Preamp to match quality of this setup?

  • Thread starter Thread starter easlern
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easlern

easlern

Boredom artist
Hi guys and girls- I'm currently using a Presonus TubePre (and Bluetube, which I actually don't like as much) and wondering if this pre is appropriate for my setup. I don't want it to be hurting the sound because it's budget gear, but I also don't want to be spending money on a pre that's just going to be "uglified" because I have other budget equipment in the signal chain. I'm primarily concerned with vocals, so here's the chain for that: Rode NTK -> TubePre -> Delta 1010 -> Ableton Live 5. DAW probably doesn't matter but you never know. :) Music stores in this area don't let you take home pres and audition them in this price range, or I'd just do that.
If this pre seems appropriate at this price level, great! Otherwise, I'd like to hear suggestions you guys have for something under 600 that has a couple channels and maybe a tube drive (I like how it sounds on my dynamics). I don't think I need anything fancy with digital out or anything; I trust the Delta's converters. Music stores seem to have a huge disparity between price points for preamps- they start at ~$100 and jump to around $1000 without a lot of selection in between. :P
I'm still pretty new at this so any informed suggestions you may have would be great. Thanks!
 
FMR RNP "Really Nice Pre" is probably the best pre at that price range. ART makes a couple of tube pres under the 600 dollar range that are OK. I actually have one of the DPSII's and it finds use in my studio for certain things.
 
I've heard lots of good stuff about the Peavey VMP-2 and was considering getting one, but went with the UA m610, which I love, but considering that the m610 is one channel and the Peavey is 2 (and can be found used between $600-800), I wouldn't say that I made a better value pick.
I've seen the ART MPA Gold for as little as $260 new from on-line dealers (and even a little cheaper from ebay sellers). You could probably swing a new MPA gold and used RNP for about $600.
 
i'm bit concerned about Rode mics.. is there a big difference between NTK and NT1 models???
 
MastaChief said:
i'm bit concerned about Rode mics.. is there a big difference between NTK and NT1 models???
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Quite a bit actually. The NTK is a tube cardioid and the NT-1 (the old gray version of the newer NT-1A) is solid state. The NT1000 is supposed to be the solid state version of the NTK. I've owned both and they are both very decent mics for the money. I liked the sound of the NTK but found it a bit sibilant (as many do), though I understand changing the stock tube can help greatly (as these are mass-produced, it wouldn't be practical for them on a cost basis to supply NOS or other decent tubes in the stock models). People are generally very polarized on whether Rodes are great values or shite. I tend towards the former, but FWIW I am selling or have sold off all of my Rodes (have had an NTK, two NT1000's, and an NT4) in favor of other mics. YMMV
You might get more responses if you start a thread in the microphone forum.
 
If you can go a little over $600 I'd suggest the DAV BG-1. A really, really nice sounding preamp. You can keep the TubePre if you want a little of that "tube drive" flavor.
 
SonicAlbert said:
If you can go a little over $600 I'd suggest the DAV BG-1. A really, really nice sounding preamp. You can keep the TubePre if you want a little of that "tube drive" flavor.
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Ja. Great choice.

Alby, if you can, drop Mick a line/thoughts/prayers....he was diagnosed with Skin Cancer this year and just had a series of skin grafts..He is building me a custom mixer for my upcoming new recording business...cant wait..picture of Mr. Hinton is below..pretty gnarly.. :(

https://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y141/raytheapostle/USE_SUNSCREEN_001.jpg
 
I use a Rode NTK into a Focusrite Trakmaster (Ver 1) with the retrofitted SP/DIF card. Clean, and detailed.
 
doh! i have a new preamp to add to the gearlustlist :(

edit: ironic, as i have been recommending it to people based on what i've heard
 
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Thanks for your suggestions guys!
I looked at the DAV but it has one phantom power button for both inputs, and I sometimes mix dynamics and condensers, so I had to rule that one out. The ART solid gold has onboard convertors, which I don't really need, so I went with the RNP. I found some good reviews for it (including one by Harvey Gerst, interestingly) and it has just the features I need. I'll post a follow-up to let you know how it sounds with an A/B/C sample of the TubePre, BlueTube, and RNP. :)
 
easlern said:
Thanks for your suggestions guys!
I looked at the DAV but it has one phantom power button for both inputs, and I sometimes mix dynamics and condensers, so I had to rule that one out. :)
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Just for your information Phantom power will not effect or hurt Dynamic mics so you can apply phantom to a dynamic without fear of anything bad happening....


Cheers
 
Minion said:
Just for your information Phantom power will not effect or hurt Dynamic mics so you can apply phantom to a dynamic without fear of anything bad happening....
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Thanks Minion. I thought I had seen a post on the forum that said you should avoid using phantom on dynamics. I figured, otherwise why make a button for it? The review also said the DAV's output level is better suited to pro recorders though, so I probably would have passed it up anyway.
 
The DAV puts out a lot of level and can handle a lot of level. It has -26 dB pads which come in handy, and of course it can be turned down! It's also possible to get inline pads for cables, so really concern about levels is a minor one. Seems like you made a good choice with the RNP, hope it works out for you.
 
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