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anonymous 24 September 2004

If you were going to buy two different flavors of preamps for recording vocals and electric guitars, which single-channels would you consider, assuming these were the only two you could use?

Basically, I need some amount of diversity, but the two also need to work together somewhat.

Any suggestions?

thanks!

Comments

LittleDogAudio Fri, 09/24/2004 - 15:57

Hey Casey
Depending upon your budget my choice would be.

Vocals:
Earthworks 1021 (single channel, great on vocals, acoustic gtr ect)

Guitar:
Vintech X73i (very Neve-esque, thick and furry)
or
Chandler TG2 (Super warm, copy of EMI beatles desk)

The thing about my choices are that each preamp has a very different sound and can be used on many sources. I think you generally want to pick gear that can do double or triple duty. More bang for the buck...

Also, using a different preamp on say, two electric gtr tracks can give them each a more distinctive tone which usually makes them dove-tail better in the mix. Too much of any "signature tone" can kinda build up and become mushy.

Hope this helps,

Chris
http://www.littledogaudio.com

LittleDogAudio Fri, 09/24/2004 - 20:25

Nope, never been here before. Yeah, I'm fighting with my webmaster to get the site actually published. Earlier today it was up and now it's back down.??

We are just getting out of the gates.

I'm getting a bunch of super cool micpres, eq's and compressors in every day and hope to have a banner ad on rec.org very soon.

The only person who has banned me is an ex-wife. Ouch

Thanks for asking though.

LittleDogAudio Sat, 09/25/2004 - 09:12

Yeah I agree with Sebatron and Audiogaff. But.. The original question was based on getting just two channels of mic pres.

The John Hardy's are definitely in the genre of the Earthworks. I've used both quite a bit but prefer the Earthworks abit more because I think they sound better on more sources.

And of course the Neve-esque sound just makes sense to cover the biggest spectrum for the money.

btw. I started using Geoff Tanner's GTQ2 pre/eq and think it will be the new benchmark for the neve thing. Super-nice!

Chris

Guest Sun, 09/26/2004 - 12:50

well...maybe the 737 sp and ?

well...for some reason I have the impression that Avalon pres are some of the best. I am still trying to snag one off ebay for around $1300. Any day now.
I want one for vocals and guitar. Is the 737sp great for both?
My Avalon U5 (direct box) is already on bass guitar. So with that in mind, which pre amp would be a great addition as a next purchase?

LittleDogAudio Sun, 09/26/2004 - 13:15

Sure the 737 is good on a lot of sources.
It has good clearity and kinda tube-ish sound.

You should check out the Universal Audio 6176, I love everything about it. I know it's more than a used 737 but is well worth it.

Also for a little less scratch you can pick up the new LA-610 Channel strip. The LA-610 uses three 12AX7A’s, a single 6072A and a single 6AQ5 tube for amplifier warmth.

Avalon has less color, good bang for the buck.
Uaudio has more color, and a classic tone.

Preamps are different tools that can be used in many different application. Find a good dealer (if you're buying new) that will let you evaluate a piece of gear for a week or so before making a final decision.

Chris

anonymous Mon, 09/27/2004 - 14:28

do you think you might want a stereo pre in addition to a single channel instead of just two single channels? YOu might find yourself getting into stereo micing techniques down the road. Maybe a UA 2-610 and the great river mp1nv? Or a 2 channel great river with an m-610? I dunno....

with those two pres, you'll be more than making "due"...

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