searching for a high quality preamp

[ISedlacek]

posted December 06, 2001 12:16 AM *** **** ** ** **
------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am searching for a high sound quality mic preamp suitable for acoustic instruments like violin, viola, flutes and vocals. No pop, rock, techno. With a very transparent, crystal, beautiful detailed living sound. I use Neumann U87 mics, Apogee Rosetta and Digi 001. There are so many preamps available but I have no comparison. I would appreciate very much your advice and experience. So far I use SPL GoldMike, which is very nice but maybe I would appreciate more transparent, subtle and detailed sound.
The question is whether in case of those hyperexpensive ones one pays mainly for a complany label, and there may be some moderately priced ones with exactly the same quality of sound, or their quality (Neve etc.) is really beyond any reach. My budget for that would be around $ 1000 – 1500. Thanks for your advices. I looked at some possibilities and AMEK 9098 seemed appealing to me. Does somebody have any experience with this preamp ?

Ivo
------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Mark Haliday]

It all depends if you want stereo or not.
Personnally I love my 737 Avalon (mono), because it has a ultraclean preamp with plenty headroom, and an absolutly fantastic eq, similar in it's silky and warm response to some old neve designs. The compression is of the kind you barely feel any effect when it is working, ideal for taming vocals or solo instruments.

For stereo work I use a device made by TLA that is really a repackaging of two old Neve preamp/eq modules. I bet you will get something quite similar with the Amek 9098 since Rupert Neve contributed to it's making, and to my knowledge this man has never gone wrong in his preamp/eq designs!

[WayneG]

My main mic pres are a Cranesong Flamingo, API 3124 & HHB Radius 10.

Each are different:

Cranesong Flamingo - Warm sounding, crystal-clear and fast response, getting a step closer to the human ear characteristics. I use this super transparent dual channel mic pre in both Clean and Fat mode on everything both in a studio & live situation ... awesome

API 3124 - Classic sounding fat, warm mic pre (drums, guitar, vocals) ... a little diamond (& 4 mic pres in one!)

HHB RAdius - economical tube mic-pre which can drive (or distort) if the signal you require is large and opulent & also 4 mic pres in one!

My desert island choice - the Crane Song Flamingo.

My choice for you - the Crane Song Flamingo.

[5down1up]

i own an 9098 mic pre and comp and i love them . the units work and sound very good .
in fact of i wanted to have some tube pres , too , i was trying the tube tech , tla c1 , drawmer 1960 and the telefunken v72 , too .
( some of the units supposed to be comps but some of them offer a mic pre , too )
for a tube mic pre the v-72 is the best as far as i am concerned . ´compared to them the amek doesnt add a sound by itself . it gives you a nice signal flow with a low noise ratio . the features are d.i , 48V , phase invert , low cut on each of the two channels . if u input a stereo signal you have the ability to go through a stereo m-s matrix which is a great tool , too .
in fact of features & sound i would say in that price range the amek is on of the best .

but , dont expect a wonder from those units . sure they are outstanding compared to the lower price range units . so you pay for the 5-15 % increased quality 1000 $$$ more.
sure the thought is right " if i get something new i wanna have something good " .
but if u wanna setup an micpre-comp-eq ( stereo ) out of the amek 9098 range ...
expensive [img]images/icons/mad.gif[/img]
and those " tools " are not that way , turn em on and it makes it sound cool . there are some things you cant do with em , too . and of course there are a lot of things you can do with em . [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
if u need a good and clean sound those units are great . if u need dirt and noise ... a tube setup is probably the better choice . of course if u would be able to afford to different setups it makes the musical range in a mix more interresting compared to use one preamp for almost anything ...

i´ve heard from a lot of people , that the new spl stuff like the channel one supposed to be great for the price . maybe you gonna check em out , too . didnt hear em so far , maybe i am wrong [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

hope that helps you a bit further !!!

[bullyboy]

avalon (clean)
old neve (personality)
tl audio (for saturation)

[Peter Crosbie]

You might also like to consider the new Phoenix Audio pre (www.phoenixaudio.net/micdi.htm)Very fine piece from a company who specialise in Neve repairs and mods. I'm very happy with mine, and for the money (around $1000) a bit of a steal IMHO.

Peter

[Mark Haliday]

>>>>avalon (clean)
old neve (personality)
tl audio (for saturation)<<<<

True, I also use TLAudio for grundging bases and Di guitars... notably a dual preamp/DI that is not made anymore that can have this lovely tube squashing compression effect on Solo DI instruments if you overdrive it. A good front end for Ampfarm...

[Mike Tholen]

one damn fine tube pre. http://www.tab-funkenwerk.com/
good luck finding a better, more open sounding pre. these things simply deny you of a dull tone. [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

[Kenny Gioia]

Based on your needs I would go for Avalon. It's really clean but not too boring sounding.

May Favorite Pre's are Neve, API & Telefunken.

I used to own the Avalon 737 Mercenary Edition.

I don't do clean sounding recordings so I sold it. But I miss it sometimes

[Steve MacMillan]

Check out a pair of Brent Averill Neve 1272 preamps. Fantastic vintage character at very competitive price.

sm