DMP-3 + Behringer T1952 Tube Composer

[zenkonami]

At a total cost of about $300 for two channels of preamp and compression, am I mad?

Thinking of using these and running (more often than not) an RE20, SM7, MC012 and an as of yet undetermined large diaphragm condenser (possibly an AT4040) through them. Anyone have any experience with either the pre and/or the comp? Behringer's reputation always proceeds them, but I haven't read any bad things about this unit and even a former (and very actively working) mentor of mine says he uses it quite a bit.

The preamp looks pretty awesome for the price, but I can't seem to find one locally to find out how it sounds. Again, heard good things about it.

Alternatively, I could keep it at one channel and just go with the M-Audio TAMPA (pre/comp) at $400, but that DMP-3 seems to have more gain and less THD as well as an additional channel.

I've had good experiences with M-Audio in the past (both in gear and service) but am by no means tied to them. These units just seemed closest to what I was looking for. Any experiences/advice would be helpful.

-Zen

[mrufino1]

The dmp3 is very nice- very quiet (noise wise I mean- plenty of gain!) and doesn't sound harsh. I wish I hadn't sold mine last year. If you go to my page here:
http://www.harveymoon.com/?go=music&...e9d9d9434f01a3
And click on the preproduction demo mp3's for silence me and say when, they were done entirely with a dmp3 and mbox and dbx 266 compressor, nothing else, so every channel is running through those.

[AlexLakis]

I own three DMP-3s and a Tube Composer.

I like the DMP-3s. They are relatively clean, with lots of gain. They can get a little harsh if you push them with transients. I've found this to be true for a lot of cheaper preamps...An API can take spikes from timbales for days, while preamps like the DMP-3 and VTB-1 will choke up. Make sure you leave yourself plenty of headroom and listen, as the metering is not the most accurate. Also, the phase flip switch is on the back, which makes me want to kill someone.

To be completely honest, I've turned the Tube Composer on, but it's never been hooked up to my patch bay. I actually bought it years ago simply because I thought it looked cool, and to take up space in my (what was then) pretty barren rack. I know, how lame is that? It may never meet a signal chain in my studio, but I might give it a chance someday if I ever get around to hooking it up and giving it a try.

Here is a link to a song I posted in the MP3 section which could give you an idea of how the DMP-3s sound. I used the DMP-3s for the drum overheads, bottom snare mic, and percussion. They are completely unmodified with any further outboard (no EQ, compression, etc.,) and I didn't use any plugins on them (I barely used any plugins on the song at all.) The mics for the overheads were a SM81 and a MXL603. The bottom snare mic was a SM7b.

Weird lil song...

[untitledtopher]

another vote for the dmp-3, you really can't go wrong with it, hell, buy two. i love mine and plan on picking upa second, nice clean gain.

[bcgood]

Originally Posted by AlexLakis

Here is a link to a song I posted in the MP3 section which could give you an idea of how the DMP-3s sound. I used the DMP-3s for the drum overheads, bottom snare mic, and percussion. They are completely unmodified with any further outboard (no EQ, compression, etc.,) and I didn't use any plugins on them (I barely used any plugins on the song at all.) The mics for the overheads were a SM81 and a MXL603. The bottom snare mic was a SM7b.

Weird lil song...

It's kind of hard to judge something like a pre amp used for drums, (Cymbals etc) with a 128 kbps mp3. A shorter clip at 320/256 would help more. Interesting sounding band though, not sure about the off key guitar notes that start off...

bcgood

________________

[AlexLakis]

LOL! The first time I heard the band play the song I was like "Uhh, what the f*ck is up with that guitar part? Are you playing the right notes?"

Yup. Sure enough every time they've played it, he plays those same exact notes. Guess that makes them perfectly "on key," eh?

If anyone is interested, I can email a .WAV snippet, just send me a PM.

[bcgood]

Originally Posted by AlexLakis

LOL! The first time I heard the band play the song I was like "Uhh, what the f*ck is up with that guitar part? Are you playing the right notes?"

Yup. Sure enough every time they've played it, he plays those same exact notes. Guess that makes them perfectly "on key," eh?

If anyone is interested, I can email a .WAV snippet, just send me a PM.

You gotta love some of the choices bands make. I mean maybe latter on some accidental notes that are done tastefully is one thing, just my opinion of course funny stuff. I would like to hear the wave file especially if you have any other clips with the DMP-3, I'm thinking of getting one for outdoor ambient recordings with my mobile set up. Do you have any vocals that where recorded with one? I guess I should do a search, lazy me!

bcgood

[untitledtopher]

hey man if you want some vocals recorded with it check out the link in my profile, the firs song on the myspace page was done with an mxl 990s and a dmp3 on everything in about an hour, not the best example but it might be a general idea of what you're looking for.

[bcgood]

Originally Posted by untitledtopher

hey man if you want some vocals recorded with it check out the link in my profile, the firs song on the myspace page was done with an mxl 990s and a dmp3 on everything in about an hour, not the best example but it might be a general idea of what you're looking for.

Cool thanks, sounds smooth. Still would like to hear some wave files without any compression.

bcgood

[peeder]

For the same price, what do people think of the Presonus Blue Tube?

I'm thinking about picking up some cheap pres for tomtoms.

[Gear Tramp]

Don't bother with the Presonus Blue Tubes. They are shit. The DMP3's are kick ass shit for the price, though. No contenders. You even get a set of cute lil' VU meters. You would be making a grave mistake going with the Blew Tubes.