Purpose bought pre-amps

Nebulous

Nebulous

Daniel
Dec 14, 2003
4,536
3
38
Brookfield, VIC, Australia
As time goes by and money gets saved im looking to start upgrading my preamps to external units (as oppose to the shite im using now who's brand im ashamed to own).
I thought it might be a good discussion point for both Noob's and pro's alike to talk about and recommend Preamps that are good for certain types of recording/ instruments, for example, for my first upgrade, i'd like to buy a pre that is transparent and clear, say for vocals, overheads and guitars.
I would also look at a pre that compliments bass driven instruments.

So what pre(s) do you recommend? What pre(s) do you use?

Lets make it broad by including (where possible) two categories, the "I can save for that in a few months", and the "I will enquire about selling my kidney and right index finger on the black market tomorrow" price ranges :p

Daniel \m/
 
I think this is a great topic...I'm still with you nebulous, using 2nd or 3rd tier preamps. But I've been doing a little homework: between this forum, the digidesign forums (boo!!), and tape-op, I've heard only great things about Presonus products.
 
Presonus uh? havent heard of them before, although i haven't heard of that many pre brands at all. the only real investigation that i though was worth the time was looking through local shop catolouges, but they can't always be trusted in what they say, and they prices tend to jump from a few hundred, to $3000+, i'd hate to think that no pre's exist between those price ranges....?

Daniel\m/
 
If you are on a budget, the Really Nice Preamp (RNP) http://mercenary.com/fmrrnmp.html is a nice unit.

The True P2 is a good unit that is inbetween your $500 and $3000 http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/P2Analog/ I've heard the 8 chanel version and it's a very nice unit without too much color.

For overheads and vocals I use the Avalon 2022 (http://www.avalondesign.com/mp2022.html) it's very detailed and very smooth.

For guitars I will use the Avalon with a ribbon mic, or a vintage Neve with an SM-57. The ribbon with the neve is too warm for distorted guitars for me.
 
Great thread!, Im curious to know also what preamps work best for different applications. Im also in the market for some new pre's I use the pre's on the digi 002 modeled after focusrites. I also have the Presonus 96K through adat and I find myself using the pre's from the Mackie mixer also. Through trial and error (mostly error) Ive been figuring out what works best for what, But I would still like to know what Andy or James use for each instrument. Im itching for some new outbopard gear in general. All opinions much appreciated!:headbang:
 
If you've got the cash, get the Great River Mp2NV. "Fucking Awesome" is the most honest two word review I can give you.

Check it out here:
http://www.mercenary.com/greatrivelmp.html

If you can't spend that much, get the one channel version.
http://www.mercenary.com/greatrivmp1.html

You can use these on track after track, and they won't annihilate your mix by frequency buildup... I can't recommend these enough.


-0z-
 
OzNimbus said:
If you've got the cash, get the Great River Mp2NV. "Fucking Awesome" is the most honest two word review I can give you.

Check it out here:
http://www.mercenary.com/greatrivelmp.html

If you can't spend that much, get the one channel version.
http://www.mercenary.com/greatrivmp1.html

You can use these on track after track, and they won't annihilate your mix by frequency buildup... I can't recommend these enough.


-0z-
Click to expand...

Seconded with extreme enthusiasm!
Also, on the more "budget" end, the RNP is indeed a great clean pre, and The Brick by Groove Tubes is the only real tube pre worth looking at if you're looking to spend under $1000, I feel. I think I've mentioned this thing a dozen times on this forum, but it's like I've found religion, and I just can't shut up about it. It's just really swell. I'm not going to completely trash Presonus and Focusrite (right now anyway), but if you can, try before you buy. I'll leave it at that. Some people love them though, so who knows.
The Great River stuff though... it's worth saving for if you want an awesome pre (or two).
 
Great River are definately not the first thing that pops into mind when I think of 'transparent'. But to each his own.

The Buzz Audio pre I was talking about is the MA2 Dual Class A.
I'd also suggest a look into the Api 3124+.

The Api is a tad crunchy, but that's probably just fine for the type of music you'll be recording... Dave also got one of his for really cheap. $2,400AUD off ebay. I think they come with 8 channels per unit, so that's pretty damn sweet.
 
Moonlapse said:
I'd also suggest a look into the Api 3124+.

The Api is a tad crunchy, but that's probably just fine for the type of music you'll be recording... Dave also got one of his for really cheap. $2,400AUD off ebay. I think they come with 8 channels per unit, so that's pretty damn sweet.
Click to expand...

They're 4 chanels per unit. I think they're great for drums, don't like 'em on guitars.
 
Cheers for all the replies so far guys.

As for anything Audio related and worth saving for in Australia, it generally isn't cheap at all, since most of the time it has to be specially imported/ ordered by shops, who don't like giving much of a discount on anything they have to put a bit of effort into. And then theres the whole shipping/ customs/ gov'nt fees and shit.
But i guess of you want the good shit, you have to hand over the goods (cash).

Daniel\m/
 
After a quick look through the recomendations and refering to the prices on the relavent sites and a local catologue i have, the FMR Audio RNP seems pretty decent and priced around $1000AUD.
I also found the Avalon AD2022, personally, i dont have $5000 dollars to spend on 2 channels.........but it would be a REALY FUCKIN HUGE (!) improvement over what i have now. lol.

Cheers
 
I'm wondering why no one has mentioned UNIVERSAL AUDIO M-610 or LA-610.
Ain't those the shit or am I completely wrong?

Thomann price for M-610 is only 1285 euros and the LA-610 is 1660 euros. Cheap or what?

Ofcourse, you can't record a full drum set with one or two of those, but still, for vocals, bass and guitar + other mono instruments the M-610 (for 1285e) sounds good to me. I would love to hear andy's opinions... am I on a wrong track on this?

what a great thread for a change!
 
For the RNP go herehttp://www.fmraudio.com/orderinginfo.htm

yeah, you know, I haven't tried every mic pre under the sun, and although it's great to have a killer selection, I think mic position, string guage etc play a far bigger part in the tone than a mic pre. I know its all about the chain, and no weak links etc but people get so wrapped up in having to have this pre and that etc.
I'll still use the Focusrite pres on the control 24 if I'm doing a quick demo, wouldn't kill me if I had to use a mackie so......

I do like the Crane Song spider though, and the amek 9098s
 
Haha I just lost my connection and had written a posted like Andy's. Several years ago I invested in my first good preamp (vintech neve 1272) and was very dissapointed. It wasnt until I invested in good monitors that I could really tell what my problems were... they werent the pre. It was in amp setup and mic placement.

Until everything is else is perfect there are way bigger improvements that can be made. Moving a mic a centimeter into the absolute perfect spot with a mackie will beat out a great river pre with the mic placement A LITTLE off. Same thing goes with amp setup/guitar choice.
 
ok, mic pres don't make so much difference, I believe you guys. No Janedoe will hear the difference or even myself. But I think everyone writing on this thread are seriously wanting to get closer on highend recording, and not wanting to settle on the console pres.

We've never used a 8 channel rack pre to records drums, but it would be nice to have atleast a good pre or two, for getting everything out of the sound when recording a commercial album.

For now we've settled for decent console pres and a Tascam 48 1/2-inch analog multitrack for drums. I'm not complaining... but still, I am getting the M-610, but I'm not selling my kidney to get 8000 bucks for a 8 channel pre ;) I'd rather trade my second testicle to a DM2000 console and probably be satisfied on the pres in it :)
 
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