Preamp vs Channelstrip

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nite88

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Hello fellow producers!

I'm considering buying a new mic preamp and I've narrowed my choices down to two preamps:

1. ART PRO MP II
2. Mindprint Envoice MKII

I'm going to get a Shure KSM32 mic soon and a decent mic, needs a decent preamp. At the moment I own Presonus Bluetube Preamp and I want to know if any of these two preamps would be a step up from Bluetube? Would it make any noticable difference?

I've read tons of good things for both of them, everybody are saying that they bang fot the buck, but I'm not shure, if I should get only a preamp or a channel strip with EQ and COMP?

I was talking to a radio sound engeneer and he told me not tu buy a channel strip, becouse it's better to do EQ and COMP later in mix. But I also read, that Mindprint EQ and COMP are barrely noticable and don't harm the sund in a bad way. An ex-owner of Mindprint also told me that it is a great unit and I should get one instead of ART preamp.

I also do not have a lot of recording experiences, so I thought, that ART preamp would be easier to use for me, but then I've read a lot of comment, that are saying that Mindprint is really easy to use.

I've heard some raw recording, made with Rode NT2 and Mindprint and it sounds pretty nice for my ear, but I've never had a chance to hear recordings made with ART preamp, but read a lot of nice stuff about it.

I'm really confused what to get, onlay a preamp (ART PRO MP II) or a channel strip (Mindprint)? I'll be recording only rap vocals on Shure KSM32. So which one would you guys suggest me to buy?

Please share your experiences and opinions, becouse I relly don't know what would work better for me?

Thanks,

Nite
 
Are you partial to vacuum tubes? Those will be present in both units.

To completely disagree with your radio engineer buddy...

there is nothing wrong with EQ and compression at the input stage. The only problem with the channel strip is that a lot of analog circuitry will be in your signal path, even if you do not need it.

Ultimately, I think it is great that you are thinking about a quality preamp for vocal recording, because it is very important. Although, there are several high quality pres to choose from, tube and solid state. You should make sure that you want a tube in your signal before you buy.
 
Thanks for the response, I really appreciate that.

As I said, I own a Bluetube preamp, which also has a tube and it worked really nice on Shure beta 58a mic, but story is different with KSM32, difference in recordings with or without Bluetube are barrely noticeable. Is one of those preamps going to work better for me then the existing one or not? I know that they aren't high-end preamps, so I hope chosing one of them will be a step-up in my setup.

I also dissagree with that radio engineer, that's the reason why I asked for a second opinion, and lots of people told me the same as you do.

I think I'm going to buy a Mindprint, but I still have some time to think about it, becouse my budget isn't big enough at the moment.

Do you guys have any alternatives to those two that I mentioned, during my research I also ran into Joemeek, but feedback isn't so possitive?

Thanks,

Nite
 
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did you already cop the ksm32? i owned one for a number of years and loved it! i ended up selling it because i favored the sm7b on my vocals tho.....

as far as budget preamps go...

if you wana be really cheap get a m audio dmp3

if you want the best bang for your buck get the golden age projects pre 73

if you get the pre73 you could likely be happy enough with it to never have to upgrade depending on how serious you are about your music.

---------- Post added at 01:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:58 PM ----------

these guys have more then creditable enough reviews im sure

http://www.gearslutz.com/board/low-end-theory/340153-golden-age-project-pre73.html
 
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No I did't get the mic jet, I had a chance to test one in a friends studio with my existing preamp. It is a really decent mic and I love it. I'm going to get a second hand KSM32 for a more then a half price cheaper that new one costs, so I'm really looking forward to it.

I'll do some more research for those preamps, but I think that more then a Mindprint I can't afford right now.

Nite
 
that mindprint is 700 bucks!!!!! my bad i never heard of it

first off the golden age pre is 300 bucks......do some homework fam thats what i would advise.

preamps to investigate:

black lion auteur
chameleon labs 7602
true systems p solo
golden age pre73
focusrite isa one
universal audio 610


these are all in the same price range as that mindprint so like i said do ur homework!

if you want a dope channel strip kinda preamp then get a chameleon labs 7602 or get a second hand universal audio LA 610.

if i was you i wouldnt be focused on getting a channel strip becuase you can eq and compress once you get in the box. Just focus on getting a good quality preamp.

---------- Post added at 01:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:12 PM ----------

whats your recording environment like? depending on wheater you have a controled space to record in should also sway your decision on which mic you purchase. if you dont have a controled environment to record in id strongly suggest you look at the SHURE SM7B as well. ($300 new)
 
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If it was me, I just don't think gettin EQ and Comp with the preamp is neccessary. Idk what you are doing with this but I know for me I don't record as a full time job and I really woulnd't mind justing EQing, and Compressing ITB.

I don't know much about preamps, I got what I could afford at the time so I can't help you on that, but ya I think you should just roll with a preamp.
 
Hmmm, I'm from Europe so prices are a little bit higher.

Mindprint costs from 500 - 600€, some of the preamps that statixx has mentioned cost even double. For example Universal Audio 610 costs 1.600€, that's waaaay out of my budget. I'll do some more research as I said, maybe I found something nice for a reasonable price on ebay.

Thanks!
 
Universal Audio 610 is nice. So is the focusrite pre. You should follow statixx advice, he knows what he's talking about.

Wedges makes a good point as well. At the input stage, you need a mic, micpre, and AD converter. Generally, the more you invest in those components, the better your sound will be. Everything else just adds more noise, unless you specifically want to use it. So, if you always compress your vocals, there is nothing wrong with compressing at the input stage. However, it is not (by any means) necissary and if you do not want to compress your vocals, a compressor in your signal path is just noise.
 
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All the preamp listed above are great, from what I understand... but here Are a few more for you to do some research on:

Focusrite ISA One $500USD

MXL MPAC-01 $500USD

Presonus Eureka (channel strip) $500USD

I own an Eureka, but i'm thinking about selling it, to get a nice SS preamp like the ISA One...

The Eureka sounds cool to my ears!
 
I've owned a Eureka. It's ok. But I'd rather have a really nice mic pre and some decent plugins over a channel strip any day of the week. Give me a ISA One. Best bang for the buck brand new. You might wanna look at the Chameleon Labs 7602. You can find one used for $500 and it is killer. Best mic pre under $2,000 IMO. All of it means nothing without proper gain staging and technique.
 
Morning_Star said:
I've owned a Eureka. It's ok. But I'd rather have a really nice mic pre and some decent plugins over a channel strip any day of the week. Give me a ISA One. Best bang for the buck brand new. You might wanna look at the Chameleon Labs 7602. You can find one used for $500 and it is killer. Best mic pre under $2,000 IMO. All of it means nothing without proper gain staging and technique.
Click to expand...

Your right about that! That's why I'm going to be selling my Eureka, and buying an ISA One
 
I say channel strip, dpending on your plugins you have the EQ and comp may be better than your ITB comp and EQ. Secondly, you don't have to use the EQ and comp, but its good have if you ever need it.
I use gentle compression and sometimes EQ when recording vocals. Reason I do this is because its less I have to do when I go to mix. Now if your not mixing your projects and don't know a lot about EQ and comp I would stay away from using it until you know what your doing. If not you could make your mixing engineer's job hell.
With that being said I'm not saying don't get the channel strip, just saying comp and eq could come in handly and just because you have it on the channel strip doesn't mean you have to use it
 
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