Which Mic Pre?

[npminard]

I think I stated earlier that it sounds killer out of the box also. Just out of the box it kills the Mackie pre. I am talking only though of old school tone quality.

This statement speaks for itself:

EH 12AY7 = tube tone vintage tone

Mackie = modern tone

Just depends on what you prefer I guess. I'll take tube circuitry anyday over solid state unless we are talking about NEVE gear.

or do you mean that it's just a quality product more representative of vintage tones?

Yes that is what I mean.

I'm not sure if I'd want to modify it if I went the route of a single mic pre, I was kinda leaning towards getting the best that I can afford and plug in and go, save the modifications for my amp, cab, or guitar, just me though. Sounds like we have sales reps from Mackie and EH on the forum Kidding of course. Seriously though, not sure what type of tones I'm going for, my playing styles vary, blues all the way to metal. Maybe something in between to compensate for that in the tones? I guess I'm not necessarily concerned about choosing a mic pre that's for a certain tone, I'm more concerned about what I play coming through well, as I hear it live, if that makes sense?

[NitroLiq]

Have you looked into any of the FMR stuff? They're "RNC (Really Nice Compressor) is very very good for the money. They have a preamp, as well.

http://www.fmraudio.com/productspage.htm

There's the Joe Meek stuff as well but it's a like/dislike thing as it colors the sound, from what I've heard. Mackie preamps are average...decent for the money...I've a 1202vlz I've used forever in my recording setup. It'll be difficult to find good preamps at around the $300 mark (presonus and behringer, aside).

If you're a DIY guy you could look into putting together some neve/jensen clone modules from seventh audio:

http://www.seventhcirclestudios.com/SCA/SCA.htm

George has the N72 and likes it. There's also Hamptone:

http://www.hamptone.com/index.html

These will get expensive though when you add pwr supples and whatnot. If money wasn't really an issue and I was looking for something new off the shelf, I'd probably go for an Avalon 737.

[St August]

(If money wasn't really an issue and I was looking for something new off the shelf, I'd probably go for an Avalon 737.

+1

[Bluesgeetar]

I was kinda leaning towards getting the best that I can afford and plug in and go

Your in Detroit. So I know you have a Guitar Center there. Try them both at the store first or buy them both and when you find the one that floats your boat take the other back and get a refund. Guitar center has a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. In a city like Detroit I would imagine you would be able to try them both around there somewhere.

[npminard]

I was kinda leaning towards getting the best that I can afford and plug in and go

Your in Detroit. So I know you have a Guitar Center there. Try them both at the store first or buy them both and when you find the one that floats your boat take the other back and get a refund. Guitar center has a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. In a city like Detroit I would imagine you would be able to try them both around there somewhere.

I didn't know that GC's were setup to allow customers to test mic pre's...I would think that would be a lot for them to drag an amp, cab, and a mic out...not saying it wouldn't be nice, but I could just imagine a salesman rolling his eyes at me, especially at GC, at least in my experience (not good).

Wouldn't it be hard to make a choice on one in store given that the variables...the type or mixer or PC Program, the amp, cab, guitar in the store, not knocking your suggestion, but would the sound change quite a bit between the gear at a store and trying it out at home, maybe making it sound better than I could...my gear isn't high end boutique stuff or anything. I'll probably have to just keep reading about the many suggestions and buy one, see if I like it. Thanks again for the great input.

[Bluesgeetar]

As I stated plainly, GC has a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. Buy it, try it, if you like it keep it, if not take it back for a full refund and get a Mackie board and try it. Simple.

[npminard]

As I stated plainly, GC has a 30 day satisfaction guarantee. Buy it, try it, if you like it keep it, if not take it back for a full refund and get a Mackie board and try it. Simple.

Speaking of GC, maybe I should just forget the idea of mic'ing tube amps and just buy a Line 6 half stack and a Hello Kitty Squire Strat They have a great selection there.

[mightymike]

Mic pres are great, but you still have to convert it to digital if your wanting to record with the comp.

Personally, I'm not a Fan of M-Audio or Mackie pres with SM57.

I like stuff that is Neve-like, which is the Gold standard.

