wheelema said:
Think I will save up for a M-Audio Tampa.
dude, rob some liquor stores or gas stations [I hear restaurants are also good to rob], but get some real money together for a real pre-amp.
You have a professional microphone [I'm not kidding the SM-7 is really a professional microphone despite it's meager price tag], why on earth would you want to crap the thing up with a piece of garbage like the Tampa.
Bro, you're way ahead of the curve with whatever you're using right now than throwing away your hard earned money on that flaming piece of shit they call the Tampa. By wasting your money on that thing you are only creating a situation for yourself where every few months, or every couple of years you will end up selling one piece of crap to buy a slightly better piece of crap, which you'll also end up selling in a period of time... a vicious cycle that goes on and on until you start to end up with some decent tools.
I realize my advice to not buy disposal equipment is probably bad for the economy, but who gives a shit, we're talking about your music, not global economic models.
By getting professional tools that will last you a lifetime/career, you will end up saving yourself a not so small fortune over the long run. By buying cheap crap tools you will end up wasting a fortune in the long run by having to buy the same thing over and over again until you get professional quality tools.
I'm not going to suggest what you should buy, that will be a product of your research and determination, I will merely suggest that you don't buy crap... I'm not going to take it personally whatever you decide to do... so if you're stuck on throwing away your money, knock yourself out. I've just seen too many people get fooled by some commissioned know-nothing monkey sales mook from the local Banjo Mart that I would feel bad if I at least didn't try to warn you.