trying to buy a mic pre and i need to know what is up.

[versuviusx]

ok everyone i talk to has there own opinions. and it's is like rediculous how many people have different opinions.
ok so i emailed some pro engineers that i know and i asked them which mic pre would they buy off of this list.
1. focusrite red or ISA
2. manley single channel
3. universal audio m610
4. millennia origin stt
5. amek channel strip(neve)
and one guy told me that he would buy the focusrite ISA stuff, and another guy told me that i should definitley get the universal audio, and then another guy told me that the only thing that was worth anything on my list was the origin stt. so i really do not know what is up
and recently i got an email from this guy who wants to trade me a modified quad 8 for my apogee mini me( which i just bought for $1225). he says it will knock the socks off of everything on my list. he says it has millennia mm99 jfet gain block and replaced the jensen transformers with his own custom transformers. i don't know. if anyone knows what they are really talking about and they know which one is really gives the most bang for the buck...that would be great. i know a lot of this is subjective, but sureley there has to be some objectivity to this. basically i'm looking for clear, clean, big and beautiful sounds. i'm trying to get a very pro sound, and i'm willling to save for a while to get it.
i'd love to hear what different people say and see where this leads to. thanks again

[versuviusx]

also my email address is blueversuviusx@yahoo.com
if you have any suggestions. thanks again

[WyteTyger]

I would say look at a Millennia if you are after a big clean sound. The Universal Audio unit is supposed to have a pretty distinct, colored sound if I am not mistaken. I don't know if you'd want that to be your only unit. Manley is known for making things sound big. And you're right, it is subjective. Just to ease your mind though, know that if you record an amazing song and an amazing performance through any of these units you will still have an amazing song. None of these units will make a recording sound 'bad'. Check out this link to listen to some of the units yourself:

http://www.thelisteningsessions.com/sessions.htm

Good luck!

ps (I use a Langevin Dual Vocal Combo and get fantastic results - you might want to check that out...it's made my Manley and only costs around $1600 for two channels of Class A preamp, limiting and eq)

[soundguy]

man, the stuff on your list is really all apples and oranges.

If you are in a big city, the best thing you can do for yourself is find a studio with a slamming mic pre collection and rent two hours of time. go in there with a DAT and just make a recording of all the pre's, go home and listen to them. Then make up your mind. Every last one of us is gonna tell you something different and why. What sounds good here does not always sound so good there.

You might think you want big, clean and clear until you hear some of the amps that people typically describe as such. You might hear something that is really saturated, but sounds so BAAAAAD that you just can not buy it. Investigate as much as you can.

I think the Urei 2108 is a great middle ground between the worlds of super super colored and sterility clean. If I didnt have any decent preamps, it would certainly be a worth while place to start.

People seem to love the great river amps, and they come in a variety of flavors.

If you can afford to put your brain on this, try to break up all the different pre's you are looking at into which ones are tube, which have discrete op amps, which have integrated circuits, which have discrete fet or transistor circuits and which are elecronically or transformer balanced. this is really the stuff that will make these pre's sound different and if you can understand why, you'll have such an easier time making an informed decision about the pre that best suits your need. Go to a studio, make a tape of all the pre's and ask the engineer to explain to you how they all work and you'll be set to forget our opinions and form your own.

dave

[Mack Damon]

All the preamps you listed ARE great. Of all my pres, my Chandler LTD-1s whoop ass for almost everything almost all the time. I have API, the real Avalon, ff Red Range, and some other funky stuff. The Chandlers will not disappoint anyone. EVER. You can also turn on the top EQ band and boost 3 db at 16K and make everything sound better (even kick drums and bass).