Preamp Advice

  • Thread starter Thread starter Enchilada
  • Start date Start date
I got it off ebay from a company in Melbourne. It is under a RTB warranty. Do you think I would be better off trying to put a new tube in it myself? If so what tube would you recommend. These are the valves I can get my hands on:
12AX7WA/7025 - $24.95
EL34EH/6CA7 - $39.95
5881WXT/6L6GC - $39.95

What do you think about preamp kits/ I tried to link to some kits that Jaycar sold but it didn't work.
How about one of these:
http://oatleyelectronics.com/kits/k188a.html
EDIT: here we go:
http://www1.jaycar.com.au/productVi...d2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=
http://www1.jaycar.com.au/productVi...d2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=
 
Last edited:
well firstly unless you have electronics training. i wouldnt do anything.
these tube voltages are high and can hurt you.
ive taken electronics training and even i'm too scared to mess with tubes.
my dad was a tube fanatic and i saw once he was thrown across a room.
so PLEASE be carefull. dont do any tinkering with the unit unless its OFF
and unplugged.
also be aware even when a unit is off capacitors store charge and can discharge and cause hurt. be very very carefull ench.
i dont know what tubes are used in that preamp. presumably 12AX7.
so its a guessing game. i'm sure behringer are being asked all the time for suitable tube substitutions - so you might try emailing them and asking what is a suitable tube substitution. maybe someone already did a tube substitution or mod on it and it didnt work. did this unit work at some time
since you bought it ? or was it like this from the first time you got it ?
as i said - if you dont know electronics get a tech to try installing a new tube and see if that works. it could also be other factors like a bad power supply not generating the right specs for the tube to work in its proper range. if were me i would just send it back to behringer and get it fixed.
if nothing else but safety reasons.
if you want to do some research on tube subbing there are various sites to scan via google groups search.
 
I've not tried the DMP3, but I've got two VTB-1's in one of their custom racks, and from all I've read, for the price, they give more (and quality) options for their price-range. They do it all for me, and then some. The tube option is nice to have -- and works, as Harvey noted.
 
If u want the DMP3 I saw it on musiciansfriend.com for like $150 I was thinking about getting one for myself
 
manning1 said:
well firstly unless you have electronics training. i wouldnt do anything.
these tube voltages are high and can hurt you...
Click to expand...
Nothing to worry about with the MIC200. I'm sure it's just a ~40V starved plate design. If it was me, I'd toss it. You want color? Get a box of Crayolas! :p

Sorry, couldn't help myself. Seriously, this thing is a cheap piece of crap, IMHO. If you want a REAL tube pre with REAL color, it'll run you around $1KUS/channel usless you find a good used one somewhere. The VTB-1 might be fun to play with, but the next step up from a DMP3 is a FMR RNP.
 
Remember everyone I'm in Australia. AKA the land of next to no recording gear. I rang a shop here and the best he said he'd do a DMP3 for was $320 inc postage. I can't get my hands on a RNP and I can't import any pres because we have 240V power
Also I can't justify paying $1k per channel for a project studio
 
I've been thinking about this...

Given your situation, you may want to add the VTB-1 to your arsenal since you already have a DMP3. It's only a single pre, but the variety of tones would make up for that. Plus, you can turn off the "tube" section and get a pretty decent clean sound. The examples I've heard are a bit more "in-your-face" than with the DMP3. Even when using the "tube" to add some color, I'm betting it'll sound way better than the MIC200.

Anyways, that’s my $0.02 worth of ad-vice. :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top