Cheap Old Preamps

Hackneyed · Post by **Hackneyed** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 4:41 pm

Are there any cheap mic preamps made by Teac, Fostex, or Shure that were decent? Maybe some old clunkers that are passable?

I might save some money and build a N72, but that's still expensive for me right now.

joel hamilton · Post by **joel hamilton** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:14 pm

Yamaha PM1000 is the only "sleeper" I can think of.Discrete coolness for low money. The GATES tube pre's are kind of a "secret" as well...
Any of the other stuff you mentioned isnt going to work as well as an 8 channel mackie, or better yet, some small soundcraft.

honkyjonk · Post by **honkyjonk** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:24 pm

You might do a search on the Shure mixers in the DIY forum. I remember somebody a few months ago proposing some mods to one of 'em that would be pretty damn cheap if you picked one of those up for $50 or whatever they go for.

Hackneyed · Post by **Hackneyed** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:47 pm

Okay, I think I might buy a few of the Yamaha PM1000. Are there any sites that I could learn how to rack these? Totally novice about electronics.

RodC · Post by **RodC** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:49 pm

Shure M67, not lots of gain but great for loud guitars and drums:
http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopi ... hlight=m67

Altec 1628a, Great for durms, especialy if you add the gain controls
http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopi ... ltec+1628a

Tube pres, I mod them to have 2 in one. Plenty of gain but pretty extensive mods. Ubatar just finished up 2 of them:
http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopi ... light=akai

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 7:25 pm

RodC wrote:Tube pres, I mod them to have 2 in one. Plenty of gain but pretty extensive mods. Ubatar just finished up 2 of them:
http://messageboard.tapeop.com/viewtopi ... light=akai

Yeah. Those are sweet. Some were sold as Akai and some as Roberts. Mine are the Roberts version. I found them on the street in front of the apartment next door at my old place. I had some trouble with the mods, but Rod was kind enough to walk me through it.

[music whore]Here are the results, so far: http://www.ubertar.com/creot/gonnagetcha.MP3 [/musicwhore]

darjama · Post by **darjama** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 7:56 am

Ubertar, those akai/roberts sound really nice. They scream "creamy," and "vintage," and whisper a bunch of other audio buzzwords.

RodC · Post by **RodC** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 8:05 am

This mix is nowhere near done but here is a track Im passing back and forth with False Profit. The Vox, All guitar mics, and the Drum OH mics were recorded with my Akai preamps (2 in one version) All other drums were with my Altec 1628a.

http://www.beyondsanityproductions.com/ ... Profit.mp3

Its a rough mix, the drums are pretty raw but if you listen to the vox and guitars its a good rep of what the Akais sound like. Also I have the highs in the OH a bit high, so you can see even though they are warm the Highs are there.

I have 17 songs Im working on, I dont think the will mind if you listen to this one because it is one we re recorded from their last album. These guys were on the warped tour in '03.

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 8:16 am

darjama wrote:Ubertar, those akai/roberts sound really nice. They scream "creamy," and "vintage," and whisper a bunch of other audio buzzwords.

Thanks. Everything except the vocals and the rhythm guitar on the left side were recorded with them. Those were ATI m-1000.

jmoose · Post by **jmoose** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 7:28 pm

I've got a weird one...

Tascam MA-8.

I think that was it...one rack space, 8-micamp thing they made in the early-mid 90's. Just 8 inputs with gain & global phantom power.

I had one that I used for toms & other stuff WAAAAAAAAAAY back in the day and most of that stuff still sounds pretty decent to my ears today.

It wasn't horribly expensive then, can't be much now if you can find one.

swishniak · Post by **swishniak** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 7:47 am

[quote="joel hamilton"]
Any of the other stuff you mentioned isnt going to work as well as an 8 channel mackie, or better yet, some small soundcraft.[/quote]

ive often wondered about this - can anyone explain the difference between a "real" pre amp and the phantom power units that are built into mixers like the mackies ?

getreel · Post by **getreel** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 8:35 am

What about the Aphex models like the 107 or Symetrix 202? A friend had the 107; I always thought sounded decent.

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 8:46 am

swishniak wrote:ive often wondered about this - can anyone explain the difference between a "real" pre amp and the phantom power units that are built into mixers like the mackies ?

The preamps on a mackie board are real preamps too. They amplify the signal that comes into your mic to line level so you can record. It's like how a guitar amp amplifies your guitar-- and just like that, you'll get different sounding results with different amps. Your guitar will sound different through a Peavey or a Fender or a Vox. There are good and bad tube circuits and good and bad solid state. What works for one song won't for another. Some differences are a matter of taste, and others are related to quality. The weaknesses of a pre can become more apparent as tracks add up on a song.

trodden · Post by **trodden** » Wed Sep 06, 2006 9:59 am

getreel wrote:What about the Aphex models like the 107 or Symetrix 202? A friend had the 107; I always thought sounded decent.

yeah dude, i've got a modded symetrix sx 202 that sound good. And i can change the way it sounds by popping in different op amps. Right not i've got some burr browns in there.

jetboatguy · Post by **jetboatguy** » Sat Dec 02, 2006 1:46 pm

jmoose wrote:I've got a weird one...

Tascam MA-8.

I think that was it...one rack space, 8-micamp thing they made in the early-mid 90's. Just 8 inputs with gain & global phantom power.

I had one that I used for toms & other stuff WAAAAAAAAAAY back in the day and most of that stuff still sounds pretty decent to my ears today.

It wasn't horribly expensive then, can't be much now if you can find one.

Mod them with Burr Brown opamps and they sound even better... great value for a 1 rack space / 8 channel preamp.

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