Is it possible to get a nice mic pre for under $500?

[ddeez]

i really want an Avalon VT-737 but at the moment thats outta my price range...is it even worth it buying a cheaper mic pre or should i just wait and save up my money?

by the way i have a U87 and i record vocals, percussion and occasionally guitar.

[DeathMonkey]

I think the UA SOLOs are about as good a deal as there is. You may try the FMR Audio stuff as well. Personally, I think saving up for as nice a pre as you can is better than buying stuff you know is a compromise.

[Blake Minaker]

Originally Posted by DeathMonkey

I think saving up for as nice a pre as you can is better than buying stuff you know is a compromise.

thumbsup QFT

[Phil Cibley]

If you're handy with a soldering iron and can deal with wiring diagrams,
your options open up. SCA, Eisen, old 312 cards, Spectra Sonics cards,
Quad Eight cards and various things based on the Hardy 990 opamps
all can be made/assembled for well under $500 a channel.

[tINY]

You can get good mic pre amps for under $500.

Until you have a closet full of good mics, getting a battery of decent pre-amps (like an 8 channel Onyx, a couple of RNPs, or a bunch of MS-1b) is fine.

There are more gains to be had in a collection of decent mics than spending the same money on pre-amps.




-tINY

[davet]

Shop around for a used Grace 101. I bought mine new for $570.00 about three years ago.

DaveT

[gtrman100]

For a no frills mic pre, DI, check out the Groove Tubes Brick. It's my go to pre, but of course it has no EQ, compression, etc. It definitely adds "magic" to my signal path.

[NathanEldred]

The Brick is very nice for the money. If you can stretch just a little the Chameleon Labs 7602 with PSU isn't much more than the stated budget.

[ImJohn]

I realize it's over your budget but you could get a John Hardy M-1 Personal Pre with no options for about $750 and then add the VU meter and output transformer options later.

The John Hardy Company Prices Page

[warhead]

A pair of Chameleon Labs 7622 is more than that, but not leaps and bounds. However it is going to SOUND leaps and bounds better than just about anything you can find for $500...plus you get a pair of them. Great pre, great DI, silly value.

War

[ddeez]

thx for all the responses.

the Chameleon Labs 7602 looks interesting...anymore thoughts on that?

[Nu-tra]

Warren said the word "Silly"

Originally Posted by warhead

A pair of Chameleon Labs 7622 is more than that, but not leaps and bounds. However it is going to SOUND leaps and bounds better than just about anything you can find for $500...plus you get a pair of them. Great pre, great DI, silly value.

War

[AlexLakis]

Some more opinions (duplicate thread
Is it possible to get a nice mic pre for under $500?

[Disjointed]

+1 for the 7622.. its on my list as next purchase.. if you need eq.. then you can get 1 channel of the 7602 and PS for about the same price..

im just waiting for warren to give me that uber GS discount lol !!

gl

[TheGetDown]

^Im considering one of these also, I'd love to try one out for a few sessions.

[Joemamma]

Originally Posted by tINY

There are more gains to be had in a collection of decent mics than spending the same money on pre-amps.

[nandoanalog]

Originally Posted by tINY

There are more gains to be had in a collection of decent mics than spending the same money on pre-amps.

stike

[ddeez]

thanks for all the responses!

[MadGuitrst]

Having a pair of Chameleon Labs 7602 (with the EQ) and a Brick (among other preamps), here's my opinion:

I'd definitely take a 7602 over the Brick and just about anything else in the price range because of the EQ.

Straight up preamp to preamp (no EQ), I'd probably pick something other than the Chameleon Labs in many cases.

A Brick can be had for $300-$400.
The CL $7hundredsomething with PS (well worth it, but... if out of budget it's out of budget)

Used in a typical manner, I like the tone of the Brick over the 7602's preamp, which I find a bit hard. However, the Brick is a little low in the gain department (which may not matter) and the CL has tons. While the Brick is tube and the CL is not, you can drive the transformer of the CL. This can sound really good in certain applications, especially with ribbons (at least IMO for my use).

If you need more than one channel and are going to stretch out your budget, check out the Sytek. For whatever reason, I love it, it just works for me. It's not as open as some of the best clear mic pres, but it is certainly clean and clear and has a slight softening/rounding effect that I find works well with LD mics.

Of course, there are others to consider.

Just my $0.02