Is it a halfway descent tube pre?

Less than half way decent, and closer to TOTAL CRAP!!!

I agree with AudioGaff. It isn't very good, although it does have a nice soft limiter buit in.

A friend of mine uses one for kick and snare. more for the limiter than any thing else. it is marginal even for this application.

Thanks for the advice, guys.
Is Joe Meek a bad word, too?

I wouldn't say that dbx is a bad word...their high-end blue stuff is amazing (but maybe overpriced), and some of their cheap stuff isn't bad either, but the 500-series stuff is a bit harsh-sounding to me, and a little noisy too. Not a big fan of their silver stuff in general...come to think of it, I'm not sure I've encountered anything of theirs with a tube in it I've really liked. But they do make some great gear as well.

-Duardo

I haven't used the gear, but I will pass on that the 86 series stuff doesn't have a good rep from many people, FWIW. DBX does make some good gear and their older stuff is classic. There are many other preamps that are likely to be better values. Search RO for some preamp threads for recs.
Off topic: Did Duardo and AudioGaff just agree on something?? :D David

Is Joe Meek a bad word, too?

No, not a bad word. Not a word that is used in the great or world class catagory. The new and updated Joe Meek stuff is supposed to be even better than the old Joe Meek stuff that I thought was decent enough. For mid level quality and a good bargin, it is worth looking at. As for dbx, the dbx 786 is a great sounding preamp every other preamp they now make is CRAP!!!

Originally posted by AudioGaff:
As for dbx, the dbx 786 is a great sounding preamp every other preamp they now make is CRAP!!!

I don't think the 786 is even all that impressive, especially considering its price. I do agree, however, that the 500 and 300 series units are very poor value.

Thanks a lot for the advice guys.
I'm just getting a little home studio set up with 828mkII.
Looking around for a couple more pres.
I don't need to get really fancy but I don't want to get
CRAP!!!
Thanks All :c:

I think if you're willing to look around a bit and only need 2 channels there are other much more worthy pres to be had.Both the 3 and the 5 series stuff is not Dbx' best...It might be the worst value.The blue stuff is very good though buying it used makes it a better value.