Mic Pre Suggestions?

[guittarzzan]

you might find an used Vintech X73i on Ebay for the high end of your amount. You get a nice pre with a really useable eq too. Make sure it comes with the power supply if you go that route.

[GoatKnuckles]

+ 1 on the sytek, I saw one on ebay recently for $775.00 shipped so you can find them cheaper if money is an issue. I love this thing, I opted for the burr browns in channels 3 and 4 which I really only seem to like on vocals but its worht it just for that. I run Nuendo using a firepod and I definetly see a noticeable difference when using this pre, its so squeaky clean and nice, everytime I turn it on it makes me feel warm and happy inside.

[minorkeylee]

I'm thinking the Sytek is IT. Thanks for pointing me in this direction. Can't wait to get one. Hopefully by the end of the year.

I just posted an album I did in my studio in the Listen to my Stuff forum. Although its a very 'laid back...just for fun' recording...I think it represents the sounds I'm currently getting very honestly. Hopefully the Sytek will help me kick it up a notch.

[pflip]

get a 48v supply for phantom with 6.8k resistors, and a 15v supply. or make them but it's so cheap to buy a GOOD one that it doesn't make sense not to. one decent sized one should be able to fit. get some PCBs printed for that, and try fitting 8 of them in a box. be creative with the kind of conector you'll use to supply power to them - I like MIDI connectors and cables myself. 48v, +15, -15, and ground. and I leave one pin blank.

for the color, paint it yellow.

It seems every other post is asking for some magic box to add warmth and color and professionalism. maybe I'm nuts, but something simple like this hits me much harder than a lot of "colored" pres. its lack of color IS its color to me. I listen to the UA-610 a tenant has, and compare it to this, and it sounds better. I really hear more of what I'm listening to. I hear MORE of the mic's color, MORE of the source's color.

Since you can't hear a microphone properly without a preamp, there's no WAY of hearing what it actually SOUNDS like prior to the process of being amplified. So there's no way to tell if the preamp is adding color, or merely not stripping away the color that existed as the time of recording.

I don't buy that some preamps have color anymore.

What I DO buy, is that lousy preamps suck a little bit of the balls out of the recording.

With a nice preamp, for me, it's NOT in what it ADDS.

It's what it DOESN'T take away.

and compared to a 610, it's not 1.5K!

the less shit you throw in there, the less shit you're taking away. the beauty in the above is in its simplicity.

I look at those earthworks pres that are meant to be natural and neutral and flat, and think they sound dull as shit. You open them up and see 553* shit inside them. the ICs that make every discrete module sound amazing. go figure.

I truly believe with good preamps, it's not how it's fucking the sound up, but moreso in how it lets it through.

what transformers do, in neve designs, to my limited understanding of neve design, is get rid of RF and other bullshit. they even advertize the fact that their designs are transformer coupled, with that in mind(the new 5*** consoles he's making) It's not as much intended to be a distortion/color machine, but intended to get rid of crap.

This is the best outboard mic preamp I've ever heard.

The transformers are for signal isolation and depending on the material used and the winding ratio they are used for coloration to some extent (accentuate or attenuate certain frequencies) and to smooth out frequency response. Some of the best and most transparent sounding preamps use xfmrs, also most high end tube LDC's use xfmrs also.

[grockvt]

I understand the dangerous d-box uses the "that" chips...has anyone used these chips with a folcrom to get a real clean summer? I guess you would need the "That 15XX" chip and an output buffer driver as well...

I'm thinking this may be worth checking out.

[Wainwright]

It may be a bit out of the price range but I love the TAB V78M its got a bit of magic for around a grand.

[hopeless_opus]

I think the Sytek is probably a great choice, however, here are some further options to consider:

If you don't need 4 channels and are looking to spend a little less, check out the FMR RNP.

If you can Solder, take a look at www.hamptone.com and www.seventhcircleaudio.com. I have the Hamptone JFET, and it's fantastic!

Chameleon Labs makes (in China) both a Neve knock off Pre/Eq and stereo Preamp for roughly within your budget.

And, if you only need one channel, definitely consider the Daking.

Best of luck.