guitarslinger
New member
Help.
stephen sawall
SEMI ERECT MEMBER
I would like to know also.
guitarslinger
New member
bump
Vrad
Active member
I hear good things about the FMR RNP. It's a bit more than $400 I think, somewhere around $479 or so.
aeroic
Active member
Vrad":jgqz5zqd said:
If you want a non-tube preamp...the FMR RNP is a killer deal! The DBX 376 (you'd need to get one off of ebay) is a good lower budget preamp too.
But the question is...do you want tube or SS?
Eric
aeroic
Active member
Also the Studio Projects VTB1 is a good one that's just a good Tube Preamp....I used that and the RNP a lot back in the day before I got my Universal Audio LA610.
Eric
Eric
guitarslinger
New member
I don't really care about tubes or SS. I just want it to sound as far from the fisher price preamps on my $100 mixer as possible. 
Vrad
Active member
Good... When it comes to mic pres tube or SS isn't that big of a deal.
G
GRK
New member
I'd get an FMR if I had money lying around right now so I'll +1 that.
scredly
New member
+1 on the RNP. They put the $ into good components not flashy looks.
Chubtone
Well-known member
I wouldn't worry about tubes either. My vintage API mic pre doesn't have tubes and neither did Neve's.
aeroic
Active member
Vrad":3llxvkpt said:
I disagree...not from a "sound perspective"...but from what type of "tone" he wants to get. I use SS pre's mostly for what I record, minus using a UA LA-610 for Vocals, bass, and sometimes acoustic guitar. I want my vocals to have the "tube tone" with the warmth...which is why I asked if he was looking for tube or SS. A normal preamp for most everything...SS is just fine.
Eric
ratkent
New member
It's actually $499 but it's a great preamp and worth every penny. Very versatile and warm if you need it.
http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-PRS-EUREKA-LIST
http://www.americanmusical.com/Item--i-PRS-EUREKA-LIST
ratter
New member
For guitar, or multi-purpose? If just for guitar, I really liked the Joemeek vc6q "British Channel" I had back when...
aeroic
Active member
ratter":w4xf0076 said:
I had that one too. Great great mic pre!
Eric
RockStarNick
Active member
The Presonus Eureka OWNS, slinger. It's awesome. Matt and I used it for the latest track we recorded (clip posted in the eggy forum).
It was reccomended to me very highly by a friend who owns and runs a well known studio here in NJ, called Portrait Recording Studios.
I scored mine on eBay, it was a B-stock/open box special for like $379 from an ebay dealer, HollywoodProAudio.com. When I got it, it was flawless, brand spankin' new, not a scratch on it.
I can now fully attest to the statement people make, when they say "if you don't like a SM57, try it thru a better preamp, because it will sound like a totally different mic." Couldn't be any more true. We used a single SM57 thru the Eureka, into Protools, and got the BEST guitar tones to date. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that the preamp input is transformer coupled - whatever the hell that means.
Not to mention a really well designed, great sounding parametric EQ with overlapping frequency ranges, and an awesome, clear, punchy compressor built in. And a host of other great features. The fact that you don't have to have a low shelf, parametric mid, and hi shelf is awesome. You can have low, low mid, mid. Or mid, mid high, hi. Or no EQ at all and hit bypass. Great EQ feature.
From what I've read, the bottom line in preamps is:
If it's TUBE: Don't even bother if it's not running at high plate voltage, or else all you're gonna get is fuzzy distortion. If it's running at starved-plate voltage, it's not gonna be the *REAL* tube gain that you want. The warm, fat, clear kind. it's gonna be tube fuzz.
(I can attest to this. I own a ART Tube Pac - $130 preamp/comp. while it sounded decent to me, once I got the Eureka, I realized that it was just a glorified fuzz box).
If it's SS: Dont' even bother if the preamp is not transformer-coupled (meaning, make sure it's not driven by some little IC chip).
If you want ONE preamp to do it all, I'd go SS. Tube preamps can be VERY very colored, and you may or may not want that color in ALL your tones. The eureka has a saturate feature, which works well to warm things up, a la tubey goodness simulation.
It was reccomended to me very highly by a friend who owns and runs a well known studio here in NJ, called Portrait Recording Studios.
I scored mine on eBay, it was a B-stock/open box special for like $379 from an ebay dealer, HollywoodProAudio.com. When I got it, it was flawless, brand spankin' new, not a scratch on it.
I can now fully attest to the statement people make, when they say "if you don't like a SM57, try it thru a better preamp, because it will sound like a totally different mic." Couldn't be any more true. We used a single SM57 thru the Eureka, into Protools, and got the BEST guitar tones to date. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that the preamp input is transformer coupled - whatever the hell that means.
Not to mention a really well designed, great sounding parametric EQ with overlapping frequency ranges, and an awesome, clear, punchy compressor built in. And a host of other great features. The fact that you don't have to have a low shelf, parametric mid, and hi shelf is awesome. You can have low, low mid, mid. Or mid, mid high, hi. Or no EQ at all and hit bypass. Great EQ feature.
From what I've read, the bottom line in preamps is:
If it's TUBE: Don't even bother if it's not running at high plate voltage, or else all you're gonna get is fuzzy distortion. If it's running at starved-plate voltage, it's not gonna be the *REAL* tube gain that you want. The warm, fat, clear kind. it's gonna be tube fuzz.
(I can attest to this. I own a ART Tube Pac - $130 preamp/comp. while it sounded decent to me, once I got the Eureka, I realized that it was just a glorified fuzz box).
If it's SS: Dont' even bother if the preamp is not transformer-coupled (meaning, make sure it's not driven by some little IC chip).
If you want ONE preamp to do it all, I'd go SS. Tube preamps can be VERY very colored, and you may or may not want that color in ALL your tones. The eureka has a saturate feature, which works well to warm things up, a la tubey goodness simulation.
guitarslinger
New member
ratter":3859z9gf said:
I found a nice used one for $299. good deal?
ratter
New member
guitarslinger":3hdd8l07 said:
I think that's a good price, yeah. You should be able to ebay it and get your money back if you don't like it.
ratkent
New member
guitarslinger":3dxh6kdo said:
That's probably a good deal on a very cool preamp. I agree about that preamp being stellar for guitar and it may even work for vocals depending on your microphones and what you are trying to achieve. In any case, it's a cool piece of gear but if I had to have one preamp I would certainly prefer the Eureka.
guitarslinger
New member
This is truly no-frills, but it comes highly recommended from sweetwater. any opinions?
