Metal Pre's Vox/Guitar/Bass

[Mealz]

Hey guys!
I've been doing some web searching on mic pre's

long story short, i was gonna pay this guy to pass tracks through and/or record some vox for me through an avalon pre he has, and some focusrite EQs too, i figured that in the end i'd be spending roughly 1500 bucks (AUD) for him to do everything i wanted, so i figured i could just buy my own pre which i really need anyways.

I really need some ideas on where to start, as i dont really know what to get.

What is a good pre to do Metal guitars? to get a really bright fear factory/strapping young lad tone?

Also is there like an all round pre/eq/comp rack that i could buy that would be good for Vox as well? i'd spend anywhere between 1 or 2k. but i'd like to know the cheaper good brands as well as 'wish list' type pres for this.

Your thoughts would be so appreciated!!

[DrFord]

Mealz,
Guitar tone is very complex. It starts with which guitar you have, the position of the pickups, which pickups, which strings, and most importantly... how you play it.

Then it primarily has to do with which pedal combos, compression pedals, chorus, phase, so on, before it ever gets to your Pre Amp. That being said, the sound of pushing the speaker cones has a great deal to do with the tone, as I have found most amps sound better when you push them, and the cone itself distorts a bit. Then we could talk about mic choice and position, how many mics on the cone, room mics (possibly 2), then converter choices and what not.

All this being said, for $1500 you could possibly get a used Avalon 737. I have one and love it. I have recorded many many songs with Bass guitar direct to the Avalon. I have also recorded many albums with a guitar player just bringing the guitar and pedals. Going then direct to the Avalon, and then plugging in an amp sim like Amplitube. I am especially fond of the Fender set used in Amplitube 3. Very cool stuff.

The Avalon also is a very good vocal mic pre, so bang for your buck I bet you would find the Avalon a great buy. Another option could be a solid state Mic Pre like the Vintech X73. However there are hundreds of great mic pres out there and the best bet will always be try before you buy.

Running pre-recorded tracks through a Mic Pre to "warm" them, is not the right idea. Record them the first time into good gear, with good players and get a good result. Re-Amping guitars is about sending a recorded DI signal back to new amps and then mic'ing them and getting interesting tones.

For $1500, I would expect at least 3 full days in the studio, a high end console like API, SSL, Neve, a Pro Tools HD rig, and some great rack units. Maybe a real 1176 or a real LA-2A, true analog rack gear that will help you get the sound you are looking for.

Also, make sure this studio you go to has a history of the Engineer himself getting the sound you desire. The gear doesn't do any good if they don't know how to use it. Even if they use it, if you haven't played examples of exactly the sound you desire for the engineer, he's not going to magically make it for you. Bring examples.

I don't know if any of that helped... yes, I recommend the Avalon.

Doc

[Mealz]

Hey mate thanks for the reply

Yeah i know about getting the chain right before the pre, no probs there, have lots of gear and friends to lend gear from too, i use a lot of techniques i've learned over the years in pro studios for demoing, but i've never actually owned my own pre, i just go direct into my 002 for demoing, and i'm getting really sick of the dull focusrites in the 002. I just want a head up on Pres, thats i'm really asking here, but thanks for your detailed response.

a friend of mine has an avalon, he reckons that the compressor is a bit slow so he doesnt use it.

I really want to know if there is anything for getting more detail for a metal tone that all ready is rockin, thats where my knowledge really ends at when it comes to pres.

[sonusman]

I would think about nothing BUT Neve 1073's. API's would work, but the Neve's are SO useful for just about everything, and it is really the sound that works.

The Brent Averill 1073MP (mic pre) is affordable. If you want the eq too, then the regular 1073 is what you are after. Stellar preamps, VERY musical eq!

I have a LOT of high end pre's available for use. Focusrite Red 8's, API, Avalon, Amek, UA, Drawmer, Oram. I tell you, the Neve just seems to always do well against the others. It has a very tight, focused response, but fattens everything up nicely!