Soundcraft has really good SM57 friendly pres, even in their cheaper mixers with the ultra mic. I prefer the way they record a SM57 mic'd Marshall Cab than Mackies by a huge margin. MAckie has some high end stuff that's better, but the Pres your gonna get on their cheapo models is pure unadulterated shite imho. I've had bad experiences with them and M-Audio.. Hopefully their newer stuff is better.

Then there some all in one solutions like rockstahs 002, that has the Mic pre and the A/D analog to digital conversion. $1200, and sounds damn good. Especially for the price.

Too me the cheapest pre that sounds decent is in mY Soundcraft Spirit Folio SX Mixer. I paid 450 used, they're 600 new. And it comes with a mixer too.

Then I bought a box that does the conversion from Analog to Digital. The RME Multiface 2. $800. It has a PC Card, and fits right into my laptop.

So the Mixer and the Multiface does what MArk's 002 does in one package.
But mine has more hookups and versatility for live recording.
But they're comparable in price. This 002 were 1200, mine cost me 1250.

Plus the Rack, the Furman, the Mics, the 8 XLR Hosa,plus the amps, guitars, and endless tweaking.

Sorry to drift there.


I have the Soundcraft mixer on top, with the Multiface 2 in one of the rack slots slots, and a furman power conditioner in another rack slot.
on one of those rollable rackmount thingys,so I can roll thing from my studio, to where we practice,
The RME has 8 direct XLR ins,so I can record 8 tracks at a time live.
I use Cakewalk Sonar $500, but it will work with a lot of recording software programs. You have to have a decent comp (preferably Dual Core) to do this comfortably, and record 8 tracks at a time.

I record loud. I dont have a studio, so I mic the cab, cover it in a cone of silence made of pillows, blankets, and cardboard. This way I can hear what's on the headphone without having to go in another room. It also helps keep stuff from falling of the walls. I'm really happy with this setup.
Very Versatile

[Star*Guitar]

I have a Mackie 1642 VLZ pro and IMHO...you would be making a huge mistake thinking those pre's are good...

The problem is the EQ on the board cannot be bypassed...It colors the tone in a very negative way..very tinny...

Get a good mic pre...If you are buying a Mackie board for recording you will never be totally happy with the results.

When I come into some money...I will be upgrading my board for sure.

[JimiJames]

trying to stay in the $200-300 rangelike you say for recording gear is tricky. My M-Audio works for me quite well, but,
I guess what Mike is trying to say is if you go cheap your gonna regret it so you might as well save for a nice piece and be happy with the outcome of your recordings.
By-the-way there's a Soundcraft Spirit Folio SX Mixer board on eBay right now for cheap...under $300

[mightymike]

After listening to Jimi JAmes metro Build 2 clip, I take back what I said about MAudio. Maybe the problem was in my implemention.

Yours sounds way better than my friends MAudio Quattro and cheap Mackie. Your a damn good player too.

You have the Page tone down.

[JimiJames]

shattup

[mightymike]

[npminard]

trying to stay in the $200-300 rangelike you say for recording gear is tricky. My M-Audio works for me quite well, but,
I guess what Mike is trying to say is if you go cheap your gonna regret it so you might as well save for a nice piece and be happy with the outcome of your recordings.
By-the-way there's a Soundcraft Spirit Folio SX Mixer board on eBay right now for cheap...under $300

The do-it-yourself Neve clones look pretty cool. I have a question on the A/D converters...are they all FireWire or are some USB? JimiJames...I saw that you were talking about the PreSonus FireWire 6x10 and the M-Audio in another post, seems like they could be decent options for me. Back to the FireWire though...what kind of requirements should one have on their PC when using a FireWire device...I just have a USB and wasn't sure if FW and USB interchanges...from pics...I'm guessing no. What kind of changes have to be made to the PC to accomodate for this?

[JimiJames]

This is an easier way to explain without sounding too technical and should sufficiently answer your question.
Your guess what right and your on the right track...

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-firew ... dapter.htm

Usually if you open up your computer you'll find an extra slot in which you can add a firewire card.
Remember it all has to do with latency (how fast your computer processes info without slowing down).
The reasoning why video cards are getting more & more expensive is that they now have their own processors
to help take the load (or for example terms, latency) off the computers processor.
This keeps the computer from crashing and running efficiently while having the minimum requirements allowed.