Best two channels of mic preamping for $1000?

Submitted by anonymous on Tue, 01/16/2007 - 11:36

What would you recommend for the best two channels of microphone preamping for 1000.00?

They will be running to an Mbox 2, and Mac OSX on pro tools

Microphones right now are an SM57 and a RODE NT1A.

This setup will be used for recording guitar amplifiers, with up to 2 amps at a time.

I will be upgrading my mics as well, but that will be in another thread. This is just about preamps.

Thank you,

Mike Corrieri

Comments

That's a tough price point for a stereo pre. It's high enough to get you out of "crap" pres. It's too low to get into "real" pres.

For that price though...

A pair of Grace 101s is a good start.
Mackie Onyx 800R is a great option as the AD converter is pretty nice too and you can bypass the digi converters.
Summit 2BA-221 pair.

That's really about it. Step the budget up around $500 and you have a world of options.

J

...You should also specify weather you want a transparent pre or a "colored" pre. If you are looking for transparent keep an eye out for the Earthworks LAB 102 on eBay - one went for $800 recently. Or go for the Grace 101...
In general, as you go up in price, people tend to take better care of the gear and eBay cane save you some serious money. Just keep your eyes out for the iffy posts...I've done a lot of eBay, and have rarely been disappointed.

saemskin wrote: Second for the Onyx 800R.
How about 2 True Systems P-Solo's. I havent heard them but I hear they are very clean.

Can you solder? You could get 2 channels of Neve Preamplification, and a power source for less than 1k from Seventh Circle Audio.

If I had a schematic for a Neve style highpass and lowpass I would be doing that now.

Uh, yeah, I can solder. I build hand-wired tube amplifiers. :wink:

I thought along these lines last night... I'll go look at Seventh Cicle Audio.

If you like to solder I would recomend a Hamptone HJFP2 (JFET) for $619 or
the Hamptone HVTP2 (tube) preamp for $719. Two channels in one box. These pre's
are truly excellent no frills great sounding mic preamps. If you have built some tube amps these kits should be right up your alley. I have one of each and really like these pres a lot. http://www.hamptone.com

Scott Hampton owns the company and he is great to deal with.

David B

fiddler59 wrote: If you like to solder I would recomend a Hamptone HJFP2 (JFET) for $619 or
the Hamptone HVTP2 (tube) preamp for $719. Two channels in one box. These pre's
are truly excellent no frills great sounding mic preamps. If you have built some tube amps these kits should be right up your alley. I have one of each and really like these pres a lot. http://www.hamptone.com

Scott Hampton owns the company and he is great to deal with.

David B

Don't own a Hamptone yet but have heard a lot of tracks done through the Hamptone jfet and tube version and it's a no-brainer. If you can solder and your budget is $1k or less the Hamptone is where it's at. Either that, or a Sytek. You might want to seriously demo a pair of EHX 12AY7's first though. If you like how they sound you'd save a lotta dough. At less than $200 a channel they're incredibly focused, thick, and distort really nicely. There's quite a bit of dimension and definition there as well, especially when using with an omni cap or for room mic's. You'd have some cash left over for a fun comp or a pair of 4033's (or something).