preamp

[god_willin]

hey i am new to this site and i am just trying to make an equipment list that i will not have to second guess when i am actually ready to buy my equipment... i am definately going to buy the audio technica at3035 mic and i am looking for some suggestions on a preamp
... must be hybrid
... must have phantom power
please help me... and check out my other tread that i am going to post now so that you can review my equipment list.

 

[studiomaster]

What do u mean by hybrid?

 

[dgatwood]

What do u mean by hybrid?

I think hybrid is referring to a combination of FET and tube in a single circuit. So tube for warmth, but most of the gain is done with a FET.

Why anyone would want such a preamp, however, is beyond me.... Usually, those are the ones people say to avoid because they just sound like a FET preamp with a noisier output. Maybe there are some high-end hybrids that don't, but....

 

[god_willin]

so then which ones should i get...the tube? or the solid state preamps??? does the preamp have to go according to the mic that i have? or can i just get any preamp? i'm thinkin of getting the Grace 101s...are they any good?

 

[mshilarious]

The only one I've used that I think is worthwhile is the ART Digital MPA . . . but you know, it really doesn't have too much of that tewb character. It's amazing what 300V will do . . .

I think hybrid is a good idea, it saves a lot of dough on transformers, but it has been lean on execution . . . maybe that is changing.

 

[Minion]

If you want clean and crisp recordings then you probably want a Fully solid state preamp but if you want a warm tooby sound with more character (And Noise) then you might want to get a tube pre.....

You can get a Very clean sounding preamp with plenty of gain for not a Lot of money , Like the DMP3 which is very clean and is only about $150 for 2 Channels.....


Cheers

 

[Robert D]

What kind of recording are you going to be doing?

 

[Double]

FMR Audio RNP 8380

Just my opinion, but I would definitely buy the FMR Audio RNP 8380 - Stereo Mic Preamp.

Here is a couple of reviews of the FMR Audio RNP 8380

http://www.mojopie.com/rnp.html
http://emusician.com/signalprocessors/emusic_fmr_audio/

 

[jonnyc]

If you want clean and crisp recordings then you probably want a Fully solid state preamp but if you want a warm tooby sound with more character (And Noise) then you might want to get a tube pre.....

You can get a Very clean sounding preamp with plenty of gain for not a Lot of money , Like the DMP3 which is very clean and is only about $150 for 2 Channels.....


Cheers

Again, plenty of solidstate amps are very "warm' sounding. Whether or not an amp is tube or not rarely makes a difference when it comes to "warmth" or "color". The most colorful amps I've ever heard were solid states like API, Neve, hell even my f'n Joe Meek 3Q has tons of color. A very sterile pre amp I once had was a presonus tubepre, that is until you dialed in a little bit of "toob", it's amazing how many people I used it with that considered it "noisey' or "broken" which I'm sure is not what a real tube pre should sound like.

 

[Robert D]

You know, you guys are giving answers to a question that hasn't even been fully asked yet. Until Mr or Mrs Willin divulges what kind of recording he or she plans on doing, there's little point in throwing out preamps that may or may not be right for that application.

Also.......what's the budget?

 

[jonnyc]

You know, you guys are giving answers to a question that hasn't even been fully asked yet. Until Mr or Mrs Willin divulges what kind of recording he or she plans on doing, there's little point in throwing out preamps that may or may not be right for that application.

Also.......what's the budget?

But part of the conversation doesn't have to do with the right preamp for the application but rather an education on preamps that may lead to original poster to a more wise decision. The fact that the original poster demanded a hybrid shows the he or she may have been misinformed somewhere along the line and some of us are attempting to reeducate him or her and a few others.

 

[Farview]

Almost all of the most sought after preamps are solid state. I can only think of one or two tube preamps that aren't just budget jobs trying to cash in on the "tubes are warmer" myth. Expensive preamps are warmer, cheap preamps are not. There is a difference between 'warm' and 'dark and fuzzy'.

 

[Robert D]

But part of the conversation doesn't have to do with the right preamp for the application but rather an education on preamps that may lead to original poster to a more wise decision. The fact that the original poster demanded a hybrid shows the he or she may have been misinformed somewhere along the line and some of us are attempting to reeducate him or her and a few others.

Agreed, the OP is clearly a Newb (no offense, we've all been there), and your right JC, there's myths to dispell here. I'm just trying to prod some info out of the OP so that he/she gets advice that fits him/her, not what fits us.

 

[chessrock]

He may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but at least the guy is giving some specifications in an effort to narrow things down. I at least commend him on that.

.

 

[kojdogg]

hey i am new to this site and i am just trying to make an equipment list that i will not have to second guess when i am actually ready to buy my equipment... i am definately going to buy the audio technica at3035 mic and i am looking for some suggestions on a preamp
... must be hybrid
... must have phantom power
please help me... and check out my other tread that i am going to post now so that you can review my equipment list.

the presonus blue tube dp (about $200) and the manley tnt (about $2700) are hybrids (if you do mean fet and tube in the same unit (vs. gas and battery ) at the opposite end of the price spectrum

 

[jonnyc]

the presonus blue tube dp (about $200) and the manley tnt (about $2700) are hybrids (if you do mean fet and tube in the same unit (vs. gas and battery ) at the opposite end of the price spectrum

Isn't the TNT a two channel, one being solid state while the other is tube? Does that really qualify as a hybrid?

 

[kojdogg]

Isn't the TNT a two channel, one being solid state while the other is tube? Does that really qualify as a hybrid?

eh, probably not. i stand corrected. to the dunce corner for me

 

[littledog]

Almost all of the most sought after preamps are solid state.

I'm not sure, but I suspect that didn't come out exactly as you meant it.

Or at least the good folks at Manley, DW Fearn, Pendulum Audio, Tube Tech, and a few others would probably disagree.

 

[Farview]

I'm not sure, but I suspect that didn't come out exactly as you meant it.

Or at least the good folks at Manley, DW Fearn, Pendulum Audio, Tube Tech, and a few others would probably disagree.

I was thinking historically. Like Neve, API, Langevin, Harison, SSL, etc... Almost all of the classic, warm sounding recordings that everyone points to as the epitome of warms, were done with solid state preamps.

 

[mikey@thecave]

Sebatron Maximus