Mic Pre-amps

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Faze 2 Studios
Member Since: Aug 15, 2005

OK so i have some money and ive been thinking about upgrading some of my pre-amps. My question is, if in not going to buy very expensive pre-amps, is it worth the upgrade?

Right now I have presonus Firepod, and the pre-amps are OK. They do there job, although i feel it would be nice to have 2 preamps that i can use on drum overheads, and vocals and acoustic guitars and such. Im wording if i go and drop 400 for a 2 chanel pre-amp will i REALLY notice a difference in the sound im getting. a good difference. or would it be much more worth it to spend the money other places.

if you think a pre-amp would be a good purchase, can you recommend any?

-melty

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Member
Since: Jul 31, 2006


Mar 05, 2007 03:05 pm

You should invest in an Avalon VT 737sp

Preamp/Compressor/EQ

Frisco's Most Underrated
Member
Since: Jan 28, 2003


Mar 05, 2007 03:10 pm

I did a test a while back where i tested my sm58 and neumann with my behringer preamps and my grace model 101 to see what difference could actually be heard. And it turns out that the differences in preamps are not so easy to hear on the sm58, but are much more noticeable on the neumann. I would say that the nicer your mics are, the more likely you will hear a significant difference in the mic pres.

Faze 2 Studios
Member
Since: Aug 15, 2005


Mar 05, 2007 03:34 pm

My best mics are a pair of NT5's or a Nt1000, both made by R0de. But niether of them are tube mics.

-melty

Faze 2 Studios
Member
Since: Aug 15, 2005


Mar 05, 2007 03:35 pm

and as sweet as the Avalon VT 737sp is... i dont have 2 grand. i have 400 to spend.

-melty

Frisco's Most Underrated
Member
Since: Jan 28, 2003


Mar 05, 2007 03:47 pm

i'm not sure what tube mics have to do with it, and I'm not sure what the quality level of those mics are as I've never used them. I was just giving general info...

I am not a crook's head
Member
Since: Mar 14, 2003


Mar 05, 2007 03:50 pm

The deal that I've heard from fellows with lots of experience with different mic preamps is that until you hit that $500 threshold or so, you won't hear much of a difference between preamps.

The preamps that I've heard about that definitely violate this rule are the Electro Harmonix Tube Mic Pre ($300-ish) and the Groove Tubes Brick ($450-ish), both of which are tube preamps. Also the FMR RNP, which is in that same price bracket I believe.

But this is just me repeating what I've read elsewhere...I have no hands-on experience with anything but cheapo mic preamps. If I were to go on my own experience, I'd suggest sticking with the Firepod's preamps until you can afford something that's noticeably nicer.

And really I think that the power of a nice preamp only makes itself apparent when its stacked up track-upon-track in a mix. One track may not really sound that much different on one preamp versus another, but when you get 20 tracks all tracked with a nicer preamp, you'll really start to hear the difference. The whole mix will start to take on a different sheen.

I KNOW NOTHING
Member
Since: Jun 08, 2006


Mar 05, 2007 04:43 pm

I keep hearing nothing but great reviews of the RNP, but as of yet, I still don't have one to say. I've heard some pretty knowledgeable people say they stack up against the big boys, any day.
It's two channel, too.

edit0r
Member
Since: Aug 17, 2004


Mar 05, 2007 05:43 pm

I think you can build yourself a Neve 1073 pre for less than $400 US from a kit set...

jlmaudio.com/JLMMicro1290.htm

I'm saving for a stereo pair kit with rack :-) (After I buy my apogee converters :-):-).

edit0r
Member
Since: Aug 17, 2004


Mar 05, 2007 05:44 pm

Oh, and the Avalons aren't anything really super-duper IMO. Pretty sweet, and look stunning, but not worth the price tag.

Eat Spam before it eats YOU!!!
Member
Since: May 11, 2002


Mar 05, 2007 06:27 pm

Or you can buy a crapload of old preamps and get some grit. :)

Member
Since: Mar 06, 2007


Mar 06, 2007 02:43 am

I just started recording my band about a year ago.We are a three piece and my equipment are as follows,Mackie onyx, rode nt'5s, sennheiser 421, sure 57 ,Mxl v69,zinky superfly.With that said I used the above thinking this was all i needed to make an awesome recording ,reading the reviews of the onyx preamps.Little did I know.I'll tell you what though, with mic placement and time,the onyx pre's did great for the drums,guitar and bass.All sounded amazing in the mix.....At this point I want to explain what we are doing,I am not a sound engineer so as far as mix down and eq'ing go we do not do,,we are leaving that up to our engineer.We try to get the best possible tone out of what we have....When it came to vocals,I started with the v69 right into the mackie pre's. I thought this was an nice sounding mic until then.All of my other mic's sounded as good even the 57.Weird.Nothing cut throught the mix,the vocals were totally lost,even when they were peaking out.
I thought the engineer would be able to fix this in mixdown,but my nature would not let this go.I wanted a great sounding song before mixdown.I hate trying to shine sh**.So with alot of research I dropped a grand and bought a rode ntk and a grace 101.I cut a vocal track and could not belive the difference.It was amazing even without peaking out the vocals they cut throught the mix so nice I couldnt believe it.Warm,clear and audible,how could this be?.I don't know.could be the preamp(I havent tried the other mic's throught it yet)maybe the mic.I think it's both.Good match?..Anyway I hope this can help you out.Belive me I'm the type of person who likes to dispell all of the hype of the expensive, hard to get,vintage gear.I still can't believe what somepeople pay for a pair of rca blackplates 6l6's on ebay(I used to get them for almost nothing). The moral.....Yes I think better pre's do make a difference,I wish they did not (I'm broke).As for flavor,the grace sounds really really good to me.with the ntk.

Frisco's Most Underrated
Member
Since: Jan 28, 2003


Mar 06, 2007 01:05 pm

vic, yes the grace is a very good preamp (i swear by mine), but i think the main difference is you upped the quality of your mic quite a bit wth the rhodes ntk.

Member
Since: Mar 06, 2007


Mar 07, 2007 02:04 am

coolo,I agree with you there.The ntk was a considerable upgrade....But almost all the other mic's sounded the same .I think I might have just got lucky early in the game by finding a mic that's good for my voice and a pre that matches the mic..For now I will just consider it good luck and a little research.......Trying to keep with the subject.I think a high quality pre like the grace would be a way better buy than any high production piece of equipment like a (I'm guessing here correct me if I'm wrong)chinese made pre sonus or GT pre.Its just a waste of money and time ..Spend 100.00 or more

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