Help choosing Mic/line preamp

[nebucanazza]

Hey guys,

A friend of mine(not a forum member here) is looking for a cheap Mic/line preamp. He wants it to record guitars, bass and vocals. The budget is < $100.

I saw a few such preamps like the ART stuff and the M-Audio AudioBuddy. Are these any good in terms of sound and durability? Also, some of these use the tube gimmick, with low voltage operation and LEDs behind the tube to make it glow. Do the tube based ones still sound better than pure SS ones?

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Help choosing Mic/line preamp

In my experience, a tube preamp is only worth doing if you get a high end preamp.

I have not met a cheap + tube preamp worth a damn.

Cheap preamps are like cheap guitars, only worse; YOU can like the cheap guitar, but the purpose (in general) of a mic pre is for other people to like what it sounds like, and a $100 mic pre (especially with a tube gimmick) won't sound like $2000 worth of gear.

solid state ftw, no gimmicks allowed, if he wants to record bass, guitar, vocals, perhaps look to CAI's like TonePort and BlackBox...

Cliffs: $100 mic pre = you get what you pay for

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Help choosing Mic/line preamp

The cheapest possible preamp that I'd recommend is an M-Audio DMP3. They're pretty quiet, clean for the money. I also hear people talking favourably about Rane MS1b preamps, but haven't heard them personally.

From personal experience, I would also advise not to get anything that cheap that claims to be 'toob powered'

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Help choosing Mic/line preamp

edit: does your buddy record to computer or does he already have a CAI?

A to D converter is a big thing if he wants to record to computer - 24 bit is a must

 

[nebucanazza]

Re: Help choosing Mic/line preamp

^ I gotta check with him.. I believe he has that part covered and is just looking for the preamp. Anyways..thats his budget, so please suggest stuff in that range. Of course it wont match up to costlier gear, but at least he can get the best-in-class