Pre-amp on a budget...?

[K9SaVeLLi]

I see a whole bunch of posts about pre-amps...I'm looking for a fairly decent but affordable pre-amp. I know there are buttload mic pre's out there, but what's y'all's opinons.

I just finished recording and mixing the first album that I completely produced (beats) and recorded...bout to be mastered...but one thing i'm noticing is that i wish the vocals were "cleaner."

As of now i use the preamp in my tascam TM-D1000 16 track mixer. I used to think that the vocals sounded good...but listening to other albums i'm noticing that they do not sound as clean as I want...bout time to upgrade to a stand alone preamp. Whaddayathink?

I see that most of the more high end mic pre's have built in compressor/limiters and sometimes eq's. Is there anything that would incorporate either of those features for less than $300? Also...are pre amps one of those items that apply the "you get what you pay for" philosophy? Let me know if I need to just save my pennies and go big...or if i can "get by" with something cheaper?

 

[justwantyou2kno]

What mic were you using? If you want a clean vocal sound, a nice mic will be just as important as a pre-amp.

 

[wjgypsy]

yeah, mics can be the key some times. Most of the mics nady makes are nothing but junk but their scm900 is a great mic and i plan to buy another one sence myne was stonlen. Anyway, If your on a budget, ART makes good pre-amps. I use their TBS duel Pre-amp that goes for about $179. But you can get their original MP for $80. Although art is good, i plan to upgrade my pres to joe-meek or something better when i get more green.

Zeke

 

[K9SaVeLLi]

I use a Shure KSM32...it's pretty decent...bout $400-$500...and I just borrowed a friends Rode NT2, but haven't had a chance to record with it yet.

A lot of people in my area use the NT2 and it sounds great...even some of the "professional" studios.

I guess I'll find out if it's the mic or the preamp once I "test drive" the NT2...either way I think I'd still like to upgrade the preamp.