlier posts on this thread...

First off, someone recommended the RNMP...why? I'm curious why the first preamp you'd recommend would be something that doesn't exist yet. I believe, based on the RNC, that it'll be a phenomenal-sounding unit, but I certainly wouldn't hands-down recommend it until it's out there.

Also, why does everyone suddenly shy away from the Grace once it was revealed it uses op-amps? Does it suddenly sound worse? Each component is one part of the overall sound of a piece, and just because another preamp uses the same chip as the Grace, that certainly doesn't mean it will sound the same, or "as good", or anything like that...their preamps are amazing pieces if you're looking for a transparent, natural sound, regardless of what's inside.

-Duardo
 
The Neve and API both have OP amps. as do most pres.


Sorry Speedy? I was trying to give you .5 stars.:D
 
You can by the Hardys at Mercenary,there called the M series.
They sell option cards too.
 
Iv'e been in contact with John Hardy on RAP about his pre's.
Seems like a really great guy,and very helpful.

Here's the deal on his stuff.
There is an unoffical web site for him,but it has all the prices ,specs,and ordering info on it.

http://www.imjohn.com/JohnHardy/prices.htm

For $875 you can by a single pre in a four rack unit.
It has no metering or output transformer.
He sells all the options seperatly,and they are user installable,but John will install them free,less shipping and handeling,and recalibrate the existing units.

I'm going to buy one pretty soon.
This is pristine stuff,discrete,uses Jensens best op amp,and the output transformer is Jensens best also.

For me this is a great way to go.
I can afford to by the basic pre now,(almost),and add options and up to three more pre's later.

Pete
 
TL Audio 5051 + TLM103

This is my voice channel configuration :

Neumann TLM103 > TL Audio 5051 > Mackie Analog 24*8 > Mackie MDR2496 > Mackie HR824

Nothing's perfect but it sounds great to my taste !

Patrick
Brussels
 
Patrick, you could skip the mixer. Just connect the 5051 directly to your MDR2496...it probably would improve your signal slightly..

How much did you pay for the 5051? I have seen it for €666 at Music Store Koeln. (quite the demonic price... ;) )
 
Some reasons for me to prefer the VC1Q over the TwinQ:

1)European price of VC1Q=$480, TwinQ=$900
2)TwinQ lacks mid-sweep on EQ
3)TwinQ doesn't have enhancer/de-esser.
 
TL Audio 5051 price

Speeddemon said:
How much did you pay for the 5051? I have seen it for €666 at Music Store Koeln. (quite the demonic price... ;) )
Click to expand...

The day I ordered (at the excellent price of 610€, VAT included) the TL audio 5051 from my local dealer in Brussels, I read in the Sound on Sound magazine that a new version had just been released (Ivory Series 2). I checked on the Web that Music Store Koeln was proposing the same price (666€) for the new version as the price they mentioned earlier for the original version. Let's say that I did not detect in the tech specs strong improvements between the 2 versions...

I came back to my local dealer : he proposed the new version at 710€. I finally got the old version at the negociated price of 555€ !

Cheers,

Patrick
Brussels
 
I also don´t understand why there is so many people already telling someone to buy something that is not even out yet... :( weak.
 
Sorry, but this has got to be about the dumbest most unfocused thread I've ever seen on mic preamps.

That list is far from comprehensive. Those pres seem to be plucked out of the air. You're also comparing mic pres and channel strips all bunched together. Too much apples to oranges and it's fucking retarded - and it's not helping newbies learn shit. And it only spreads more confusion.

There is no "best" mic pre. There are many types of mic pres that all sound different. And what's best for you depends on what you already have, your budget, what types of music you're recording, and the different applications you have.

If YOU are looking for some mic pres the best thing you can do is start a thread and list: 1. Your current gear 2. Your budget 3. Types of music 4. Applications - i.e. what you'll be recording 5. How many channels you think you might need.

chessrock, pointed this out early on, and most folks just rolled by his comments.


Dan Richards
Studio Forums
The Listening Sessions
The Project Studio Handbook
 
Re: TL Audio 5051 price

Patrick (B) said:
The day I ordered (at the excellent price of 610€, VAT included) the TL audio 5051 from my local dealer in Brussels, I read in the Sound on Sound magazine that a new version had just been released (Ivory Series 2). I checked on the Web that Music Store Koeln was proposing the same price (666€) for the new version as the price they mentioned earlier for the original version. Let's say that I did not detect in the tech specs strong improvements between the 2 versions...

I came back to my local dealer : he proposed the new version at 710€. I finally got the old version at the negociated price of 555€ !
Click to expand...

Well, since the newer Ivory 2 series is much improved over the older series, you really didn't get such a great deal.

Dan Richards
Studio Forums
The Listening Sessions
The Project Studio Handbook
 
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