i think a speck mic pre 5.0 will fit your needs and budget nicely 8)

My vote would go for the Sebatron vmp1000e @$650.

mic pres

Wait a little, save a little, then go for an API. They are solid state, extremely simple but they sound terrific! Their prices went down recently. It's worth checking it out.
Trust me, I have made the same mistake before, don't go for cheap, crappy mic pres because they have valves...
('And I love valves too, I have summit and Manley gear...)

Remember that you mikes and mic pres are at the very beginning of the chain, they are what matter most. Think that even if you don't have the studio of your dreams (maybe you do), once the music is printed on tape, you can always mix somewhere else.

Good luck

thanks for ur advice, guys...

i just checked the sebatron gear and i think that this will be my choice. i have heard some stuff about them around here but i always thought they`d cost a fortune.

obviously the mono version with vu meter should be affordable for me right now. gotta get some other multi channel pre amping later, but one high class thing for the vocals is my focus right now...

maybe i will order right now, hmm...

:roll:

i ordered the sebatron one channel pre amp with vu meter two days ago and i`m really looking forward to it !!!

it is shipping from australia and im here in austria, so thats gonna take a few days i guess...

after having read kurts review my expectations are pretty high...

im shure that i will get a multi channel version too as soon as my bank will allow me to...

i am recording with a rhode nt2 mic that is a clone of the Neumann u87 into rme adi 8 ds converters, i guess my nasty room acoustics will annoy me even more now the recording chain is getting all better...

i will share my experience when i get the sebatron !

l8er

:lol:

Too bad your room sucks. My guess is the Seb will make that mic come alive.

well, i have picked up the sebatron today and before even having tried the unit i want to thank the guys at sebatron for their support.

there has been several trouble going on with the shipping, customs and so on, and sebatron has proven more than only friendly to their customers !!!

they have helped me in the best way possible and they don`t even hesitate to spend money making their customers satisfied !!!

THANK YOU AGAIN !!!!!

so i haven´t hooked it up in the studio yet, but my partner will come to pick it up now and will try it out today, i will check it myself tomorrow...

after having it unpacked the unit it seems to be rock solid , built at a high quality level !!!

i am really looking forward to hearing it !!!!!!!

daniel,
Glad that you liked the review and that it was helpful in your decision process. Seb is a great company to do biz with and I am happy you had a good experience.

The Rode NT2 should sound awesome through the vmp. I use a U87 through it and it is a beautiful thing to hear. These pres are not the run of the mill "cheap valve" hybrid type of pre but instead a true valve design that has a sound reported to be much like that of an old Telefunkin V72 or the UA 610 pres ... and at a very affordable price. I personally think the vmp line of pres as the best bang for the buck tube mic pre available. As demand for these mic pres has increased, so has the price (as I predicted) and in spite of many naysayers who obviously never had the opportunity to listen to one, they are rapidly gaining an excellent reputation in the audio community. Enjoy your new toy and let us know what your impression is ...

Kurt Foster

so, i have already tested and recorded through the sebatron and it meets all my high expectations...

we have run guitar through it that comes from a line6 pod and the guitarist said that it feels a lot more like playing through a real guitar amp according to dynamics.

the different settings on the pre amp are very subtle but i think that as soon as we are getting used to them, we can benefit a lot during mixing stage and slightly colouring the sound...

we could not try it out on vocals yet, but i expect the best from it...

but we also have a slight problem now...

the dynamics are much more transparent and sensitive now and according to this is getting way much harder to record at good levels...
our previous amp had a limiter built in that helped here and there, but with no dynamic control in the recording chain it is really hard to get good levels on disk...

your singers are really nice but their techniques according to getting to takes are really poor...
they vary a lot in volume and do not move away from the mic when getting louder etc...

can anyone recommend anything to add to our recording chain ?

there are a few comp/lim that i am really interested in buying once i got a few k to spend, like a manlay variable mu or the urei 1176 (or 78?) but that would be a different thing...

we would need a reliable comp/lim that will not affect the sound too much but will do a good job getting good levels to disk...

any help appreciated...

PS: i will add our impression with vocals through the seb too...

Inexpensive compressors usually don't sond very good. Sebatron also makes a compressor but I don't have any direct expierence with it so I can't say how good it is. Based on my expierences with the vmp 4000, I would say it's worth a listen.

If you watch EBay you may be able to find a silverfaced LA4 at an affordable price. I have seen them go for as low as $700. I am sure someone will bring up the RNC from FMR but once again I have never heard one in use but if it is anything like the pre amp they make I don't think I would care for it. But it may be an affordable solution.

The good news is that if you get a good compressor like a Manley or a used UREI LA2a, 1176, or even a new version by United Audio, it will hold value and you can consider it an investment.

after having had some recording sessions on vocals i have to say that this pre amp sounds brilliant...
we are having quite little more essing on the vocals but i guess thats just because the dynammics are so sensitive in this unit...

i haven`t had the possibility of trying all the different setting possibilities on all instruments so far, but we have found some yet, that sound really great...

we are still having trouble with metering and always have a clip here and there when recording...

we have also listended to all recorded tracks in solo afterwards and i have to say that i could not hear any distortion when the signal was clipping...

it just clipped very slightly, so only the attack of several essing or popping letters were clipping...
it also clips only a few samples, normal digital indicator for clipping is 6 samples, AFAIK...

do you consider maxing the dynamics to have full level and risking a little clip (unhearable) here and there is better than safely leaving headroom not using the whole range but never clipping ?

cheerz, daniel

PS: thx kurt, i guess i will save up some time and go for some proper quality stuff then. the urei thing could be next, because i am using the software emulation of my powercore card and this sounds great allready.

anyone got some additional thoughts on my last questions ?

I am pleased that you like the Sebatron.The added sibilance is simply the better high frequency response of the pre amp. If you are not using one, try a popper stopper blast filter. A lot of people expect added lows / fatness with tube pres but a good tube pre can have very present high frequency response as well ... I think the vmp's have a great high end sheen.

A good limiter / compressor will go a long way to helping you maximize your input levels but until you get one, set your levels a bit lower. I usually shoot for -6 (digital scale) and try to leave 2 dB headroom ...