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hi all -

there's always a raging discussion about mic preamps and which ones are the "best",etc. - but that's usually from the point of the cleanest or purest "warm" sound, and usually for voice work.

but what about when you need a preamp for mics that are going to be on a bass cabinet or a guitar cabinet?

i would assume that you are going to get and / or want a fair amount of distortion so why spend big $$$ on preamps that you probably won't "hear" anyway?

in that light, does it make a difference between the cheapos like Behringer or nady or SM audio, etc. or the next tier up which would be PreSonus tubepres and the like.

i want a 4-8 channel preamp that fits into this category.

any suggestions?

Comments

nedjinski Mon, 05/02/2005 - 22:09

thanks kurt -

i was actually trying to figure out if high end or low end preamps actually make a difference when their main function is to get blasted by an instrument cabinet pumping out high spl's into a dynamic mic.
so is this a dumb question?
i see that you are the only one to reply to this query which means that you are the good guy i have known you to be and you are humoring me a bit (that's okay) , and / or you are the only one who has a clue about such things anyway and have an informed opinion to give (which i appreciate very much BTW)

in the interim between posts i did read up on the SP828 which for the price is certainly affordable, and i know you like their stuff, but is something on that order really that much different than the high end cheapos you referred to?

on a more newbie note - my main interest in these pre's at all is to turn a dynamic mic level signal into a line level signal so i can plug it into a line input on my mixer. are there other devices that just perform this function only? obvisouly, for micing instrument cabinets i don't know that i care about "warmth" or "transparency" or anything but creating a clean line level signal, so why do i need high(er) end preamp anyway?- are there such things as just simple converters for this purpose?

thanks as always for your informed thoughts!

KurtFoster Tue, 05/03/2005 - 10:10

Good mic pres always make a difference even on screaming guitar cabs.

In your case, I would use the pres you already have in the mixer. Most likely they will serve you just as well as something 3 times the price. I really don't think you will hear much of a difference between them and any other cheap or mid priced pre.

I can't really say what the SP 828 sounds like .. it has a lot of features and is the most reasonably priced multi channel pre amp in its range. If I were looking for something like that, I would certainly give it a look /listen.

I have not heard the SM pres either (there are a few different ones).
I read a recent magazine review of the channel strip version, that wasn't very flattering at all. I would listen first before purchasing or be sure I could return it if I wanted to.

nedjinski Tue, 05/03/2005 - 12:10

kurt -

thanks again for taking the time to give an objective view point - something not always easy to find here - but you are the man!

maybe i'll get one brick for high end vocals, then i have four Onyx preamps in the mixer for the next level down, and then some affordable multi-channel pre's for micing the instruments.

sound like a plan?

therecordingart Tue, 05/03/2005 - 22:17

I can tell you right now that I've been able to record with some high quality preamps and a lot of low quality.

When I first recorded my old band I used crappy pres and SM57's on the guitar cabs. (Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier w/Mesa cab and Marshall JCM900 w/1960a cab). The sound turned out ok.

Then I bought my GT Brick, re-recorded the guitars and holy smokes! Depth, fatness, and holy tone. I was able to hear why a Mesa costs so much money in my recording....normally I wasnt hearing that because of my crap preamps. I could hear the "tone" in the room with the amp, but not on the recorded track until I had the better pre. I guess it came down to depth and detail?!?

So yea...there is a little story to think about. Remember that a good engineer that knows the ins 'n' outs of their gear...no matter what quality gear....can turn out some respectable stuff! So if you are on a budget...save up and only buy once. In the meantime you'll have time to develop your chops on your current gear. That is my plan for now.