8 channel preamp advice needed

[jlaudon]

I've got a friend who wants to pick up an 8 channel preamp (budget around 2000) - mainly for drum tracking. His mics are all good mics (sennheiser, akg, etc). He also uses a Yamaha 02R96 mixer.

Any thoughts on what would be a good preamp, and if it's really needed (are the 02R pres ok for drums?).

Thanks.

[BradLyons]

HOLY CRAP!! That avatar of your's completely freaked me out, I thought I had a bug inside my computer screen!!!!!!!!!!!!

The pres on the 02R96 are actually quite good! BUT....they are also sterile. So.....one option would be something like a Focusrite ISA828 which will add some nice punch and an analog tone, but that is well over the budget. Another solution would be a True Systems Precision 8, excellent box!! Soooooooooo let me throw a curveball here. You might want to have him consider a pair of the TL Audio 5021 tube compressors. This is a two-channel compressor that has some nice tone and punch to it. The reason I said two is they are $1k each, and honestly you don't need this for your cymbals. Put one on Kick and Snare, another on at least (2) toms...or get a third unit if there are three-four toms in the kit. So my idea for this solution is the pres are clean with plenty of headroom, these compressors will bring that tone and punch into the tracking.....much better than the digital compressors built-in.

[jlaudon]

Thanks Brad - I always welcome your input. I forgot to mention that he does have 2 LA-610 pres as well (he used to have a Focusrite 4 channel pre, but someone came in and ripped it off ).

I'll check out your suggestions. Thanks.

[BradLyons]

PERFECT, use the LA610 on snare---POSSIBLY kick, I say possibly because that's a mushy pre. The limiter in that will work either way. Then use the other (4) channels of these compressors for the Kick and/or Toms.

[mhschmieder]

I use the True Precision 8, which is the most flexible and neutral octal mic preamp on the market, and varies in price but can usually be had for slightly over $2000 (it's German so price adjustments for exchange rates happen in both directions, now and then).

For drums, you might want a coloured octal mic preamp though. What genres? I cover all genres so really need transparency. Those who stay in one or two genres can often get away with optimising their tracking in a way that minimises post-recording EQ and compression etc.

I'll eventually need another eight channels for drums myself, so continue to be on the lookout for good octal mic preamps, but specifically ones that have ADA or AES/EBU connectivity and A/D built-in. The True Precision 8 is analog-only.

Depending on whether you want or need A/D along with it, you could consider the RME OctaMic models. Pretty transparent, and mid-range quality. Some people like Focusrite octal mic preamps for drums, but I haven't tried them personally. They have three basic tiers in their system.

[BradLyons]

I'm recording a good drummer this weekend using the ISA828, primarily. I'll try to get some tracks up over the weekend of the drums so you can hear the ISA828.

[therealbigd]

focusrite 'platinum' gear....

indeed its a bit below $2k but Focusrite's Octopre ain't half bad! I like it!

You could probably buy 4 Twintrack Pros... I like them a lot. went to a studio recently with ISAs, Avalon, Neve... all sorts. The TTPros stood up well next to them, and are really great for mastering through.

[buzzsmith]

focusrite 'platinum' gear....
indeed its a bit below $2k but Focusrite's Octopre ain't half bad! I like it!

I had the Octopre but I had difficulties with it's "hot" outputs feeding the original MOTU 24i...could not trim the output of the OctoPre so it would tend to overload the inputs of the 24i. Neither MOTU or Focusrite could offer any solution outside of inline pads to reduce the signal coming in or going out.

Since then, I replaced it with a PreSonus DigiMax which now feeds the "newer" MOTU 24i/o, and have been satisfied with the results.

It's primarily my drum pre, and probably while not as open sounding as some of the other aforementioned solutions, I'm reasonably happy with this system. I record everything from jazzy brush drums to banging rock.

Buzzy