Quote:
Originally Posted by Liam  I'd like a single channel pre that does well with acoustic guitar, bass DI, Vox and mic'ed up guitar cabs. I have an SM57, Studio Projects C-1 and can borrow a TLM103 for the time being. Here are some things I'm considering:
*Price range: ABOUT $2000
*Versatility: I'd like it to be considered a "first choice pre" for the above sources, not just an "I'd choose it, but only for vox" type thing. Is that too much to hope for in a single pre?
*Sound: Up front yet smooth, not edgy. I'd like one that can smooth out my DAW recordings. A real sense of warmth and character would be nice. One of my pet peeves is that upper-mids frequency range where there's a lot of cut and bite in guitar and vocals. It always sounds really smooth on well recorded, comercial CDs. I listen to my own guitar and vox tracks which may cut throught the mix equally well but have added harshness. I hear this a lot in hobbyist/not quite pro recordings. I've used an Avalon 737 and liked it quite a bit...but I'm not 100% sold on it's sound nor on having a combo unit. Coloration is good as long as it sounds good on all my sources.
*Quality: I'm past the "this has so many bells and whistles and only costs $200" stage. I now buy gear that does one thing and does it well. Maybe that's why I'm leaning away from a combo unit (not to say that there aren't some great ones out there). I'm looking for a pre that I will never want to sell and, if for some reason I have to, one that I can get a decent re-sale price for.
Any suggestions? |
Great River NV, $1075/channel.
i don't think you will be able to find a more versatile and exceptional preamp at any price.
btw i have an Avalon 737 and a Great River NV... the GR gets used over the Avalon 95% of the time, irregardless of source material/genre.
best of luck w/your search!
~j.d. justice