Greetings!
With help from this forum, I've tracked down the recording setup that Josh Groban uses on most of his songs, and have basically his mic setup, BUT, the pre amp that he uses is, as of now, too expensive for my budget. I know this sounds wacky and lame, but I'm planning on doing this recording on my D16 MKII digital recording studio. Incase you're wondering, the built-in pre is anything but good. I've been told it's best to bypass the built-in pre all together by using the digital in instead of going through the built-in ones. The mic being used is a Schoeps MK4.

Basically, I'd like to know what a good, cheap, preamp would be for the type of vocals I'd be recording. (the cheaper $$ the better...)

If you have any other suggestions or anything to obtain a great sound, by all means! And just so one know comments, I am aware that to obtain a sound like Josh Groban you must first have the vchords to sing before any equipment can help you.
Thanks everyone!

Justin

cheap----hmmm-----



Grace 101?

not gonna get much cheaper for a clean type pre for semi-classical type vox

RNP is inexpensive, but not quite as clean as you would want for that type of music.

Any of the super cheapo pre's are not gonna be any better than what you already have.

If it helps anyone, Josh Groban used a Jensen Twin Servo by Boulder (basically the Hardy M-1)

Thanks for the advice so far, I'm looking into that pre, and I'll get back whether I'm considering it or not. Thanks!!

Justin

The best deal out there for a Jenson Twin Servo design is probably the Seventh Circle Audio J99. It is a kit, but it isn't too hard to build. If you used the SCA chassis you'd be ready to expand down the road, too. The first channel is the most expensive, but they're great pres for a killer price.

Mike

I agree with the SCA advice, IF you can build the kits well. If not, then it would probly be out of your price range.

Even if they build it for you, the SCA pre's make sense IF you are buying more than 3 or 4 of them, and are a great deal if you get 8 channels.

However, if you only want 1 pre, you are better off with something like the Grace, which gets you in the ball park for about $500 bucks (less on ebay maybe).

Sweet, thanks I'm chekcing it out now..Thanks everyone for the suggestions, keep it up!!

Wow I'd really like to get ahold of that Seventh Circle Audio J99..but I have zero sodering experience..And I see that I'd have to buy the rack mouting and power supply right? so this means well over a grand right? Also, I know this is a dumb thing to say, but I don't have a need for a rack mounting since I don't HAVE a rack or any equipment as of now that is placed in one. Keep in mind, I'm a newbie to this equipment stuff... Any help of suggestoions would help. I'm chekcing out this Grace 101 now, but is it like the Twin servo or noticably worse? Thanks!!

The grace is not a twin servo design...that doesn't necessarily make it inferior, but it is a different design and won't sound the same. That said, it is a clean pre and would offer good quality sound.

Mike

Is there anywhere I can one to test for a few days to see if it's what I need? Because there are no shops anywhere near here that sell preamps like this.

Thanks!

The Jenson 990 design is a more colored preamp due to the transformers. The Grace is more known to be used by classical recordists (do a search here to read more) due to being clean and accurate, as well as easy to carry around to the kind of on-site gigs they have to do.

I have no idea how you could trial one since Mercenary and Atlas don't carry them. I doubt Sweetwater would just let you demo one and return it if you didn't want it, but you could always call them and try asking.

I don't know who else carrys them, but a Google search would quickly tell you. Just start calling people and asking their return policy.


G'Luck,


K

Boulder - freakin $40,000 preamps. Yeah, like that's gonna happen.
check out gordonaudio.com A really great transparent pre.

The Jensen Twin Servo by Boulder, which was introduced in 1986, was replaced in 1988 by the Jensen Twin Servo by the John Hardy Company. The Twin Servo uses two 990C op-amps per channel, while the M-1 uses one 990C per channel.

I have no idea what the actual Boulder version of the Twin Servo might be selling for these days on Ebay or elsewhere (they were discontinued in 1988), but the Jensen Twin Servo that I have been manufacturing since 1988 as the official replacement for the Boulder is available for $4250 in a 4-channel version. That's about 90% less than your "freakin $40,000" estimate.

Thank you.

John Hardy
The John Hardy Co.
www.johnhardyco.com

That´s more like it!!!heh

Kalli

I have no idea what the actual Boulder version of the Twin Servo might be selling for these days on Ebay or elsewhere (they were discontinued in 1988), but the Jensen Twin Servo that I have been manufacturing since 1988 as the official replacement for the Boulder is available for $4250 in a 4-channel version. That's about 90% less than your "freakin $40,000" estimate.

Thank you.

John Hardy
The John Hardy Co.
www.johnhardyco.com[/QUOTE]

John,
I'd love to try your preamp. I understand your design was in the Boulder camp, which should sound really great on all the acoustic stuff I'm doing. Yeah, I just saw the Boulder go for $40k earlier this year. That's a lot of bread for a pre.

Kenny

$40k is crazy, but it's a crazy world. Thanks.

John Hardy
The John Hardy Co
www.johnhardyco.com