suggest a mic pre in the $600 range

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the brill bedroom
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Post by the brill bedroom » Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:26 am

Excellent rant! That's exactly what I keep thinking about (but without all those bothersome facts and actual products to confuse matters. I just feel a general sense of caveman unrest with not much to back it up.)

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joelpatterson
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Post by joelpatterson » Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:51 am

"With perhaps the exception of the Grace 101"...

My singing UPS man brought me my Grace 101 last Friday. Used it to track one guitar in a guitar trio on Sunday. (Mic was a vintage CAD E350.)

That guitar in particular was gracefully alive in the mix, so clear and tangible, when he strummed you could hear the pick gliding across the windings of the strings, you could hear the body of the guitar humming.

But yessir, Sage Electronics is the next mic pre for me.

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luckybastard
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Post by luckybastard » Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:58 am

if you're handy with a soldering iron, the jfet hamptone will run u 550 and the tube one 700. i've never heard the jfet but i know the tube one will stand up to any of the big boys...

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soundguy
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Post by soundguy » Wed Nov 09, 2005 3:05 pm

the hamptone jfet amp is on par with any pre on the market for any amount of money. I say this because its entirely unique sounding compared to anything else you can go to a store and purchase new. Thats a pretty good reason to build the kit, not only will you have a top shelf mic pre, but you'll also have a top shelf piece of gear that not everyone and his brother has. The DI in the hamptone Jfet kit is worth the trouble of building it in and of itself, you get a cool mic pre as a bonus. I think these amps are really great. If hamptone retailed these I dont think for half a second there would be any difficulty selling stereo boxes for close to $2k, it'll certanly compete sonically with anything in that price point. Its not good on everything but what is.

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bap
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Post by bap » Fri Nov 11, 2005 3:44 pm

I agree that the Hamptone kits are dynamite and I use mine a lot, though I also got the step gain attenuators, which raises the cost somewhat.

Another 'budget' mic pre that I feel defies the 'mid-price is crap' point of view is the DAV BG1. I have one and I like it. :)
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KennyLusk
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Post by KennyLusk » Fri Nov 11, 2005 4:10 pm

I would love to recommend the EH 12AY7 because the sound is so focused. It's wonderful. The sound is incredible, especially at less than $200 per channel.

But...

I've had 2 take a sh$t on me in 2 months time. They've developed a short in them after just a few weeks use.

Check out the Summit Audio 2BA

or the ART MPA Gold.

phantom power
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Post by phantom power » Fri Nov 11, 2005 4:17 pm

Symetrix sx202 get it modded and you'll still have $ left over. It's a really cool 2 ch. 1/2 rack space box. They still sound great even without the mod. -AE

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leigh
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Post by leigh » Mon Nov 14, 2005 11:04 pm

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the Grace 101. One channel, under $600. Not having used it myself, I can't vouch for it, but it's been out for several years now and certainly seems to have held up in popularity.

Leigh

EDIT: Whoops, sorry, I thought I'd read the whole thread but hadn't...
Last edited by leigh on Tue Nov 15, 2005 9:56 am, edited 1 time in total.

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theenvycorps
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Post by theenvycorps » Tue Nov 15, 2005 12:15 am

Um, look up a few posts...it has been mentioned. Great preamp.

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