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frob 28 October 2004

okay this has been asked and reasked so here it goes agien.

what is your SM57 of mic preamps? and why?

I'm not looking for a definitve this is all you ever need to own answer. I'm looking for if all else fails i use this and at least it doesnt sound bad, not nesseraly the first choise but the last.

Comments

inLoco Fri, 10/29/2004 - 05:46

when i said the mackie's vlz and when we're talking about the sm 57 i assumed price is a must!
i think we can't talk about a cool pre and it costing around 5000$! of course everyone loves pres so expensive... neve's and so one... but i think the main topic here is something that is cheap like the sm 57 and yet it produces convincing results!

KurtFoster Fri, 10/29/2004 - 15:15

Not so "cheap" (i/e: inexpensive) but an absolute best "bang for the buck" mic pre (at $281.25 per channel) is one I have been ranting about here for a while ... the [="http://www.jlmaudio.com/8packoftrans.htm"]JLM TMP8[/]="http://www.jlmaudio…"]JLM TMP8[/].

Both Dog and Gaff have mentioned the Focusrite "Reds". The TMP8, a transformer balanced OP AMP design, is a nod in that design direction and is much like the Red Range and the API pres in both approach and results. Dog heard one here at my place last year and agreed that it sounded quite a lot like an API (check out Dave's mic comparisons at the Reviews forum).. with the same aggressive quality and big low end the APIs are reputable for.

I just received word that the new version of the TMP8 is now ready to roll off the production line and will be shipping soon. A new feature is direct inputs for guitar/bass on 2 channels and line inputs across all 8 channels. I should be getting one for a re-review soon and I am looking forward to it. This one will be staying in the rack this time, even if I have to pay list + 20% for it! I liked it that much. You can see the review on the TMP8 if you [[url=http://="http://recording.or…"]CLICK HERE[/]="http://recording.or…"]CLICK HERE[/]

KurtFoster Sat, 10/30/2004 - 01:01

heyman wrote: Kurt, best all around pre in your mind- Great river Mercenary edition? Your thoughts?

I am sure there are pres that would fit that discription, that I haven't even heard, so I would be reticent to say any pre is the best all around ... I am not the right person to make that call.

The pres I like the most are either already in my rack or on the way (now):mrgreen:
VMP4000e, MP2NV, TMP8, the system 9098's and the ORIGIN STT-1.

With these preamps, the bases are pretty well covered, IMO but what I do and what others do can be different. I would not recommend my front end rack to say for instance, Ellegard because he does classical recordings on site ... and for that he would need some HV-3 's or something along those lines.

The pres I like are what I think are best for rock and other "pop" styles of production.

frob Sun, 10/31/2004 - 14:08

okay price is a point but not the point. the point is the sm57 is in or should be in every studio at least one. i dont want a cap of $100 or something because i think that limits it to mutch, i think that you guys are dong do to anser the question. the main point is to avoid the speciality that is in ; ' i need a pre that does this sounds like this for this mutch? ' i could do a search and yeald those results. but i couldnt find any discussig a gerrally great pre that they use.

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