Mic pres arent cutting it.

  • Thread starter Thread starter DAS19
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DAS19

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Hey guys. I thought it was about time to stop using my boards regular pres and start using an external pre. Anyoen have any suggestions I was looking at the Presonus Eureka but that may be slightly out of my price range I want something for like 250.

Dave.
 
DAS19 said:
Hey guys. I thought it was about time to stop using my boards regular pres and start using an external pre. Anyoen have any suggestions I was looking at the Presonus Eureka but that may be slightly out of my price range I want something for like 250.

Dave.
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Bad price range man. Sorry. It's like, if you want to see a real improvement, get to around 400-500, then you'll step onto that other 'plateau' of good pre's.. all the ones below it are all relatively the same quality. I'd recommend the RNP. I've used it, loved it, and am in the process of getting one. :)
 
About the *only* preamp I'd use at that price would be M-Audio's DMP3. Very nice, very simple, but VERY easy to overdrive - Not a lot of headroom on that one. But probably more than you're going to find elsewhere in that range.

But with a lot of "channel strip" units that are in the "severely budget friendly" category, you wind up with more than just a cheapie preamp - You wind up with a cheapie preamp and a cheapie EQ circuit with cheapie dynamics.
 
I'm not sure if that's meant to be a joke - So, I'll answer it with a riddle...

Q. What's the difference between a Behringer mic preamp and a football?








A. Most people usually put on a helmet before they kick a football.
 
The DMP3 is a solid choice, as is the Rane MS-1b. You might be able to score a used Groove Tubes Brick for around that price, which I also like.
 
Massive Master said:
A. Most people usually put on a helmet before they kick a football.
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Eh? What in the Hell kind of crazy football game is that?!! ;)
 
Massive Master said:
About the *only* preamp I'd use at that price would be M-Audio's DMP3. Very nice, very simple, but VERY easy to overdrive - Not a lot of headroom on that one. But probably more than you're going to find elsewhere in that range.

But with a lot of "channel strip" units that are in the "severely budget friendly" category, you wind up with more than just a cheapie preamp - You wind up with a cheapie preamp and a cheapie EQ circuit with cheapie dynamics.
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Second that. It is the only one in that price range that I can use on practically anything (and have). There are $4-500 pre-amps that are not as flexable.
 
Agent47 said:
Eh? What in the Hell kind of crazy football game is that?!! ;)
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I think he means rugby .... but strange American rugby where they all take nandrolone and where Earthworm Jim costumes. :confused:
 
DAS19 said:
Hey guys. I thought it was about time to stop using my boards regular pres and start using an external pre. Anyoen have any suggestions I was looking at the Presonus Eureka but that may be slightly out of my price range I want something for like 250.

Dave.
Click to expand...

What kind of mixer do you currently have? Depending on your board you may not notice much of an improvement in going with pre's at that price range. What kind of room treatment have you done?
 
DAS19 said:
Absolutly no room treatment. MAybe I shouldnt bother.
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For that money you could start by building some corner bass traps. I've got a new studio room and just ordered a bunch of Owens Corning 703 and 705 rigid fiberglass. I'm in the room now but won't record in it until I treat it.
 
Why is that? Isnt it that if I dont treat it I will just get a dead sound? But you can work with a dead sound?
 
Actually, the problems in an untreated room come more from the bass freqs. They take longer to develop and are stronger than hi freqs so what ends up happening is the sound wave that just bounced off the wall is crashing into the wave that's still coming to the wall. Putting up bass traps in the corners of a room tend to control that and make the mixing AND the tracking more manageable.

Then....I could be full of shit too..... :D
 
Can anyone confirm before I go out and buy bass traps?! Is this contributing to my bad sound?
 
that depends on your room. which nobody has yet heard, so they can't say for sure. based on the dimensions we might be able to make a guess but hey you could be lucky. in fact, we still dont know what board you have. or what kind of music you are recording. how could anybody make any sort of suggestion at this point?
 
True dat. But this might be a better question, how much can these bass traps contribute to making the sound better?
 
You monitoring chain is the most important tool you have, period.

There are few true "rules" in audio - Here are two:

1) You will only ever be as good as your monitors allow you to be.

2) Your monitors will only ever sound as good as the room they're in allows them to sound.

I have 23 bass traps in this one room. If I could fit another 23, I probably would. It's impossible to have too much - The most that could happen is "perfection" - As that's not going to happen...

If I could go back in time to when I was 12 or so and start over, I'd have properly treated my space *FIRST* then I'd have purchased the absolute best monitors I could have and just sat and listened in that room for several months to as many genres and differing qualities of recordings as possible.

*THEN* - with a solid understanding of my monitoring chain, I'd have taken the steps to learning about actually recording sound.
 
Well that helps thgank you. Now I have to go get some bass traps :-d.
 
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