Mar 07, 2005 04:04 pm i've been using a blue tube for hard rock vox with an akg c4000 and i must say, it's been an absolute pleasure. i don't have any experiance with any other pre's though so i donno what my opinion is worth.
peace
wyd
Pre-amp Upgrade!
Posted on Mar 07, 2005 03:42 pm
nothingbetter
Member Since: Jan 09, 2005
I got a little extra cash saved up and decided to spend it on upgrading my mic pre. I'm currently using a ghetto audio buddy. I'm looking for something with 2 channels and in the price range of $200-250
Here's what I've been considering so far:
Has anyone tried the new bluetube dp out?
www.musiciansfriend.com/s...ase_pid/184132/
or the art dps II, it's a bit more than i was looking to spend but i dont mind if it's going to be worth it in the long run
www.musiciansfriend.com/s...ase_pid/180631/
any other suggestions? thanks!
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Mar 07, 2005 04:04 pm i've been using a blue tube for hard rock vox with an akg c4000 and i must say, it's been an absolute pleasure. i don't have any experiance with any other pre's though so i donno what my opinion is worth.
peace
wyd
Mar 07, 2005 04:28 pm I have had a little experience with the original BlueTube, and it has a nice sound, but is also a bit noisy.
I own the ART TPS. I've done many comparisons with it and my Behringer board and Echo Layla's preamps. Honestly, the difference between the Behringer board and the TPS is barely noticeable at all. It does give you some nice warmth for certain applications if you crank the gain, but will also give you some more hiss. The preamps on my Echo Layla 3G are a little cleaner and smoother in my opinion, but that's hardly noticeable either. The differences in pre-amps are way overblown in my opinion, and the only big difference you'll notice is the hole in your wallet.
That kind of "this pre sounds warmer/that pre sounds thinner" talk is one of my pet peeves. Add a little eq boost or change the sound at the source if you don't like it. Get up and do a little work instead of blaming it on the preamp...
My opinion: If you need some more preamps, check out the Art TPS II. The dps just adds digital outputs to the TPS. If you just want to upgrade, don't even bother. Invest in something else that will give you a bigger bang for the buck. Maybe an analog modeling plug-in like Magneto to give you that warmth you're looking for? A compressor?
Sorry if I ranted...
Mar 07, 2005 04:33 pm yeah i have yet been able to hear differences in pres, eq's, and compressors. then again, i've never really done any A/B tests either....to say the differences are subtle is an understatement, you've got to have damn good monitors and a good room to tell. unless it's just plain crappy.
Mar 07, 2005 04:42 pm Right, well I'm not looking for top of the line here... I thought it might be worth it to upgrade to a nicer preamp. I recently purchased an at3035 and maybe it's just me "blaming" the preamp but I feel like it doesn't quite do the mic justice. It sounds a bit noisy and tinny at times and after speaking with a few folks it sounded like a decent tube mic preamp may do the trick.
As far as compressors I've been using waves renaisance compressor with pretty nice results.
Mar 07, 2005 04:46 pm I can say that I definitely hear the differences in compressors, but, while I may be able to hear very slight differences in the sound of my preamps, it's not as though one sounds particularly "better" than the other. The major thing I check for in a preamp is noise level, which can be detected and compared relatively easily.
Mar 07, 2005 04:50 pm I think that you'd probably have to spend over $500 to hear much of a difference over the audiobuddy, although I can't say that I've ever used one. You could always give it a shot, though. Make sure you can take it back if you don't like it :)
Mar 07, 2005 06:54 pm i have a presonus tube pre which is a simpler one channel version of the blue tube.
i have a mackie 1604 which has the main pres that i use.
the difference between the two is hardly noticable at all.
i recently got "the brick" from groove tubes. the brick wins hands down on every mic on every sound source. at $399.99 (i got mine for $320 on clearance) it is more than what you want to spend for one channel but you WILL hear the difference.
i have not heard the aphex 207 myself but it is supposed to be the best 2 channel under $300 ($299.99) preamp around. www.aphex.com/207.htm i plan on getting one soon to test and see if it is really worth it.
Mar 07, 2005 08:19 pm Hey Josh- Is there any chance you could make a really short clip of a vocal take done with both the mackie and then the GT brick in very high quality MP3 so we can hear the difference? That would be awesome.
Mar 07, 2005 08:39 pm I don't think that Presonous or ART will be that much different than the Audio Buddy. I think that you'd have to bust out of the $200 price range to find something that you'll notice as being of better quality.
Looking at your gear profile, how about investing in a compressor/limiter, or a condensor microphone...I don't think that the preamp is a particularly weak spot in your signal chain, unless you're unhappy with it.
Mar 07, 2005 09:01 pm Thanks for all the responses, you guys rock.
Oh sorry I haven't updated my profile in a bit. I recently bought an audio technica (3035) condenser mic that I'm pretty happy with. I've been considering purchasing a compressor, but my software compressors work well so I never really felt I needed one that much.
Mar 09, 2005 05:09 pm For the most part, like 99.9% I gotta agree with Mr. Muffins. On most of my recording I would not waste the time to use any pre's other than the ones that are stock with my MX9k. I did run into one singer the other day that my beh 1953 made a lot of difference.
Mar 09, 2005 05:43 pm Well I purchased a compressor, I found a pretty good deal on a mdx2600 that I couldn't pass up.
I'm looking forward to doing some stereo recordings of acoustic guitar, however, I'm not sure how a sm57 and an at3035 are gonna pair up
on an acoustic guitar :P
We'll see, you never know.
Mar 09, 2005 08:54 pm unfortunately I'm stuck with only 1 preamp channel, but after hearing my acoustic miced up with an SM57 and then with a condensor, I can't wait to get the strong bass of close-micing with a dynamic and the brightness and articulation of a condensor at the same time.
I think the 57 and the 3035 could be a great pair!
Mar 09, 2005 09:09 pm yeah that's sort of what i was thinking.. an sm57 at the hole and a condenser at the neck, might sound pretty slick.
Mar 11, 2005 02:16 am Oh, I can't wait until the Joe Meek One Q is available, it looks SWEEEEET!!!!!!!!!!!
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