OT : could you suggest a cheap mic preamp ?

sinkmusic · 03-23-2007, 05:21 PM

Hi all
I am looking for a cheap (50-100$) mic preamp.
I am not after vocal clarity that much, because it is to feed a vocoder, so i mainly need to control better levels (So that gear should have a built-in limiter to kill nasty peaks, and the ability to level up the gain nicely).
If there is a little locut filter, it would be uber nice, and if also it can add "warmth" or coloring it woudl be perfect

At the moment, i am using my mixer's mic preamp, but is is quite terrible.
I have heard some bad about the Behringer mic100 and 200, and i have a Art TCS compressor, so i think i could like Art Tube MP or Art Levelar, but i don't know that much in preamp domain...

Any suggestions ?

homebrew · 03-26-2007, 05:06 PM

The ART and Behringer models you mentioned are the only ones I know of that have a built-in limiter. I have the Presonus TubePre (no limiter), which is nice and clear--got it for $50 on ebay. I also have the Mic 200, which is better as a bass preamp than for vocals, but it isn't bad. It might be fine for what you want to do with it. Probably the best buy in that range is the Studio Projects VTB-1 though, again, no limiter.

sinkmusic · 03-27-2007, 01:23 AM

thank you for your advice.
I have also read somewhere that tubes were dong some kind of "natural limiting", but i don't really know about that.
I will have a look at the Studio Project thing also.
The Presonus gear is quite reknowned, but out of my budget at the moment (and i am not sure what i aim at doing worths spending that money in it... If i can find one on ebay in that price range, i'll go for it, else, i think i'll have to stick with the Art stuff).

happymonkey · 03-27-2007, 08:46 AM

I've been using the ART Dual Tube MP (rack mount) for a few years and I'm very happy with it. I put a set of Groove Tubes in it to make it just a tiny bit warmer, but the stock tubes were fine. I'm sure the difference is mostly psychological. Before that I had the original Tube MP (again with an upgraded tube) which was also nice. I lent that one to a friend of mine and never saw it again.....

I've had many pieces from ART over the years and never had one complaint.

I currently have a Behringer quad gate/compressor and like that a lot too. I know a lot of people knock their stuff, but it's well built, inexpensive, and just does what it's supposed to do.

As long as you can get a clean signal into Reaper, and you just want to add warmth or get closer to the sound of a dedicated preamp, you could try using these plugins:

http://antress.myweb.hinet.net/

hm

sinkmusic · 03-27-2007, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by happymonkey

I've been using the ART Dual Tube MP (rack mount) for a few years and I'm very happy with it. I put a set of Groove Tubes in it to make it just a tiny bit warmer, but the stock tubes were fine. I'm sure the difference is mostly psychological. Before that I had the original Tube MP (again with an upgraded tube) which was also nice. I lent that one to a friend of mine and never saw it again.....

I've had many pieces from ART over the years and never had one complaint.

I currently have a Behringer quad gate/compressor and like that a lot too. I know a lot of people knock their stuff, but it's well built, inexpensive, and just does what it's supposed to do.

As long as you can get a clean signal into Reaper, and you just want to add warmth or get closer to the sound of a dedicated preamp, you could try using these plugins:

http://antress.myweb.hinet.net/

hm

Thank you.
I have a art tcs tube compressor. I like it, but it is out of order at the moment.
I think i'm gonna go for the Art Tube MP, it is cheap and gets great feedback.

On the plugin side, i prefer Tbt Tubelimit over Antress' ones

happymonkey · 03-27-2007, 09:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sinkmusic

Thank you.

On the plugin side, i prefer Tbt Tubelimit over Antress' ones

I looked around for this and it does not appear to be available anymore. I was unable to connect to the ftp site mentioned on the dev's website and no other link I found online works.

hm

Rann · 04-14-2007, 07:25 PM

I found tubelimit here:

http://mp3.deepsound.net/plugins_dynamique.php

peace,
rann

Billoon · 04-14-2007, 09:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rann

I found tubelimit here:

http://mp3.deepsound.net/plugins_dynamique.php

peace,
rann

The links arent working...its in French so i cant work out the problem. Do you need to register or something first?

Rann · 04-15-2007, 12:01 AM

I copied the link straight from the browser and it still works fine for me. Weird. At any rate you can get the file here: https://stash.reaper.fm/oldsb/17506/T...mizer_a1-0.zip

I haven't unzipped it yet, so scan it for cooties.

Rann · 04-15-2007, 12:04 AM

Here's the tube limiter:

https://stash.reaper.fm/oldsb/17507/TubeLimit_1-1.zip

I haven't unzipped this one either so scan it as well.

peace,
rann

happymonkey · 04-15-2007, 12:19 AM

Rann,

Both of these zip files are corrupted and won't open. Do they work for you?

hm

Rann · 04-15-2007, 12:22 AM

Hold on, I'll try to unzip them

Rann · 04-15-2007, 12:24 AM

you're right. Sorry.

I hate it when that happens.

Oh well, I tried.

Rann · 04-15-2007, 12:57 AM

ok, hopefully I have redeemed myself.

the TLs maximizer is alive and well and living here:

http://www.geocities.com/fender686/

It unzipped without a hitch, and I'm about to try it out. I also found another page with TLs schtuff:

http://hem.bredband.net/tbtaudio/entrance.html

peace,
rann