nu-b question; do I need a mic pre?

[jsonB]

hey guys!
I'm new to this forum so I hope this isn't to rehetorical. But do I need a mic pre? I record on an Akai Dps12i which has some type of pre on the 1/4" inputs. But would my vocals/guitars and what-not benifit from a Tube MP or something similar?
Oh yeah, if so, I am quite frugal. Maybe you know an awsome bang for the buck model or a DIY schematic to build one?

thanks everybody!
jsonB

 

[Dogbreath]

Hey dude,
Welcome aboard!
As to if you need a pre...depends on the quality you're looking for. And I say that because I had the DPS 12 and although the onboard pre's are useable and will give you gain, they add up to alot of noise after a few tracks and they're not very clean.

I bought this little box (can't remember what it was called) but what it does is bypasses the onboard pres. I doubt if you want the combo of the onboard and the outboard combined. So, you run your outboard pre into this box and then from it (spdif) into the DPS 12. I think it was made by Hosa but I'm sure there are others. It ran about $70.00 USD.

Hope it helps.....

 

[jsonB]

thanks for responding dogbreath!
so I should totally bypass the onboard pres?
is the Dps12i an inferior recorder? Or maybe entry level? I've loved it so far. But previously I owned a fostex cassette 4-track. and let me say fostex sucks! Mainly because the thing broke down and customer support was a joke! I'll never give fostex my hard earned money again!