Presonus Firepod Preamps - How good are they?

[loydma3]

none of u guys have a answer for this?

[bigbone]

I use it to record drums and like it.........

[erosconpollo]

According to what I've read at the Presonus board, the Firepod pres are essentially the same as the Bluetube preamp without the tube running. Not bad, but the MP20 is a definite step up.

Haven't used the Art so I couldn't say anything about it. Have used the MP20 and like it quite a bit. Clean, reasonably full -- considering the price, a pretty good deal. Just don't use that ridiculous control that adds distortion...

[chief lutt]

i love my mpa gold. the sonus on the other hand...i say read what others have to say about the fire_________(fill in the blank). read customer reviews and go to to harmony central. from what i've read and experienced they have reliability issues.

[Pluto]

To me, the firebox and firepod sound basically the same. Maybe a little better on the firepod.

[loydma3]

Originally Posted by Pluto

To me, the firebox and firepod sound basically the same. Maybe a little better on the firepod.

what does that have to do with the question?

[AlexLakis]

In my experience, they're good enough. If you can't make a great record with it, the pres are not the problem.

[luctellier]

Everything I recorded so far were using Presonus Firepod's preamp except guitars for our last album. They are good for the price you pay for sure... I think the Firepod is a great package deal (convert, 8 preamps, etc) for that price.

[warhead]

Originally Posted by loydma3

How do the pre's on the firepod compare to say---

art MPA gold
Presonus MP20

As stated in this thread the Firepod preamps are right smack dab in the camp of "they'll do" but they're not high end. Worth way more than their asking price in that package anyhow.

The ART MPA Gold first of all will deliver VERY high gain...! You can get that thing pretty smokin' pumped up. It's a bit darkish, and not the most clear pre...you can push it by turning the output down and the input up. Versatile, mainly for more driven / rock type of applications.

The MP20 has always struck me as "eh". Yes, it's a step up for sure. You're also talking about spending as much on 2 pres as you did on your Firepod also. You're not going to hear 4x more clarity and detail, but certainly a bit of a step towards that direction.

What direction are you trying to go? What are you mainly doing? The two pres you mention could not be in more completely different categories sound wise and functionality wise.

War

[briefcasemanx]

The firepod pres are not good. They're not bad either.

I'm probably going to upgrade my firepod soon. Also, 4 years? I bought it when it first came out and I could only find 1 online review, and that was a little less than 3 years ago.

[Pluto]

Originally Posted by loydma3

what does that have to do with the question?

Ah, no need for this. Regardless of the answers one recieves, complaining is not going to get anywhere. I feel that this has a lot of relevance to the question. How should I know that you don't know what the firebox pres sound like?

[jonutarr]

Presonus Firepod Preamps - How good are they?

they suck

put mine on ebay the day after i got it

[treymonfauntre]

Originally Posted by Pluto

Ah, no need for this. Regardless of the answers one recieves, complaining is not going to get anywhere. I feel that this has a lot of relevance to the question. How should I know that you don't know what the firebox pres sound like?

it doesn't have that much relevance since they're the exact same preamps

[Alexi]

i love my firepod...the pres are very good imo. , i recorded several records with the unit.....you can not get more bang for the buck.....

[loydma3]

ok, mainly im looking for a pre used to track hip hop and R&B vocals

im looking for something that will be a definate step UP


Here is the chain so far-

Studio Projects C1- Firepod pres- art pro vla- firepod convert- into my computer-

95% of what I do is track vocals so I want to get something to assist that- maybe you all could listen to a track I just finished
http://profile.imeem.com/MTWIiR/musi...9pOv/gun_2_ya/

hmmm- maybe i want them sounding a little more- "pro" but they are good already

[warhead]

Originally Posted by treymonfauntre

it doesn't have that much relevance since they're the exact same preamps

This is incorrect. The Firebox uses a much lower gain preamp.

Not the same.

War

[Graham Tobias]

firepod pre's are perfectly fine. I did a 19 track jazz album with one and everything sounds pretty darn good. I used decent mics that were placed well in a good room. That helps a ton with the firepod... the more good in the chain before the pre, the better. I do have several issues with the pre's though. No pads, the 4 channel at once phantom power and the lack of gain. Basically the pre's suck for ribbon mics.

[Jesse Mangum]

I think the Firepod preamps sound pretty good... the entire Wizard Of Ahhhs EP by Black Kids was recorded using just a Firepod and Cubase LE... absolutely NO outboard gear... it was only supposed to be a demo, but it ended up being quite popular.

Oh, and the only mics used were SM57's, by the way!

[moon_unit]

Very generally speaking ...

... I've just always found Presonus pres to put sort of this thin layer of brown, smelly feces on top of everything you track with them.

And no matter how much lysol you spray on it ... it just continues to have that smell, and never quite gets clean.

But that's just me.

[THEODICY]

Originally Posted by Jesse Mangum

I think the Firepod preamps sound pretty good... the entire Wizard Of Ahhhs EP by Black Kids was recorded using just a Firepod and Cubase LE... absolutely NO outboard gear... it was only supposed to be a demo, but it ended up being quite popular.

Oh, and the only mics used were SM57's, by the way!

What's up Jesse! Matt from Jax, now ATL. Shoot me yo email addy.

[Shaolin]

So we all know the firepod pres are not high end, but what about the DI and line ins? Are these any better? Is the conversion another sticking point?

[Bhang]

Its a budget box, so for what its worth it sounds good. I find that I prefer it to the motu 824 series stuff, but it still has a bit to be desired. The pre's are kind of clunky and you can't hone in very well on the gain especially at higher gain settings. They are fairly quiet are clean , though, and the converters are decent too. I had 2 when they first came out and would have kept them if there weren't so many initial bugs. For the price its pretty solid.

[jbsg02]

I had a firepod and my RNP was clearly a step up, however the RNP is the same price as the entire firepod unit, so its really not a fair battle.

[Shaolin]

Hey Bhang are you referring to the motu 828? Interesting that you should find the firepod better - I was thinking of upgrading TO that!

Jbsg02, I imagine the RNP is going to have better pres than the firepod but it doesn't do AD conversion.

I'm probably just gonna do the RME Fireface anyway!

[guitargodmiles]

I just got the saffire 56 and it made me feel like I had a towel over my speakers for years that I just took off and heard for the first time. Presonus firepod is garbage...can't believe I stuck with it for so many years

[FilmNMusicman]

I mean are we still talking about this...

I owned a Presonus Firepod when they first came out in around 2005

Things have changed a lot in the game since then. You can do much better now in terms of quality. BUT, if we're talking second hand maybe getting one for around $150-200 it's great.

It's NOT a "bad" interface. Sure there is better but you'll pay for it.

[disconnected]

I used the Firepods for years. It served me well for years. I just got a Focusrite Scarlett 18i6 and a Focusrite OctoPre MkII and they put the Firepods preamps to shame. You can get good sounds with the Firepods it just takes more tweaking (eq, mic placement) the Focusrite has better preamps and that just makes it easier from the get go

[saxmeister]

I definitely wouldn't call them garbage, but they aren't high-end either. For the money and the whole package you can't really complain. The pres won't get in your way, and if they do then you need to look at what you are doing.

Never had any issues with mine. Pretty much rock solid for 7+ years. Just sent it back to Presonus to have the firmware replaced so that my SPDIF would work again after a previous firmware update. They replaced it at no charge as an under warranty repair after being 6+ years out of warranty. Not bad on the customer service side of things.

Yes, my other outboard and even newer interface pres sound better, but for a long time they got me through a lot.