VTB-1 Preamp or Yamaha MG102

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Mindset

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Ok my friend wants to know which one he should get. The vtb-1 preamp or the yamaha mg102. I told him probably the preamp. But I'm kind of dislike Studio Projects though I own the VTB-1 myself. Reason only those, cause he only has $100 to spend. He'll be recording on mainly on 1 channel using the MXL 990 mic I gave him, into a M-Audio Fast Track USB (not the greatest...) He'll mainly need it for phantom power & is concerned about which to get that could better his quality of sound. I've suggested that he might get a better sound card or recording interface, or the Presonus bluetube, but he doesn't have enough money, and if he got say the 24/96 than he will still need a preamp etc etc... so it came down to purchasing the VTB-1 or the MG102....

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Yamaha-MG102-Stereo-Mixer?sku=630048
 
I haven't used one myself, but I've heard very good things about the Rane MS1b mic preamp. Some consider it to be one of the best pre's under $500...
 
johnsuitcase said:
I haven't used one myself, but I've heard very good things about the Rane MS1b mic preamp. Some consider it to be one of the best pre's under $500...


I can say a lot of things for preamps under $500, but my friend has a budget of $100, not very much. I told him to save money & wait, but he insists on getting something for his setup, so I'm not going to try and help him get anything that will murder his quality.
 
Mindset said:
I can say a lot of things for preamps under $500, but my friend has a budget of $100, not very much. I told him to save money & wait, but he insists on getting something for his setup, so I'm not going to try and help him get anything that will murder his quality.

Well the Rane is about $130, and pretty highly regarded.

Outside of that, the Yamaha Pres are going to be very decent, and absolutely usable. I have a GF 16/12 and I think the pre's are pretty good. Low noise, decent headroom, and they seem to reproduce the very low bass frequencies more than some of the others that I've used at this part of the spectrum.

I've used lots of pre's in different boards, and while they all sound a bit different, it's pretty rare to find one that's unusable.
 
On another path entirely, he could consider a Line6 Toneport. The single channel model is only $99, and it's a very usable little unit. I have one (for emergency guitars, primarily), and I have actually used it to track vocals with a lot of success. It gives you a lot of flavors to play with, and the core mic pre and A/D are basically on par with anything else at the consumer level, I'd say...

http://www.line6.com/toneport/
 
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OOps! I see that MF is out of stock on this item. But it's available at Sweetwater and most of the other online outlets.
 
i've used quite a bit of low budget gear. to tell you the truth, i woud'nt sweat over the sound quality differences in the budget mixers and stand alone pre's. there is'nt a huge difference in them sound wise. i've owned yamaha, behringer, m-audio, etc., etc. find something that's well built (reliability) and has the features that will be needed.

that little soundcraft mixer has some pretty cool features. 2 headphone outs is a good feature. the hiz input is a plus. monitor control with mono switch is another plus. that thing has about everything someone would need for a personal recording rig. with that mixer and a 2496, he should be able to get down to business without the need for a bunch of extra external boxes.

the toneport ux2 looks like a decent little box too, if usb is'nt a problem.
 
Should I get a car or should I get a truck?

Preamp or mixer?

Tell "him" to get whichever suits his needs.

.
 
if hes only recording one channle, i really do not see the need for a mixer...

anyways i have both the vtb1 and the dmp3, and im honostly leavning more twords the dmp3 in sound quality....plus it has 2 channles...plus it looks friggin sweet:-)...cheers
 
johnsuitcase said:
On another path entirely, he could consider a Line6 Toneport. The single channel model is only $99, and it's a very usable little unit. I have one (for emergency guitars, primarily), and I have actually used it to track vocals with a lot of success. It gives you a lot of flavors to play with, and the core mic pre and A/D are basically on par with anything else at the consumer level, I'd say...

http://www.line6.com/toneport/
Id second that cept the one channel doesnt have phantom power he will have to have the UX2...and the pres on it are pretty damn good for that money...where else would you get the Neve sound with Avalon and API on a $200 dollar piece.
 
I have the UX2, and while it isn't a magic bullet (and no, it doesn't sound like the real gear, any more than the gitar amp models sound like the real thing), it does sound good, and has enough flexibility that you can find a setting that works with most mic/singer combinations. I've used it as a DI for Keyboards, and gotten very nice results (anything that can make a cheap korg/yamaha/casio keyboard sound usable is worth something), and it is fun to use for guitars.

I'd say that the Neve setting sounds more like a Neve than like a generic mixer pre, but not in the sense that it captures the detail or transients. It sounds like a Neve in that it has some of the flavor.

I dunno, you'd have to hear it, I guess, to understand what I mean.

Do I want a Vintech, or even a Chameleon Labs Neve Clone? Of course I do!

But for $200, this is a pretty good option...
 
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