Preamp vs Mixer

[daav]

Ok I need some help here. I just got a Fostex MR8 (which is great so far), but the preamps built in suck plenty (backed up by many posts in these forums). So.... I am thinking about buying a preamp for recording Bass and other low level line inputs. But... I hear that most mixers have decent preamps for each input built in.
So looking for opinions on the following:

- Is a preamp so much cheaper than the equivalent quality mixer that the point is moot?

- Would a cheap mixer actually hurt the quality of sound going into the recorder? Or more to the point, it is generaqlly preferred to use a dedicated preamp to provide a 'cleaner' sound?

- Or should I just buy the best mixer I can afford to get the best of both worlds? This seems like a good idea at the moment, because the mixer would probabaly allow me to record when playing with others, as apposed to the one input at a time thing i do by myself, or to record drums with multiple mics.

- Lastly any reccomendations on either or both a good quality preamp or mixer that would suit a very amateur newb? I don't NEED more than 4 inputs likely, but might if there are good and cheap mixers with more than 4 inputs.

Thanks,
Daav

 

[Vurt]

- Is a preamp so much cheaper than the equivalent quality mixer that the point is moot?

say what? anyway...

Preamps are cool and get a lot of attention around, but probably too much.

don't get a crappy mixer - it will do more harm than good. I personally like the idea of a decent mixer over dedicated premaps because you can do a lot with a mixer, but only one thing with a preamp. I don't now what your budget is, but check out the Soundcraft Spirit M4. Nice pres, great EQ, digital output, direct outputs, etc etc. Very nice.

http://www.soundcraft.com/products/spirit_mseries_home.htm

 

[jmproductions]

I would have to agree with Vurt that the Soundcraft board would step up your options considerably along with better sound quality. If you don't want to spend the $500 right now you might consider getting something like an M-Audio DMP3 preamp for $200. It's all kind of a moot point if you don't have some decent microphones. In which case you won't be able to tell the difference between preamps. Cheaper yet, if you're just trying to line guitars in to record, all you need is a direct box. Whatever you do, don't buy a cheap mixer because you'll wish you hadn't later.