Calling All Pros To Help! Pro level Mic & preamp

by **thefuture** on Fri May 13, 2005 9:19 pm

im looking for a mic to record male baritone/tenor modern r&b vocals. more towards usher, alicia keys, merriah carey kind of sound. ive been researching a lot and when it seems like ive found the perfect mic some other mic jumps infront of it. i also need a preamp for this mic im looking at the avalon M5 but another good alternative recomendations will be appreciated. i also need an a/v converter so i can send the audio to my DAW. Im looking for experienced people to answer these questions please dont guess cause something is expensive thanx

by **jonnyc** on Fri May 13, 2005 11:38 pm

check out the manley mic pre's. but honestly for the mic you'll probably get the usual "it depends on the vocalist" answer. Just buy a Neumann or a Soundelux can't go wrong there.

by **Blue Bear Sound** on Sat May 14, 2005 4:01 am

Millenia Media, Manley, Massenburg pres along with an appropriate mic for that particular vocalist and you can't go wrong. That is the kind of gear that big-budget productions would commonly be using.... it's also priced way out of range for most home-recordist's budgets.

by **Dot** on Sun May 15, 2005 9:46 am

thefuture, are you only going to need one channel? Do you have a total budget?

by **thefuture** on Sun May 15, 2005 5:11 pm

i think one cahnnel should be sufficient. i dont have a total budget im the kind of person that saves up for what i need. but please dont go over your head with features taht r not requiered

by **owel** on Sun May 15, 2005 6:20 pm

thefuture wrote:i think one cahnnel should be sufficient. i dont have a total budget im the kind of person that saves up for what i need. but please dont go over your head with features taht r not requiered

It's really hard to recommend the "best" without a given price range. If you give a dollar figure amount, then we'd be able to advise the "best" on that price range.

by **thefuture** on Sun May 15, 2005 6:22 pm

up to about 500

by **owel** on Sun May 15, 2005 6:40 pm

$500 for the preamp? or $500 for the mic AND preamp?

by **thefuture** on Sun May 15, 2005 6:47 pm

my bad i was thinking of something else. ad conver. for the mic i would spend $1000 at most. preamp probably around 1500(i believe tahts where the really quality stuff starts right?

by **thefuture** on Sun May 15, 2005 6:49 pm

what about diy. can u recomend any of those too?

by **owel** on Sun May 15, 2005 7:03 pm

thefuture wrote:what about diy. can u recomend any of those too?

Depends... DIYing a Neve can still be expensive because of the cost of parts (especially the Made in UK transformers... need 2 per channel... about $150usd, could be more expensive nowadays because of the UK Pound and US Dollar exchange rate).

I've cloned the preamps of a nice pre and cost me about $180 in parts per channel (and $120+ of that is the cost of the 2 transformers). Add the case and switches, and it's about $240. Of course, my labor cost is not counted.

> preamp probably around 1500(i believe tahts where the really quality stuff starts right?

You can't go wrong with a Great River or Vintech Neve clone. You can find them between $1200 to $1500.

by **thefuture** on Sun May 15, 2005 7:33 pm

thanx. what about the avalon m5?

by **owel** on Sun May 15, 2005 8:51 pm

I've heard the M5 and a violin... it was lovely, HA!

it brought a tear to my eye. It sounds very nice.

by **thefuture** on Tue May 17, 2005 7:03 pm

du u guys know any stores that sell mostly pro audio stuff and have a catalog. since the website will not be zzounds please pm me with it. :wink:

by **Dot** on Wed May 18, 2005 1:48 am

High-end single-channel pres start at right around $1000. In that ballpark are:

John Hardy M-1 - clean, natural
Great River ME-1NV - versatile and heavy on the transformer
A Designs MP-1 - clean tube pre
Sebatron vmp-1000e - colored tube pre
API 512C with lunchbox - tight, punchy
Avalon M5 - clean, sheen
Millennia TD-1 with HV-3 - transparent, high resolution

For what you're doing I'd recommend you consider the Avalon M5 or the A Designs MP-1.

by **thefuture** on Wed May 18, 2005 5:47 pm

thanx

by **thefuture** on Wed May 18, 2005 5:51 pm

dot do u have website? how long have u been in production for sounds like u know a lot. i'll give u a list of the stuff i want to get for my studio so u can cridict them

by **Dot** on Thu May 19, 2005 1:46 am

thefuture, I've got two sites listed in my sig. Also check out another one of my sites at http://www.thelisteningsessions.com - that's where we compare gear.

I've been working in studios and on music projects for a long time.

You can PM if you need any info or want me to check out a list of stuff you're considering.

Calling All Pros To Help! Pro level Mic & preamp

Calling All Pros To Help! Pro level Mic & preamp

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