$500 Mic Pre?

[pulsemasta]

So I need a Mic Pre Amp, but I only have about $500...... and everyone keeps telling me there is no quality Pre's for 500........ is this true? cause I dont have 3k to drop on one at the moment......... someone.... please..... anyone?

[KurtR]

Maybe groove tubes brick? What do you need it for?

[Monsterlab]

Brick or Grace 101. Both very nice pres for around that. You might find an Altec 1567 for that as well.

[voiceone]

The Presonus Eureka isn't too bad. It's $499 retail. I'm selling mine cause I'm upgrading to a A-Designs MP1a. I'll sell the Eureka to you for $350 dollars if you're interested. Others may know of better preamps for the money.

Curt

[Chrisc_o]

The new Joe Meek 6Q is what I'm looking at right now. I've got a 3Q and want to upgrade to something with a bit more to it.

Great character, useable eq and compression, and digital output.

[juicylime]

I ain't no mic-pre guru but surely for something like this secondhand is the only way to go?

[mhartman]

How are you with electronics? I just finished racking a pair of API line amp cards (converted to preamps). In the end, I paid about $700 for all parts (it would be much cheaper if you built the preamps from scratch and/or went with 1 channel). It sounds so nice that I'm thinking about selling one of my high end (around $2k) preamps to buy some other slutty gear. Here's how it turned out. Good luck.

[kieran kelly]

Its a tiny bit more but quality wise and for the expandability the Eisen Audio Pres

are Great . http://www.eisenaudio.com/ea/index.php

These are REAL pro quality and as your needs grow so # of pres .


Eisen Pres ( built ) $500 ( - $50 to +$150 ) depending on the options ...

API Rack $350 used .

I know this is more than you want to spend but trust me going the extra mile will make you happy in the future. and the up side this level of suff holds its value .

[lpkyer]

amazing job !!!

[jdier]

Originally Posted by pulsemasta

So I need a Mic Pre Amp, but I only have about $500...... and everyone keeps telling me there is no quality Pre's for 500........ is this true? cause I dont have 3k to drop on one at the moment......... someone.... please..... anyone?

I am far from an expert, but I would suggest that the FMR RNP is a good quality preamp.

[Steve MacMillan]

Grace 101

[mhartman]

Thanks Lou. BTW, it is bull that you can't get a good quality recording from $500 preamps. I have heard recordings done with m-box pres that sound pretty damn good. In the end, source, acoustics and mic placement matter a lot more than cost of mic/pre.

[kieran kelly]

Thats true, but the better the Quality of your tools the less hard you will have to work and the more you can focus on Artistic choices. I have the MP20 ( If I Recall the same preamp as the Eureka ) by Personus in my studio BTY its a nice little box.

[XHipHop]

There are tons of other cheap pres you can rack up or get racked up. RCA, Gates, preamps off of tape decks, etc.

[mhartman]

Originally Posted by kieran kelly

Thats true, but the better the Quality of your tools the less hard you will have to work and the more you can focus on Artistic choices. I have the MP20 ( If I Recall the same preamp as the Eureka ) by Personus in my studio BTY its a nice little box.

Agreed. I look at it like golf clubs. Buy the same stuff that the pros use. That way when your game (recording) isn't that great, you know that it's you -- not the tools -- that's at fault.

[taturana]

Originally Posted by mhartman

How are you with electronics? I just finished racking a pair of API line amp cards (converted to preamps). In the end, I paid about $700 for all parts (it would be much cheaper if you built the preamps from scratch and/or went with 1 channel). It sounds so nice that I'm thinking about selling one of my high end (around $2k) preamps to buy some other slutty gear. Here's how it turned out. Good luck.

that looks real good... and very well made, congrats...

[juicylime]

Originally Posted by mhartman

Agreed. I look at it like golf clubs. Buy the same stuff that the pros use. That way when your game (recording) isn't that great, you know that it's you -- not the tools -- that's at fault.

When golfslutz and gearslutz collide. It's the wives I feel sorry for.

[mhartman]

Originally Posted by juicylime

When golfslutz and gearslutz collide. It's the wives I feel sorry for.

Oh, don't feel too sorry for the Mrs. She's a card carrying member of shoeslutz and purseslutz.

[Acoustic Cloud]

Originally Posted by Chrisc_o

The new Joe Meek 6Q is what I'm looking at right now. I've got a 3Q and want to upgrade to something with a bit more to it.

