Thread: Need a good Mic Pre for a SP C1

Not sure you're going to find much for that. Crap probably, but nothing good.

The Groove Tubes Brick preamp has been getting a fair bit of praise for the amount of money it costs compared to the professional level ones. If you don't have that much money, well... I had a PreSonus TubePre that wasn't bad after I changed the tube out. It did make an audible difference over my Mackie VLZ Pro pres, but not anything close to a professional product. Still, we were cash strapped and it was an improvement.

Stay away from Behringer, and good luck!

ALright I'll admit I was nieve when posting what I'd like to spend, and after having researched it a bit let me restate my request


ahem

I am looking for an affordable mic pre for my SP C1, I would like to keep it under $1000

I want the best for the money so if there's one for say $900, that kicks all kinds of ass, thats what I want to know, sorry about the price thing

BTW, I already we have a Behringer mic pre, and I know it will be replaced, so I am looking for something that I wont need to replace

Thanks

In that case, do check out the Groove Tubes Brick and the ART Pro VLA. (change the tube in that one - there is a thread on here about it)

These two are widely considered the best of the budget pres on this board! Good luck!

Tom
BTW - I have the SP C1 as well and it's a great mic. Good buy!

Okay...keeping it under a grand...never going to replace it....the best for that particular mic......okay.

These are pretty much regular pricing and YMMV....

API 512c $725...might street for less...
6-space luchbox rack w/power supply for this is around 450.

You will never need another preamp for that mic. Or any other mic.

John Hardy M1 personal channel is about a grand.This is intense audiofile quality.

Phoenix Audio makes a single channel as does Great River...Both at a buck or so over a grand.

You will love and cherish all of these your entire recording career.

I own an ART Pro MPA.It works very well for its price range.It does benefit from better tubes.There are other upgrades that can be done to one and from all accounts will bring it up to the level of most Class A high-grade pres.It will also bring the price up to that level,but you will get a two channel box...with tubes.

My experience with the C1 has led me to believe that the pre can be a HUGE difference in its sound quality.That being said, SP has a very good quality control and as a whole their products tend to all be of very good quality. As with a lot of the Chinese capsuled mics so prevalent on the market now, there seems to be a tendency towards an upper mid boost above the 1.5k range to around 5k or sometimes higher.I dont know if its presence they're trying to achieve and therefore clarity,but it can be absolutely wrong on some voices.And where its a 'good' mic in quality and all, its something you need to try out on whatever voice will be singing through it mostly.I would recommend this procedure to anyone on any mic that is going to be a main vocal mic.And I would research and try out any pres I could with the signal chain you have in mind.While this is not always possible,its a good idea not to skip this step if you can possibly do it.A reputable highend pro sound dealer will also have a return policy in place for just such trials.

I would also recommend a trial on the ADK line of mics. I personally had some electronic troubles with a particular model I bought a couple of years ago.This was due to a bad run of mic-amp chips at the factory that manufactures some of their parts.However,ADK went way out of their way to supply me with new parts at no cost,and I was out of warranty! Not only that, but the new parts were from a higher grade of mic and were of newer design than the old, and were made in a better facility with better quality control.I tend to trust them because of this, and I can say that sonically, their mics are a bit above everything else in its price range. ie: they have more of a SOUND and less of that artificial 'hyped' sound I hear with so many others.The Hamberg and the Vienna are particularly good sounding.

Of course with the right amount of money, you could buy yourself a nice,well-cared for Purple badged Neumann U87,an API 2 channel and be done with any guesswork.

As with a lot of the Chinese capsuled mics so prevalent on the market now, there seems to be a tendency towards an upper mid boost above the 1.5k range to around 5k or sometimes higher.I dont know if its presence they're trying to achieve and therefore clarity,but it can be absolutely wrong on some voices.And where its a 'good' mic in quality and all, its something you need to try out on whatever voice will be singing through it mostly

I agree with you totally, but as a former owner of a Nady SCM900, this mic has a much higher quality sound to it, and I did buy it without testing it, but so far the results are pretty good, I'm more of a Tenor range male singer, and I like the air it adds to my voice

Thank you for a quality response, I guess I did not know what I was getting into originally, I was expecting someone to bust out a say hey get a Presonus Blue Tube, but that didn't happen, and probably for good reason

I will save up my money and buy a much higher qaulity pre, and if anyone has more suggestions, I would be happy to hear them.

One more question, Studio Projects is coming out (3-15-05) with an eight channel mic pre here is a quote from the site

The new Studio Projects 828 is an 8 Channel mic preamp incorporating the latest rev of Burr Brown IC's. The SP828 is also an 8X2 mixer that allows a real time mix of all 8 inputs two a stereo out buss. Housed in a 1U 19" rack, each channel on the SP828 offers:

Features

• 48V phantom power with LED
• Phase Reverse with LED
• Mic/Line Switch with LED - Defaults to 20dB Pad
• Peak and Signal Present Indicators
• Gain Control
• Level & Pan
• Solo Switch with LED

What is Bur Brown?, are they good?

Burr Brown IC's are Integrated Circuits, and I'd say designed by a guy named Burr Brown.

I have no idea if this guy is big in the industry, but I think it's safe to assume that if you are buying an 8 channel pre-amp its going to be pretty expensive if it's good at all. However, time will tell... maybe they will make something really good. Hard to say until someone reputable tests it.

Keep an eye out!

I can vouche for the Brick smoothing out the "chinese harshness" of the C1. If this is just vanity projects you are doing, this would get you by fine I'm sure. For voice, the SafeSound P1 is a very handy channel strip mic pre with its expander, compressor, monitor section, etc. I like the sound of the Brick's pre a little bit better, but it is very stripped down as far as features (that's why I chain the two!)
If you don't mind spending the dough to get the best, then pay close attention to Davedog's suggestions.

Try the SP VTB1. It blends well with the C1. About $20 over your needs but worth the the price.