Best but affordable Tube Preamp for vocals

[Metaltastic]

Oh wow, yeah, I definitely don't remember the 4050 always being $700 new; could've sworn it was $500 up until recently, though I still doubt that'd get down to <$200 used (not sure about the 4047, and as for the SM7, they really seem to hold their value, I've never seen one for under like $220 )

 

[veronicafalls]

Yeah, you'll definitely hear a greater benefit in sound quality by getting a new mic rather than preamp for your current one - Studio Projects C1 gets my vote for your budget!

that mic sounds pretty good actually. I looked up some demos on youtube and it sounded very decent, thanks for the recommendation!!

 

[Metaltastic]

No problem man - if you can swing an Audio Technica AT40333 that'd be my first choice, but if not, I highly doubt you'll be disappointed with the C1!

 

[colonel kurtz]

+1 for the ART MPA gold/digital MPA being the only "affordable" tube pre under $300

the GT brick, from what i can tell, is supposed to be pretty damned sweet as well, but it doesn't have a ton of gain, has dick for features, and is $400 new

from there, the next step in tube pres that are worth a shit is going to be something like a UA solo 610 for about $800 new

 

[veronicafalls]

how about any of the Audio Technica 30 series. Are those any good compared to the 40 series

 

[JeffTD]

I've had a 3035 and a 4040 - I liked both. The 4040 had more detail but, as Marcus said, had a top end that could be annoying, depending on the singer. I had to de-ess more often than not, as a result. The 3035 didn't have the same spike in the upper end, but at the same time didn't have as much detail. It can also be found for about $100 bucks, with a shockmount, so it's not a bad choice by any means. At worst, it's works as a solid drum room mic!

 

[veronicafalls]

hmm.. I'm getting sold on to the studio projects C1. I hear good things about it, and some demos on youtube sound very good too. It's just if I were to get that kind of mic would a 200 or less mic tube pre do good for me? If not which ones would be able to give me good results.

Again I have a tascam 1641 usb audio interface and currently have an akg perception 120 mic. with no mic pre or compressor, I usually use waves c4 anyway for compressing.

 

[JeffTD]

hmm.. I'm getting sold on to the studio projects C1. I hear good things about it, and some demos on youtube sound very good too. It's just if I were to get that kind of mic would a 200 or less mic tube pre do good for me? If not which ones would be able to give me good results.

Again I have a tascam 1641 usb audio interface and currently have an akg perception 120 mic. with no mic pre or compressor, I usually use waves c4 anyway for compressing.

No tube mic pre under 200 will sound anything less than shit.

the C1 is fine.

Your interface has built-in mic pres. Use them. They're as good as any other pre less than $500 or so.

 

[Metaltastic]

No tube mic pre under 200 will sound anything less than shit.

the C1 is fine.

Your interface has built-in mic pres. Use them. They're as good as any other pre less than $500 or so.

+1 to it all!

 

[zackpennington]

Not to hijack, but do you think my AT4033 will be suitable for screaming vocals? I've only recorded singing on it so far and it's great. I know my buddy Joey uses one of those Shure SM7b's. I'm just not sure if I'd need another mic any time soon.

 

[Full_Tilt]

IMO a half decent mic is going to cost a lot less than a half decent tube pre amp and will widen the window for possible results ,most of them good but if and when you decide to upgrade your home studio with some tube gear TLAudio have some affordable products as well as some stuff that I could never afford. I currently use 2 of the TLA ivory 2 , 5051 tube preamp - eq - compressor , its pretty versatile too.

 

[colonel kurtz]

Not to hijack, but do you think my AT4033 will be suitable for screaming vocals? I've only recorded singing on it so far and it's great. I know my buddy Joey uses one of those Shure SM7b's. I'm just not sure if I'd need another mic any time soon.

i was recording some metal vox a week ago...put up a 57, i5, and 4033, and liked the 4033 the most

i prefer the i5 for my voice, but on this guy the 4033 took the cake. i also have a rode NT-2A, which is a great mic, but i don't much like it on screaming vox

 

[darthjujuu]

SM7 is sort-of the unspoken standard for screams/growls/metal vox, it seems. it's worth mentioning that joey sturgis has used an at4040 for his screamy stuff. I've heard some seriously epic shit tracked through RNP before. that needs more focus. it's very intermediately priced, too. $475. (RNP = really nice preamp. lulz). it'd be nice if it had a/d conversion too, but wuddayagonnado.

http://www.humbuckermusic.com/fmraudrnreal.html

there's no tubes in it, big deal. SM7 > RNP = me satisfied, for just about any project i'll probably ever do.

 

[AllanD]

No tube mic pre under 200 will sound anything less than shit.

the C1 is fine.

Your interface has built-in mic pres. Use them. They're as good as any other pre less than $500 or so.

:Smokin:




I highly doubt that.

 

[Metaltastic]

I agree, but I also think the difference will hardly be night and day

 

[AllanD]

I agree, but I also think the difference will hardly be night and day

That's true, but I'm not even talking about sound, I'm mostly talking about amount of gain, and noise to signal ratio.

 

[Metaltastic]

Eh, amount of gain isn't necessarily a product of price (look at the VTB1), and SNR doesn't really matter too much when metal is concerned! (within reason obviously, but still)

 

[beyond dead]

believe it or not, there are different FLAVORS of cheap pre`s. some pres are better suited for different applications, such as different mics are better suited for an individuals voice. You can get a taste of different flavors of pres in the cheap variety. IMO it is worthwhile to observe how different "flavors" are suited for specific applications before spending lots of cash on their expensive counterparts.

So just keep this in mind along your journey of pursuing the world of audio engineering. Not all cheap pres will have the same characteristics. I have several different cheap pres. my old mbox, the ones in my firepod, profire 2626, vtb 1, and a samson cvalve. All of which sound great when paired with a good mic and the right source.

But I agree that having a good mic is crucial to achieving a good sound.

I would suggest grabbing an sm7b and a good large diaphragm condenser, and start testing different pre/mic/source combinations!

 

[TRA]

I wouldn't buy something just because it has a tube in it. A cheap starved plate tube preamp like the ART or Presonus stuff is very different from say...a Groove Tubes Vipre.

The least expensive, non-starved plate, tube preamp would be the Groove Tubes Brick although it doesn't have a really tube-y sound nor does it offer a whole lot of gain.

 

[Jason Selden]

I love my Groove tubes brick

http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Brick


Its a good value.



J.