Isa 220 or 428

[P. Rene]

Lost between these 2 here. The 220 is single channel with comp and eq which i hear is really good and the 428 is 4 mic pre's no comp and no eq. If i purchased the 428 i would get 4 good-great pres but then find my own comp and eq which would equal more. But any reviews on these little pieces, im ready to grab 1 of these. Thanks

[cap217]

I owned both at one time... the eq on the 220 is actually great. It is very surgical and I used it more at mixdown. THe compressor sucks though.

THe 428 and the 220 pres are the same but kind of boring. It is all matter of taste though. I would listen to them yourself.

[Revelation]

Originally Posted by cap217

I owned both at one time... the eq on the 220 is actually great. It is very surgical and I used it more at mixdown. THe compressor sucks though.

THe 428 and the 220 pres are the same but kind of boring. It is all matter of taste though. I would listen to them yourself.

There's that boring word being used again. It is not a hyped or really big sound, but that can be a good thing. With the EQ and compressor, you can get the sound you want. If you don't need the extra pre's and want flexibility, go with the 220. If you need extra pre's but don't have good EQ, get the 220. If you already have outboard EQ and compressors, get the 428

[cap217]

I would get the 430... everything is accessable individually and there are more toys!

[SoundUniverse]

I've got a 428 along with a TG-2, Portico 5012, UA 2-610 etc. and I find the 428 a great high quality utility pre that also has selectable load settings to give you variable tone, a low freq filter and you can fit it with the optional 8 channel A/D card giving you an extra 4 channels of A/D for four other pres! The A/D card is quite good.

[P. Rene]

Well the 428 and 220 is available to play with a pay option, the 430 is not their. This is with AmericanMusical.com. Anything else on this page worth considering http://www.americanmusical.com/sort....ps&m=05_87_359 also i did some basic tracking with less gear but i know its time to go hi end now.

www.myspace.com/ktrakz and listen to Someone Special (or anyother songs) i did that with the senheiser e835, mackie 1202vlz pro, rme adi-2 to reaper/nuendo at 32bit 44k. I think im ready to go to the hiend and learn my 1st hiend gear till i purchase another set thanks.

[danasti]

Originally Posted by P. Rene

Well the 428 and 220 is available to play with a pay option, the 430 is not their. This is with AmericanMusical.com.

Dude... what a bummer. you have to shop @ American Musical???

If you want highend you'll get more options @

http://www.mercenary.com/
http;//www.atlasproaudio.com
http://www.vintageking.com
http://www.highprofileaudio.com/index.html
http://www.frontendaudio.com

Not to crap on focusrite but there are many other mic amps.. and you can feel better about the pocket you end up putting your cash into. IMO .... YMMV (and all that!)

[P. Rene]

well these pockets cant afford that stuff. Im using my only resources and gonna make the use of it. But im torn on these 2.

[cap217]

why is it you can only shop there? I mean, you can get credit other places....

But if you are sticking to that stuff then your right, those 2 are the best there. So now it comes to what you need....

4 channels for drums?

Only Vox?

The eq and compressor is good because I assume you dont have better stuff around. If I were you in your situation the 220 is the answer!

[Musiclab]

Originally Posted by cap217

I owned both at one time... the eq on the 220 is actually great. It is very surgical and I used it more at mixdown. THe compressor sucks though.

THe 428 and the 220 pres are the same but kind of boring. It is all matter of taste though. I would listen to them yourself.

the compressor doesnt suck, but it's definetly NOT for drums, and its definetly not
the first thing I'd reach for

[danasti]

Originally Posted by P. Rene

well these pockets cant afford that stuff. Im using my only resources and gonna make the use of it. But im torn on these 2.

There are mic amps at those places that cost either just as much, less or slightly over.

Check the Pacifica?.
Maybe an Api 6 space w/ 2 OSA modules right @ $1600. (+ you can add more later!)
What about a Vintech?
Great river + speck eq?

One thing I recommend is buying separate pre - eq - comp. I wish I would have never bought a channel strip for my home studio as I went along.

It's also a matter of finding the right sound for you. Most of those companies will let you demo the gear for the price of shipping - that can save your life.

That's just my 2 cents. I know what I would do if I had to start buying gear from scratch.

[Musiclab]

Originally Posted by danasti

There are mic amps at those places that cost either just as much, less or slightly over.

Check the Pacifica?.
Maybe an Api 6 space w/ 2 OSA modules right @ $1600. (+ you can add more later!)
What about a Vintech?
Great river + speck eq?

One thing I recommend is buying separate pre - eq - comp. I wish I would have never bought a channel strip for my home studio as I went along.

It's also a matter of finding the right sound for you. Most of those companies will let you demo the gear for the price of shipping - that can save your life.

That's just my 2 cents. I know what I would do if I had to start buying gear from scratch.

I really like buying mic pre eq's and there are many out there that are pretty terrific

[P. Rene]

what im saying is american musical lets me have the pay option monthly. I dont have any where near the kind of money to just buy the pre i want. And yes my drums are sampled so no need for 4 channels for drums at all. Maybe to dump my drum machine outs. But the isa 220 looks to be the chip i need to continue.

[P. Rene]

also going to use at4050 vocal mic and then try the classic 2.

[mkharvey11]

Call it boring. I say they're really transparent. the name says it all. It's a tight focused sound, not a loose floppy sound. It's not a colored sound like from a tube pre, but it's real and present and dynamic, controlled with extended highs. I record a lot of acoustic instruments and these do really great. I have 3 428's and a 430. The 430 makes a great vocal channel, or anything else channel - especially for RnB, hip hop and country vocals, where a tight focused sound compliments the music. 428's get killer drum sounds, and I've had good results with ac guitar, piano, strings.

That said, you gotta keep em cool or they'll end up in the shop for repair. They operate pretty hot. I got little DC computer fans in the back back of my rack blowing on each of mine.

[danander11]

I use two of the 428's each with the ADC card installed.. I find them to be great pre's. My favorite is to use them with Sennheiser 421's on toms.. tweak the impedance until it sounds nice.. They really are good pres.

[waxx]

I would go for the 428 as i don't really like the eq and comp on the 220. The pre is boring in the way that it is a bit middle of the road but hi end (not really clean, but not very coloured neighter), wich makes it the perfect utility pre. With that i mean you can use it for anything without sounding bad at all, but nothing special neighter. Not boring in the meaning of bad sounding.

It's just like a good console pre (like SSL pre's of the Duality/AWS and similar) that you use next to a few specialised pre's. Or even for everything if you don't have more. You won't really notice it in the end result i think. And many albums are done with that pre and score.