Great character, useable eq and compression, and digital output.

+1 on the SixQ

Thats the ticket, especially if you dont have any pres with much feature sets.

If my Hardy or Langevin were out for repair, I wouldnt cancel a session. (Providing it wasnt 2 ch neccesary)

That says ALOT for that pre...it does take time to learn though.

[6strings]

RNP used to be THE pre to recommend for a $500 budget, but is apparently out-of-fashion at the moment.

[deegone]

does anyone like the Summit Audio 2BA 211 ?
it's a nice little pre ,not very clean when boosted ,so forget using it with a ribbon.
the variable impedance knob is very handy ,cool routing capabilities,nice DI.
i think is around 500 bucks,maybe less.
cheers,


d.

[uncle duncan]

Safesound P1 pre/comp is really smooth in the high end, so that if you plug in a cheap Chinese condensor, it doesn't sound nearly as gnarly as it you were using a more crispy pre. The compressor is great for vocals and bass (auto-release). And, because of the smooth high end, it's a great bass DI. Later, after you get more pres, you can still use is as a compressor, bypassing the front end. It also has a monitor circuit if you're going into your DAW and want no-latency monitoring.

[Loud Noize Ent.]

Originally Posted by deegone

does anyone like the Summit Audio 2BA 211 ?
it's a nice little pre ,not very clean when boosted ,so forget using it with a ribbon.
the variable impedance knob is very handy ,cool routing capabilities,nice DI.
i think is around 500 bucks,maybe less.
cheers,


d.

I like my Summit 2BA 211. It does exactly what I want it to do and yes it sounds pretty darn good. It's also in the price range you're looking into. Check it out.

[Daedalus77]

I sense the RNP is heading (in the Low End forum) the way of the Avalon 737 (in the High End hang-out) as the fallen star of preamps. Alas.

I'm no expert, but for $450, I think the RNP is a pretty darn' nice two-channel pre. It doesn't have quite the "cheap-but-can-hold-its-own-with-the-big-boys" cache of its older sibling, the RNC, but it's the best thing going in that price range, I think.

Whatever you do, stay away from anything with the words "Focusrite" and "Platinum Series" on it.

Best of luck.

[mrbowes]

Rane MS-1b

Clean, cheap, and simple.

[flail19]

Originally Posted by Daedalus77

I sense the RNP is heading (in the Low End forum) the way of the Avalon 737 (in the High End hang-out) as the fallen star of preamps. Alas.

I'm no expert, but for $450, I think the RNP is a pretty darn' nice two-channel pre. It doesn't have quite the "cheap-but-can-hold-its-own-with-the-big-boys" cache of its older sibling, the RNC, but it's the best thing going in that price range, I think.

Whatever you do, stay away from anything with the words "Focusrite" and "Platinum Series" on it.

Best of luck.

Originally Posted by 6strings

RNP used to be THE pre to recommend for a $500 budget, but is apparently out-of-fashion at the moment.

I'm here to tell you. I really like my RNP for some things (not everything). It's a Damn good preamp for the money and don't forget it's (2) of them. Some of these that are being mentioned are just 1 bangers. Just my .02

[Janesaid2me]

I say it depends what you need it for...do you need one channel or two...do you want it colored or clean? People gave suggestions that fit both of these...answer that question and then you'll limit your choices down to one or two.

[rodreb]

Honestly, I'm still very pleased with my Presonus Eureka for a pre in that price range.

And the people/service at Presonus (From my experiences) can't be beat. That means a lot to me.

[pulsemasta]

Originally Posted by rodreb

Honestly, I'm still very pleased with my Presonus Eureka for a pre in that price range.

And the people/service at Presonus (From my experiences) can't be beat. That means a lot to me.

Thats what I ended up getting, The Eureka...... did you notice that when the EQ and COMP are tuned on it creates a fair amount of hiss??


Thanks to everyone who responded!!

[pulsemasta]

Originally Posted by mhartman

How are you with electronics? I just finished racking a pair of API line amp cards (converted to preamps). In the end, I paid about $700 for all parts (it would be much cheaper if you built the preamps from scratch and/or went with 1 channel). It sounds so nice that I'm thinking about selling one of my high end (around $2k) preamps to buy some other slutty gear. Here's how it turned out. Good luck.

Im un-skilled in the electronics, I would probably burn everything with the solder