Preamps!?!?!?
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Posted on Dec 22, 2009 04:32 pm
PRODIGALFLETCH
Member Since: Dec 22, 2009
I'm in the market for a good preamp and my budget stops at the $1,000 mark, although I'd like to pay less...
I'm looking for some insight on this. I've been looking at the ua710 twin-finity, the pre-sonus tubes, and a crap ton of others.. I've read so many review I'm ready to saw my head off with a butter knife...
Any help would be greatly appreciated... Thanks
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TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Dec 22, 2009 05:04 pm I'm no authority on quality preamps. I use cheapie preamps exclusively, by necessity and not by choice. But I think that I can at least help you narrow your search a bit, and maybe open the door for others with more experience with specific preamps to offer their help.
First, you'll have to decide what you're after in a preamp:
- do you want it to be transparent and accurate, or would you like a preamp that colors your sound and imparts its own unique sound?
- do you want tube or solid state?
- do you want a full-on channel strip (compressor, EQ, preamp), or just the preamp?
- do you want a single channel, or a stereo preamp, or maybe a collection of several preamps for interfacing with your recording device (like for recording drums or ensembles)?
I'm sure that others will have more questions, but hopefully this will at least help you narrow your search because, as you've discovered, there are too many options out there to exhaustively consider or rule out.
Dec 22, 2009 05:21 pm Thanks for the input, much appreciated. I'd like a mix between transparent and colorful "tubish" sound. I've always liked the warmth that tube's bring to the table, so I'd prefer a tube. The UA710 Twin-finity has both, but has received mixed reviews. I'm looking for a stand alone unit that'll work for bass, guitar and especially Vocals. It'd be nice to have some nice EQ options, but I'd sacrifice that for some grade A "fat sound". All of my recording is usually done 1 track at a time, so single channel would be fine. I've been reading up on different pre's for the past month, and am still undecided. I'm in high hopes that an engineer with 97 years of recording experience will stumble upon this and let me reap the benefits of his golden ears.. haha.
Dec 22, 2009 07:51 pm Tubes have nothing to do with "warmth" 95% of the time. Manley, sure. TubeTech, perhaps. But just about every single classic preamp known for it's "warm-ish" character is solid-state.
API - Neve - Langevin - Great River - Amek - The list would go on for pages before seeing any tubes. I won't even get started on the PreSonus "toob" stuff... The UA preamps are fine - But they don't get their character from the tubes either.
Gooey goodness for ridiculously cheap? Golden Age Pre 73 with the "Zen Pro" mod. It's a freaking Neve 1073 when it's done (although even the un-modded version is awfully decent on its own). Any of the Five Fish preamps (especially the new one - Can't remember the model designation, but it might as well be an API 512) and I understand that they'll assemble them for you for an additional fee. The API (JDK?) Arsenal preamps, I think the Great River ME1 is right around $1k, Funkenwerk's 78 is also (there are your tubes).
But in any case - Keep in mind - ESPECIALLY if this is going to be a "keystone" unit - "Tubes" don't mean "warmth" and "Warmth" doesn't necessarily come from tubes.
Personally, I avoid them like they were on fire (heh, heh...) when at all possible. There are some wonderful preamps out there that happen to have tubes - But if this is "The Preamp" then you don't want something as maintenance-heavy and finicky (to everything) as a typical tube unit.
Don't get me wrong - I'm not "anti-tube" or anything - If there were an actual advantage to using them, I'd use all tube gear (as it is, I have very few pieces of tube gear and I'd like to keep it that way - As they tend to sound exactly the same every time I turn them on - Among other reasons).
Dec 23, 2009 06:17 pm I think I'm gonna go with the Great River ME-1NV... Anyone selling one for a GREAT price?.?.?. :D
