In need of a cheap mic preamp

[JosephusWails]

New member...lookin' forward to the advice.
I am looking for a preamp for live shows. I don't need any fancy voicings; I just need something that will boost the sound.

I'd prefer a "box" or something small (as opposed to a mounted preamp).

If it makes any difference, I'll be using an AT3035 and it'll be male vocals and guitars.


Sadly, I need something really pretty cheap. Hovering around (or under) 100$.

[AllAboutTone]

sad to say but really theres nothing around a 100.00 worth a crap for live or studio, the s20 would be ok but its gonna run 600-700.00 on ebay

[erosconpollo]

I carry an m-audio DMP3 to my one-man gigs for exactly this purpose. Voice in one input, guitar in the other (sometimes direct, sometimes miked) and then into whatever PA is available. It's not great but it's adequate (clean, high gain -- essentially what I need), and only a tad over your target price.

[Hint]

Check out the Electro Harmonix 12AY7 - it's a valve mic preamp in the same kind of case as their guitar pedals.

Seems to retail around $190 new, so perhaps you could find one 2nd hand closer to your budget?

[JosephusWails]

I have been looking into getting one of the cheaper ART pres and then if I'm not happy with it, perhaps, changing the tube. I don't consider myself overly technical so I think I'd rather take a different box if there's a good one.

Thanks hint...I'm gonna take a look into that!

[GravityRobert]

Yeah, I'd try and get one of the Electro Harm. valve pre's in 2th hand thumbsup

[JosephusWails]

I've read about 40 reviews for this:

Studio Projects VTB1

and they all seem quite glowing. Anyone have any imput?

[FNM]

I personally wouldn't get the Electro Harmonix for live use. It's a nice pre, but the gain staging is sometimes difficult. Most the gain comes within what seems like a millimeter on the knob. That's my experience at least.

[Nosferous]

Originally Posted by JosephusWails

I've read about 40 reviews for this:
and they all seem quite glowing. Anyone have any imput?

I have a VTB-1 and for $100 I don't think you'll be disappointed. I bought it when it used to be around $140 or so.

I don't use it for Vocals anymore since I got some more expensive better preamps. But I can't find it in myself to give it away/sell it 'cause it's such a good performer for $100. And of all my options so far I still prefer bass direct through it the most out of my other preamps.

I never recorded acoustic guitars with it, but I think I recall hearing it does pretty well for them.


As far as tube blend goes beyond 12 o'clock it's usually useless and it's either hit or miss, it works or it doesn't for the sound. So, it's either at 0 or 12 o'clock for me.

[dlmorley]

Originally Posted by zaza

sad to say but really theres nothing around a 100.00 worth a crap for live or studio, the s20 would be ok but its gonna run 600-700.00 on ebay

So he shouldn't bother? Maybe he should cancel the gig??

[GuitarRuss]

You might think about saving a while longer and getting a decent little mixer. Why spend $100 on two low-end channels when you can get a whole whack of fair quality ones for a bit more.

I would look at a used Mackie in that price range. Something like the VLZ-1202 (used $150-180) they are great little live mixers for acoustic shows like yours. That way you have way more options like having an effects loop to run a reverb or delay through and some eq which can come in handy for controlling feedback, boomyness or whatever. For a lot of small gigs they have a mixer there that is really awful, so the Mackie will be a big step up. I don't think many of the super cheap preamps will outperform Mackie's. This will be way more versatile in the future.

If you want a dedicated preamp, save a little more money and get something a bit better. Read the Low-end Gold Awards thread there are some great suggestions in there. A good preamp will make your mics sound that much better.

[JosephusWails]

Thanks for all your imput folks. Personally, I have absolutely no interest in any effects for my acoustic stuff.
That said, I am gonna keep my eye out for this Mackie number. My friend had a (much higher end) Mackie and that thing was dy-no-mite.
So I'd agree that it probably is worth teh snall "larger" investment.
If do DO end up being absolutely limited in my purchases, I think I will go for the VB1...we'll see. Gotta sweet talk the wife.
Thanks for the advice though.

[dickiefunk]

I've got a VTB1 and have had great results with it on Vocals, Acoustic / Electric Guitar and both Electric and Upright Bass. For the it's superb. I've also just bought a DMP3 because I wanted a 2 channel pre for stereo recording. I was in between going for another VTB1 and DMP3 and after reading countless reviews and lots of different forum posts I went for the DMP3. I haven't tried it out yet but it uses decent Burr Brown op amp chips and is meant to handle high frequencies better than the VTB1.

Another option might be the Tapco Blend 6 mixer. This is built by Mackie and has 2Mackie designed pres onboard + 2 band eq on each channel. The best bit is it only cost me £38.99 brand new! One neat feature it has is the line inputs also work as proper DI boxes instead of your usual line input rating. It is also built like a tank!

[ballast32]

despite the name of the company, I've gotten some great recordings out of 2 behringer units. One being the MX802 mixer. For $120 years and years ago, I had some much better than expected results. Also, I've tried the mic100 with a variety of tubes and have been pretty pleased on distorted guitar. Just a couple pennies to throw around

[d_fu]

If you want cheap and decent, look at the ART Tube MP. I've even used it on spot mics in classical recordings at times, it works and it doesn't sound bad.

[Eigenwert]

I used one of those ART boxes and it was really noisy. I´d say get the VTB-1 unless you don´t have the money for a D.A.V. and avoid tube pres in this price range by any means (you can use the VTB-1 as a solid state preamp)

[-silent-sam-]

Originally Posted by JosephusWails

I've read about 40 reviews for this:
and they all seem quite glowing. Anyone have any imput?

This is the first pre that came to my mind when i read this thread.

They are cheap and they don't sound that bad.

go with the Studio Projects VTB-1.

[ozraves]

Originally Posted by JosephusWails

I've read about 40 reviews for this:
and they all seem quite glowing. Anyone have any imput?

I wrote this review when these first came out. Mojo Pie -- Review of the Studio Projects VTB1 VTB-1 mic preamp