Mixer vs. Preamp for 2 channels?

[AaronK]

I'm recording myself only on vocals and guitar on an M-Audio 2496. I want to keep things simple and low cost, but with as much quality as i can get.

wondering if it's better to get a dedicated preamp for mics or a mixer with a preamp in it.

ie, something like the MAudio Audio Buddy (need two channels, minimum) or one of those Behriner Eurorack type things.

my intuition tells me to go with the dedicated preamp and no mixer since I will probably get a better preamp if it's a standalone unit. But maybe the ones in the mixers are more transparent?

Anyone care to offer an opinion?

thanks,
Aaron

 

[Ed Dixon]

I prefer the mixer approach, but you can probably get better preamps in a standalone unit.

I use the Behringer mixers and have no problems with them, however others don't like them.

A mixer for more than 2 inputs sometimes opens up other options you might not have with a stand alone unit.

Ed

 

[AaronK]

yeah...the mixer has a bit of flexibility to it.

why do you prefer mixer though, and why the behringers?

 

[Ed Dixon]

I use the Behringer mixers because they were low in cost and met my needs for both recording and live use (some of my gear is used in both).

My setup for recording is small and simple, but it does exactly what I need it to do. Others may have much larger setups and are doing recording work for others for $. They need different/better gear.

I tend to favor mixers as they offer so many more options than basic standalone preamps. The value of a mixer becomes clearer the first time you need to record say 3 people singing a chorus at the same time, where each has their own mic and different voice qualities. For the stand alone preamp approach, you might need 3 of them. I only needed one mixer.

Ed

 

[paddyponchero]

If you're getting a behringer be sure it's from the UB series. The MX preamps are absolutely awful, the worst mic pre I ever made when I was about 15 sounded better and had lower noise.
Also consider the yamaha 10/2 which has 4 mics pres and even has inserts on the mono channels.
The low cost pre thats is most often recommended in the mic forum is the MAUDIO DMP3 $160 new most places, cheaper on ebay. The presonus bluetube is about the same price and supposed to be good.

 

[AaronK]

ok. yes, im gettin the Eurorack 802 model. its slightly more than what i need right now, but this way i'll be able to plug in cd player and keyboard very conveniently. thanks for the input folks!