looking for stereo pre (under $500) for recording live jazz

[colors]

Hello everyone, this my first post so please be gentle. I am drummer who plays out fairly regularly and have become recording obsessive of late. The standard sony stereo mic into a minidisc wasn't cutting it for me anymore. I host a regular jam session in Baltimore which I have been recording, trying different stereo pairs, dynamic and condensor. I have been using an Audio Buddy and I want to find a mic pre that will be great for doing live stereo recording. Some classical but mainly acoustic to light electric jazz. I ABSOLUTELY need a two channel pre and do not need something for home studio use. ie: a crystal clear signal may be second to something with some flavor and life. I understand that people have a tendency to push products that are way out of someone's stated budget, so I would appreciate your recomendations for stereo pre's be under $500. Here are some that I have considered:
Art TPS
Art Mpa Gold
FMR RNP
DAV BG1 (only way i will consider this one which I believe is over 500 is if I can be convinced that nothing can be had for under $1000 that would be better for its intended use)

Lay it on me! Peace brothers and sisters,
colors

[T.RayBullard]

the DAV is light years above the others that you mentioned, and in every case won out over pres that were 3 times as much...


the DAV is clean, but not lifeless (like I feel the Grace and Millennia pres can be)...that being said, it isnt "colored" by any stretch of the imagination...

if you are looking for something "warm" , the hamptone hvtp2 is quite good.

with either of those pres, you wont have to "upgrade", maybe move laterally, but they are up there on the top of the heap, despite price.

dav samples are here http://www.target-music.ch/studio/sounds.htm

[T.RayBullard]

jazz samples with DAV

http://iacmusic.com/artist.aspx?id=48142

[pkautzsch]

Disliked by some, praised by others: the dbx 386.
It does have tubes inside, but is not actually completely tube-based. More "hearable" is its characteristic AD conversion, which is intended to simulate tape saturation (which, of course, it can't do *exactly*, but still *sort of*).
Not really clean, but not really dirty, and thus still quite universal. Used it on some classical productions for the main pair.

[ben_allison]

Maybe build a Hamptone kit...

[squeegybug]

Originally Posted by colors

way out of someone's stated budget, so I would appreciate your recomendations for stereo pre's be under $500.

I've owned ART, RNP, and DAV, among many others that had more than 3 letters in their name. Of those three the DAV was the nicest sound. For <$500 the RNP can be a reasonable choice. But I think I preferred the Symetrix 302. About $280 or so. Has a mix feature as well, if that is useful to you.

Steve

[qbert1]

One option that would save you some cash and still achieve great results is the Rane MS1b. you'll need 2.

I've used them for your situation - much better than the $$$ suggests

[ivankilowatt]

A couple of years ago, I bought a Focusrite 'Twintrak' From a local music store for $500.00 mostly for the optical-compressor. But (after buying a couple ribbon mics) found it had an excellent 'Class-A' Mic pre built in! (and boy! it gets hot!) Lots of gain without a lot of noise. And hey, an opto compressor, and A/D converters built in. I plan to buy a second one!

[bongo]

You might want to search for a Studio Technologies Mic Pre Eminence. If you can find one used, I'm sure it will be less than $500. It's not that popular but quite nice.

[dkelley]

Originally Posted by squeegybug

I've owned ART, RNP, and DAV, among many others that had more than 3 letters in their name. Of those three the DAV was the nicest sound. For <$500 the RNP can be a reasonable choice. But I think I preferred the Symetrix 302. About $280 or so. Has a mix feature as well, if that is useful to you.

Steve

i prefer the art mpa gold over the rnp, but the dav is another color that is maybe more useful yet than the art. RNP is nice but very over priced IMHO.

[BTByrd]

2 Golden Age Pre 73s will set you back a bit more than $500, but for two channels of great sounding amplification it's hard to go wrong.

For something a bit more neutral sounding (i.e. not trying to sound like vintage Neve) the FMR RNP is a good choice.

But I'd rather have 2 of the Golden Ages. They also make a hell of a nice DI for bass, guitar, and keys.

[t_chance]

What mics you going to use would determine what preamp I might suggest. If not sure, that's where I would invest first. Plenty of great recordings made with a Mackie 1202 and great mics. Rane MS1bs are nice as are the DAVs.

[Don S]

I've seen a used grace lunatech floating around ebay for about that much. The DAV would be on that list as well.

[willi1203]

line audio (swedish) make a very clean pre.... cheap

[Daniel Stark]

you guys got sucked into a decade old thread. lol