Manley Dual Mono Mic Pre

[earth tones]

Anybody own this unit that can compare it to other mic pre's they have used. The only pre's I have been able to use are on a 002 Rack and a Control 24, so I don't have any real experience time with the many pre brands. I know that mic's and converters, and placement all add into the product. I have used this Manley unit while micing my acoustic with 2 AKG C414's, and it sounded beautiful. Can anybody advise me to check another brand that would be in this price range, or less. Thank you

[rpowell]

I don't own one but have used one before. Just because it's a tube-based mic pre doesn't mean it's a "harmonic distortion generator" like the ART Pro MPA. It's actually a very clean mic pre. Does not have as high a gain as some other mic pre's in its price range...the factory can mod it for about 10 dB of additional gain if you need it for ribbon mic's, etc. IMO, it would be less brittle on the high end with most mic sources than either of the 2 preamps you mention, while still being relatively transparent throughout all frequency ranges. You might also notice more "body" in the low-mids compared to the other 2 mic pre's. But as always, YMMV, and depending on the sound source and the mic being used.

RP