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anonymous 29 April 2005

hey guys, i'm new to the board and you all seem like a helpful bunch. I'm currently using a digi001 as my interface.

what I'm looking for (budget of $300-$600):
8-channel mic preamp
no need for on-board dynamics
a noticeable sound quality upgrade from the pre's of my digi001

what i've been considering:
Behringer ada8000 - $230
m-audio octane - (can get it for $500)
octopre le - (can get it for $500)
studio projects sp-828 - $600

any recommendations or advice. i've had bad luck with Behringer products in the past, but the price is too good to not take a look at it. the octane has a lot of nice features. and the octopre le I'm thinking would give me the best sound quality as you're not paying for the extras like a/d-d/a.

if i'm not going to notice much of a difference in this price range, i will probably just go with the Behringer . but if it's going to be a noticeable quality difference I'm willing to spend the extra $$$ for the octane, octopre, or sp-828.

i also want to be set to use the preamps i purchase when i go to upgrade my digi001 in a couple years or when it dies :)

any help is appreciated.

Comments

anonymous Fri, 04/29/2005 - 06:02

Do yourself a favor and save your money. Then go out and spend your money on something that is gonna make a diffrence.

8 channels of pre at that price is not a step up...

Or you could save up a few hundred more and get a nice 1 channel or 2 channel pre that will definetly be a step up and blow the digi pre's away...

anonymous Fri, 04/29/2005 - 06:10

thanks for the advice. however, i am not really looking at spending more than $300-$600 as i record strictly for myself and the love of it. i dont record other people's projects or make money at it. i am a songwriter first and an engineer second, so i am most concerned about getting the rest of my studio pieces together so i can start recording my current project.

so based on what you said, if im going to make a decision in this price-range, it really doesnt matter what i go with because theyre all pretty crappy? maybe i go with the behringer for recording drums and then with the money i save from that i purchase a good 2-channel pre?

thanks again.

anonymous Fri, 04/29/2005 - 06:37

Try posting to the budget gear forum. This one is for 'discerning' pros who have moved on so much that they now have less experience in the budget range and are better knowledged in the upmarket range [any prejudice aside 8) ]

To get a good 8 channel pre for that price is very much in the budget range. There is some good experience there.

db

anonymous Fri, 04/29/2005 - 10:39

I agree that these aren't the world's greatest pres, but the non-behringer products are superior, IMO. Either the octopre or Octane would be excellent choices for personal tracking duties.

If you don't need 8 tracks at a time, however, you would be better off getting less channels of a higher quality preamp.

Good luck!

Mike

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