wich preamp

[50 cal]

I need to choose a pre amp for my studio, and everything i like or have heard great things about is too expensive. I only have 800 to spend on it, and i've found two items that
look good the:

Focusrite voice master pro http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/VoiceMastPro/

and the

Aphex 230 http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/230/

Which one do you guys think would be the best one to buy.

also I'll be using a rode ntk with it

 

[Producer X]

I need to choose a pre amp for my studio, and everything i like or have heard great things about is too expensive. I only have 800 to spend on it, and i've found two items that
look good the:

Focusrite voice master pro http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/VoiceMastPro/

and the

Aphex 230 http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/230/

Which one do you guys think would be the best one to buy.

also I'll be using a rode ntk with it

I use the Voice Master Pro and it's sounds great. I using a Rode NT1000. I'm sure the NTK, being a tube mic, will sound just as good if not better in the VMP. I can't speak on the Aphex 230. I've used an older Aphex tubessance before and it sound good, but that was some years ago.

Which ever you do decide on, you'll have to experiment with the settings to get one that works for you. A mic pre can help you or hurt you if it's not set right.

1
X

 

[2_nice]

focusrite isa range is the best quality/value range imo

 

[Formant024]

^^^^ you mean the focusrite red series ( isa is a channel strip ).

But if your handy with a soldering stick you can fix yourself up with a diy Neve pre 1073 for a few hundred bucks....

 

[50 cal]

^^^^ you mean the focusrite red series ( isa is a channel strip ).

But if your handy with a soldering stick you can fix yourself up with a diy Neve pre 1073 for a few hundred bucks....

I don't know anything about soldering, but i'm sure i can find an uncle that does. Where do i get the ifo to build one

 

[Formant024]

Here's a Neve 1272 amp modded for Mic Pre ( probably better than a 1073 )...

http://studio-central.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=9095

Have a good read on it or your uncle hehe, estimated expenses for a dual mic pre 1272 is ca. 700 bucks.

Another 1272... now called the N72 preamp.

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

A Dual 1073 mic preamp

http://www.wagrecords.net/neve2.htm



If you look around the net a bit, you'll find 1176's ( or 1178 ), ssl bus compressors and la2a/la3a and 4a diy to build. The key to cloning perfectly lies within the use of the transformer. If you find the same ones as used on the original it will be hard to determine which one is actually the original eventually, and that mostly for a third/fourth of the price on such vintage models...

 

[2_nice]

oi formant isa is a range......... but hey
isa is where you want to put your money the red are a bit more expensive.... i'm getting an isa 428 soon (if you haven't checked the isa range there is nothing better for the money)
i think there are one channel isa pre's (maybe with an eq or comp or something for under a grand.... the 4238 is the shit tho isa 428 if you can afford it

the isa 428 was designed by rupert neve in the 60's i think and focusrite have rereleased the preamp design as a four channel preamp..... transformer based nothing bad said about it period.... if you think you can build a transformer based preamp then best of luck to you but the isa 428 (on ebay) is about as good value as building yourself (plus you're assured of quality)

 

[Formant024]

^^^ I know, I was refering to the range aswell.

The red series were co-developed by rupert neve, hence them being expensive...people dont even bother about specs...whatever goes in comes out mucho better for a sharp prive tag.

...


boy , you're quick to update hehe

 

[Architect]

The preamp choice also depends on the type of sound you want to get, different preamps give different types of sound. The Neve stuff is very analogish and big, there are other sound qualities that you might be interested in. Just so you know there isn't one particular model that is necessarily better than another, it only depends on what type of sound you want and the price your willing to pay.
Check out http://www.littledogaudio.com/

Most of these preamps may be well above your budget but if you are willing to wait and save up you can get some awesome sounding shit that can't be fucked with and that would be worth it.









"The Obstacle is the path"

 

[Formant024]

^^^ Nice site but they're all analogish except for those that do A/D like Focusrite offers... and then they're still based on class A or AB meaning low voltage analogue cirquitry ( so we can still build em hehe). As for the rest, yeah preamps differ from one n another, the Neve 1073 sound different than a modded 1272, if it's big is up to you ( I dunno if you mean volume or character wise ), that always depends on so many recording conditions like studio, the mic and parameters...