Pre amp comparisons

[wyn]

Anyone's advice on this? I wanna bust some cash soon. What I need to do is fill up my 828mkII's analog ins with 8 quality pres. Do i go for the Focusrite octo pre and get it all done in one go, or 4 different dual pres with different characters or perhaps different features like eq, comp, limiter etc. (over a period of time)
I record mostly vocals and acoustic instruments.
If i go for the dual pres, i'm looking at the Langevin (manley) Dual Vocal Combo versus TL Audio New Classic PA1 Dual.
Anyone with advice on a budget of roughly $2000?

[jlafferty]

for 8 channels you might want to also investigate the true audio precision 8.
It's a little bit more than 2k I think, but supposedly an awesome single rack space unit.
You could also get yourself (2) sytek MPX- 4A's

There are lot's of options, you need to decide if you want a digital output or an analog from the pre's.

My experience is buy the best gear you can make do with...in other words, don't buy a substandard 8 channel pre when you can get by with 2 channels of something really killer. Then build up later on.

Jeff

[wyn]

Great. Thanks Jeff.
I think i agree. Get less pres but better quality. I guess I will be doing a/d conversion on the 828 so i would go for analog outputs on the pres. Is that what you mean? How would digital outputs change things for me? The one i'm testing out now is unbalanced 1/4" out of pre and into the 828. I'll be checking out your recommendations , thanks.

[jlafferty]

What I meant was the octapre and other units like the presonus digimax have ADAT lightpipe digital outs (optional on the focusrite unit). They are both mic pres and converters. This goes into the 828 on it's lightpipe in...

You could then theoretically also use the 10 analog channels for a total of 22 tracks at the same time...not sure how well this works.

For really nice 2 channel pres around 2k you could look at millenia, great river, the langevin you mentioned is nice, but i recall it is missing some key features. For a little more you could get 4 channels of api 312's.

The nicest pre I own is a Summit MPC 100A. It is a tube pre and a compressor in the same box. Not very well known, but it sounds amazing, very hifi sounding, clean and big. That goes for $2200 for one channel.

Similar in price is the Avalon 727, very popular and respected.

Hope all that helps, have fun spending the cash!

Jeff

[wyn]

Aaha. Makes good sense. I'm not convinced on the Langevin, especially when it comes to that price. I think the Avalon for example is worth checking out if ones goes into that price bracket. The 8 channel pres you mentioned is a must i've decided for my current delemma. Like you said, i still have analog ins available for later to get to more expensive single channel pres.
Thank you kindly for your good solid advise.
W

[XYZ]

I think the answer to this depends on if you are tracking mostly 8 channels at one time [e.g., live] or if you are tracking each track one [or 2/stereo] at a time. The general purpose Octo-pres will probably get you the best overall bang for the buck because every channel will benefit.

But if you are mostly tracking one [or stereo] channel at once, I would suggest you buy one 2 channel pre and buy only one for now. Spend all 2 grand on it. You will realize why pro-recorded tracks sound pro.

My favorite "flavor" mic-pres are currently:

Great River MP-2NV ["iron"]
UA 2-1610 [tube]
Manley Dual Mono [tube]

Or for "wire with gain"

Grace or the Avalon.

If you do Pop/Rock/HipHop/R&B/etc. style of music, give the Great River a try. It is my most general purpose pre becasue everything sounds great through it.

Also, consider getting a couple of channels of really good quality A/D converters. You won't know why, but everything will sound better

[shuld]

I've been asking around. My engineering mates said get the Universal audio 6167. Mic pre with a comp. I just got 2 of them and im loving them. The best purchase I 've ever made. You wont be dissapointed

[grunter]

wyn:

Check out this site for more info: http://www.3daudioinc.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi

Good luck! You've got lots of choices and lots of opinions in regard to preamps.

[wynsmth]

You might also want to check this out. 2 channels of mic pre designed by Rupert Neve for $1440.00. I have not heard them but they got a rave review from a member at gearslutz.com.

[Ernest Buckley]

Go with better quality. Nothing is worse than having lots of mediocre gear. Great mic pres are worth the $$$. You may want to get yourself one top quality mic pre to start with and build as your budget grows.

[ferchman]

I recently went through the same quest. I ended up going with 4 API Preamps and 4 NEVE preamps Kits. These are do-it-yourself Kits from <<seventhcirclestudios.com>>.

At first I was reluctant to get involved with the DIY Kits. However, for a novice soldering guy, I got through the process with no glitches. I actually enjoyed the time. Everytime I look at the pre's in my rack I have a sense or accomplishment.

They sound fantastic. I am on my 3rd project with them. I now run everything through them. Check them out.

[ferchman]

Oh, by the way, I was able to build 8 high end preamps for the price of 2 at the Local Music Store.

[wyn]

Now that option really appeals! I'll check em out for sure. Thanks

[lightningad]

you could always try the four channel Focusrite ISA428 - a lovely sounding mic pre-amp, that would still leave you with four slots to fill.

[BradLyons]

The ISa428 is definitely a VERY good option, own one myself (sold my other one...miss it dearly) and it's a fine product! However for the $2k range, I do understand the budget v/s performance v/s amount of pres you need. One option that is a little over budget that no one has mentioned here, but a good one, is the True Systems Precision8. this is about $2500 but is VERY clean, little coloration, great transient response for drums, etc.