8 channel mic pre

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roy
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8 channel mic pre

Post by roy » Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:02 pm

I am putting together a 24 channel live recording rig, and looking for a decent 8 channel mic pre to use on the front end. Prefer a 1 or 2U rackmount, and a DB25 output is ideal, but not essential. Any recommendations in the $600 range, since I need 3 of them.

Thanks.

Roy

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Post by Professor » Thu Feb 02, 2006 11:56 pm

Can't say I've used much in the $600 range for 8-channel preamps. I have to admit, I'm not sure what fits in that range - Behringer, the cheaper Presonus maybe, I think Focusrite Octopre is more, and even the Mackie Onyx is more than that.
What kinds of sessions and what is the recording medium?
If you could utilize TDIF digital outputs, then Soundcraft makes the expansion boxes for the 328 & 324 digital mixers. They are 2-spaces, 8-channels and include an A-to-D converter. They list around $1100-1200 but can be had at around $500-600 if you look around. I own two that I used for location work with my DA-78s, and I bought two for the school to actually use as an expansion setup for our 328 board in the live sound system.
Of course, if you have the space for it, the Crest X-24 mixer has eight mono and 8 stereo channels with 24 phantom-powered mic preamps built into it, as well as all the functions of a mixer in there too. It lists around $2200 or so, and would probably street close enough to $1800 that you might consider it. I have one for the school's larger location recording rig, and have been really impressed by almost everything on the board. (One gripe is that while each channel has individual phantom power, the switches are on the back, next to the connectors - though I suppose that's where the mics plug in.)

-Jeremy

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Post by xSALx » Fri Feb 03, 2006 12:04 am

Actually you can get the Octropre LE for $600. I don't exactly remember what it has different from the regular version; I think it doesn't have the built in compressors. It's a decent deal, good luck.

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Post by roy » Fri Feb 03, 2006 6:56 am

Thanks for the info so far. I am using a RADAR from iZ Corp. The converters on this are excellent, so a mic pre with converters built in would be somewhat of a waste. I'm currently using the pre's in a Soundcraft board, but am looking to put everything into a rack now.

Roy

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Post by KennyLusk » Fri Feb 03, 2006 8:12 am

I'll Third the Octopre LE. I've heard some really beautiful tracks done by close friends on the Octopre. Everything from AC guitar to guitar cabs to upright piano. Even with a mic as simple as an NT1000.
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Post by snatchman » Fri Feb 03, 2006 2:29 pm

I've heard some good things about the Studio Projects 828! Has Burr/Brown op-amps, plus has a summing buss (L/R) output..! (YMMV) I think it's around $600.00.!.. 8)

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Post by Professor » Fri Feb 03, 2006 2:52 pm

Amazing, I just walked over to the computer to mention the Studio Projects piece. I'd seen it a while back but was just reminded when I saw an ad in PAR.
Honestly, in that price range, it's hard to beat the preamps in a Soundcraft board, but this might be something to check out. The SP-828 says it will street around $599. It's 8-channel, direct outs per channel, plus it has a mixing AND a linking function so you can grab a stereo mix of all 24 mic channels for headphone monitoring or for a 2-track safety recorder (or both) which is really great for a mobile rig.
I may actually have to look into that as a potential redesign of the 'big' location system to scale it back down to a manageable size.

-Jeremy

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Post by roy » Sat Feb 04, 2006 11:02 am

The SP828 does look pretty good. Can someone who has one of these give me some feedback as to what you like/dislike about it. The Focusrite also looks great, but I think the added flexibility of the 2 track out on the SP828 is big useful bonus.

I enjoy the sound I get now from the Soundcraft board, but I really need to slim down the rig into something more manageable, like 1 rack.

These have been great suggestions.

Roy

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Post by KennyLusk » Sat Feb 04, 2006 11:34 am

roy wrote: I enjoy the sound I get now from the Soundcraft board, but I really need to slim down the rig into something more manageable, like 1 rack.

These have been great suggestions.

Roy
Which soundcraft board is that Roy?
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Post by snatchman » Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:48 am

There's a guy over on the "Home Recording" forum that post under the name " "gilliland" that raves about the SP828..! He uses (3) it just for this purpose ( live mobile rig). Records to a HD24XR. He posted some stuff he did live with it . Sounds good!.......... 8)

Oh yeah, I have the Presonus Digi-max LT and it's good for what it is! But...that being said, I think, if I was just looking for pre-amps, I'll choose something like the 828 with just pre-amps rather than go with a combo' with pre-amps and converters in the same price range! I'm thinking , you may get better quality pre-amps if the vendor didn't have to "compensate" for converters also! ( YMMV)........ :wink:

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Post by bplr » Thu Jun 22, 2006 6:57 pm

here's that sample that snatchman was referring to:

http://users.adelphia.net/~gilliland/Gone.mp3

apparently, everything was mic'ed except the guitar and mandolin, which were DI. everything in the recording went through the SP828.
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Here are some more audio examples

Post by punkrockdude » Sun Jul 02, 2006 5:16 am

These files were recorded in my home with the Studio Projects 828 mic preamps using 50' Canare L-2T2S cables running through the living room, tv room and into my room. It then went to my E-MU 1820M with HOSA TRS cables (will upgrade the cables to Gotham GAC-3 in two weeks) from the preamps.

I made these files in FLAC format so absolutely no quality is being lost. Use Foobar2000 or go to www.rarewares.org for more information (it's not a wareZ site).

I hope you find these examples helping and I hope you understand that I am not proffessional so these files might be not so good or just not to any help. Just my 2 cents (or maybe ~20 ?re).

Unavailable

Edit: I added high bitrate mp3 samples too for the convenience. Also shrunk the pictures for smaller file sizes.

Best Regards

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