Selecting a microphone pre-amp

[EightMilesHigh]

Hello, I am looking to buy an affordable, good quality mic pre amp for my home studio. The most important aspect I will be using it for is vocals. My vocal style has elements of blues and rock, and I try to project a lot of personality into my singing. I am using a Rode NT1 for vocals and a Korg D1600 for recording. The pre amps I have been looking at are the M-Audio Tampa, Groove Tubes' Brick and PreSonus BlueTube. The DMP-3, also from M-Audio, is a contender. What would be the best one to pick out of those, or are there any other ones I should check into? My budget is limited to around $400. At this point, the Tampa is probably the #1 choice for me, but the area of pre-amps is one I have little expertise in. I would like to hear from some individuals that possess more experience with pre-amps than myself. What do you think?

 

[gomp]

With digital recording and a Rode NT1 the Brick could fatten things up.

 

[notbradsohner]

ive used the brick and dmp3, and for rock/blues, the brick wins, but only by a little. If you dont have a lot of money, I dont think the difference in price justifies the difference in performance. The performance gap is so small, while the price gap is so big.

Since you are using a sort of neutural recording train, look at the studio projects vtb-1 for some color. Or a sebatron.

 

[scrubs]

I use an NT1 with the GT Brick and really love the combination on my voice. The NT1 can be a little harsh on some voices, but the Brick really smoothes things out.

 

[pohaku]

You may be able to find a used FMR RNP for @$400-425 that would give you 2 pretty nice channels that you would likely keep going forward. Another possibility is the Symetrix SX202 which is a nice two channel SS preamp. Pretty clean sound, pad on each channel, real 48v phantom power, and polarity reverse. They go on E-bay for @$100-150. There are published mods for them as well although I've not heard a modded unit. I have a couple of the Symetrix units as well as the RNP and will probably keep them all, even though I have other high end preamps.

 

[Strave]

In my opinion, the brick is definately in another league than the DMP3 and probably in the same league as the RNP... either way I've got much more expensive preamps now and I still have the brick around just for bass DI if nothing else. It's an incredible bass DI... and a great preamp for vocals.

 

[EightMilesHigh]

The Brick, etc.

Thank you for all the posts, now I’ve a few questions in regards to them.

scrubs, that’s interesting that you use the NT1 with the brick and love the combination. I was wondering, what is your singing style and range in which you sing?

Also, Gomp, when you say “fatten things up” do you mean that it gives the voice more presence?

Are there any customer reviews of the Brick? I have heard good things about it, but I’ve not been able to find many customer reviews.

Lastly, how about the Tampa? Has anyone worked with one?

Thanks again, and keep ‘em comin’ folks!

 

[scrubs]

scrubs, that’s interesting that you use the NT1 with the brick and love the combination. I was wondering, what is your singing style and range in which you sing?

I'm a natural bass/baritone. My main style is mopey acoustic stuff. I don't have an example of that, but here is an internet collaboration song (with some other very talented folks from this board) that I sang with that mic/pre in more of a hard rock ballad style. I like the way the NT1 has a little sparkle to it which seems to liven up my voice (though it can be overly sibilant). The brick just has a "big" sound to it compared to inexpensive pres. IMO, the combo is great for vocals that need to stand out in a dense mix.

 

[EightMilesHigh]

brick

The brick just has a "big" sound to it compared to inexpensive pres. IMO, the combo is great for vocals that need to stand out in a dense mix.

That sounds terrific, and I hear what you mean. My voice is mid-range (between baritone and tenor probably) and has a bit of bluesy roughness, but that’s the kind of effect I’m looking for, something “big” that can stand out in a mix where a lot is going on. One similarity that we have as vocalists is that we enunciate the words clearly.

I like your voice, it reminds me of Fred Neil a bit. He was one of the most compelling folk-rockers to emerge from Greenwich Village in the mid-'60s, and also had a low and powerful voice. After hearing your recording, the Brick is now my top choice. I’m still open to other suggestions, but that sounded quite good to my ears. My local store sells the Brick for $350. I’ll have to compare this to online prices, and check out more reviews. Thanks for the information.