what mic preamp(s) do you use?

I don't know if its in your price range, but take a look at the Focusrite Platinum Voicemaster. I bought this about a year ago and I f@cking love the sh!t out of it. It cost me $499.95. It has a voice optimized compresser, de-esser, eq, noise gate/expander, and a sound that makes all of my vocals sound like butta. Check this bad boy out. zZounds.com has a page for it here with the specs and everything. Take a look...

http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/love.music?p=p.FOCP1&a=answers,msp

I want to be buried along side my voicemaster...
 
I use the Drawmer 1960's, the 1960 preamp-compressor with the 1961 eq patched before the compressor, the sound is world class, I also use avalon stuff from time to time and the sound is amazing.....
 
I have a few pre-amps. I've found that different preamps are better suited to different mics...

My everyday setup is a Rode NT1 into an ART Tube PAC (preamp/compressor). But I sometimes use my CAD Equitek 2 into either my Joe Meek VC3 preamp/compressor/enhancer or either mic (or both) into my Bellari (Rolls) stereo tube pre. The Art is nice to warm/dirty up. The VC3 (which is a solid state unit) adds edge to the very smooth and flat-response CAD mic. And the Bellari adds a very subtle smoothness to signals (it can be used to warm up synths and even stereo mixes because the gain staging is very flexible).

There are people who simply can't stop buying either mics or pre-amps or both. Watch out. It's addictive... :D

PS... I envy MusickMan above with his Drawmer and Avalon pres... yum!
 
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he he I had to save for a long time....the avalons are not really mine... a good friend is the owner but he lets me use it so he can get his hands on my drawmers :)
 
Ah... it sounds like a near-perfect symbiotic relationship.

(I was trying to figure out some clever pun about you letting him "get into your Drawmers" but they all sounded so stupid I decided to try to have my cake and eat it, too.)
 
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Thanks everyone for the help, I"m looking into ART and JOEMEEK. I'm probably going to be using an AKG C2000B or 3000B. Any of you have any recording experience with these? Or could you possible recommend other mics around the same price level, that could be better. Basically the $200-300 range.
 
Just to confuse the issue some more, don't necessarily stop with the recommendations in this thread (even though I actually own both ART and JoeMeek). I hear nice things also about PreSonus and others. It might be worthwhile to pick up a couple copies of Electronic Musician and/or EQ to look at some of the adverts. And be sure you check around the web for reviews. The web reviews can sometimes be a little less technical and more personal -- but preamps are more on the 'arty' side in a way anyway. People will bust their backsides to get a pristine signal path and then fall in love with the 'fat sound' of some hissy little tube unit that brings to the sound that outweigh little concerns like self-noise, cost, and so on... Pre-amps are like guitars and cars... rational criteria do not always apply...

Have fun! :cool:
 
again, thanks for the great advice. I do plan on checking around more. Maybe going the local store and seeing what ones I can check out. I do think I can add this to my list of possible gear addictions.

take care.
 
i use a c3000B and an spl channel one tube, and sometimes even a behringer tube and i love both tubes , i also use the rode nt1 from time to time but i enjoy the sound from the akg better. buying mics is very adictive. my mentor has a neumann and a bonner. wait till i get my paws on those...but he's right check oround home recording magazine i have almost everyissue since last year it has helped me a lot. :
 
mic preamps

just to say i think you would get very good results from the makie
preamps. they are very good indeed.
i had to choose a mic pre/channel for a digital studio installation
not so long ago, and found the jomeek stuff pretty useless.
we ended up getting a focusrite green series as the circuitry
is pretty identical to the red series. my friend has a platinum
voice channel whgich sounds superb too.
i would rather spen the extra on a better mic, maybe the new shure valve or a neumann tlm mic, both around 500 uk.
the makie preamp will prove clean and warm or the platinum
channel will give you the separate control you may be after.

choose quality over all the extra knobs and button sand you will benefit for many years to come.

besides, you'll probably be getting more equipment soon, and the less you have to worry and fiddle with the better!

best of luck

JB
 
I'm new 2 this, but I'm wondering if u can hook up the

Focusrite Platinum Voicemaster Pro

to a soundcard like MAudio Audiophile 2496



or would I be better off going with the MAudio Omni Studio Omni I/O and Delta 66 Package?
 
dvyce,
any thougts on the api ? I'm looking for another channel strip...
and have you tried those ssl g383 mic preamps ?
 
I think both the API and Oram are great. I have never used the SSL G383 mic preamps.

My feeling is that you can never go wrong with anything API... at least from my experience with API stuff.
 
Tim20 said:
Hey if you know how to solder and have a little bit of DIY ability then you might want to give this a try.

I haven't built one yet but I believe the circuit (been a while since I looked at this) holds pretty true to the original.

http://www.seventhcirclestudios.com/SCA/SCA.htm
Click to expand...

Tim

I like the N72 "Neve" clone preamp kit... but I had to swallow hard when I got to the price of $400 for a PCB and parts (I'm sure they're very nice parts). But the opportunity to fry high end components with my clumsy soldering iron is not one I long for. The cold solder joints in my old DynaKit FM tuner are still painfully fresh in my memory (and still in need of correction if I ever get ambitious.)
 
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Blue,

Good to hear you like it. I think the kit price is a little steep myself. I think I am going to buy 1 just so I can get the circuit board. Then I will just lay it out myself and have some more made and buy all the parts myself. I think I can cut the price in half for the rest of the channels I build.:D

As for the case, I think they wan't way too much, but then I have access to all the metal working tools I need to make the case.

Now you need to fix those cold solder joints.;)
 
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