Would I hear a difference if...

[stones@rocheste]

I'm looking to upgrade my vocal tracking signal path in a home studio used strictly as a hobby. Currently the setup is AT4040 to Focusrite Trakmaster Pro to Edirol UA25 sound card to Logic Studio 8.

I'm looking to upgrade the mic pre to a Grace m101 or True Systems P-Solo. I've also looked at the Focusrite ISA One, but that's a little pricier and has quite a few features that I would likely never use.

Any reactions to any of the above? Would the sonic difference between any of these pres and my current setup justify the cost?

Finally, I have about $500 to put into a new mic (male rock vocals). Can I do substantially better than the AT4040 for that money?

Thanks

[Ethan Winer]

Without seeing the rest of your setup, especially the room your record in, I can only guess. But it seems unlikely that your current microphone and preamp etc are the limiting quality factor. What don't you like about the sound now?

--Ethan

[kincept]

i would sell the AT4040 and get the AT4047 i think its a bit warmer.
preamp wise the new grace I think edges out the psolo having ribbon built into it.

[Jonboy79]

Originally Posted by kincept

preamp wise the new grace I think edges out the psolo having ribbon built into it.

What do you mean having a ribbon built into it? Do you mean the fact that it has more clean gain and it has that phantom power deactivating feature? The True Systems has a ton of clean gain. Have you even heard either of these preamps? Both are very clean and I guess precise is the word I'd use. In my experience the P-Solo had a tiny bit more character and I personally preferred it. I ended up getting the Precision 8 and tracking several rock and metal records through it. Doesn't have the punch of a Neve or API but it also didn't get in my way or negatively effect my sound like cheaper preamps seem to do.