Mic Pre-Amp Poll--Under $100

[Tweak]

OK we all know Mic Preamps under $100 are not going to fly to the moon. Please refrain from "they are all crap" comments, OK? Some dudes only have a few bucks but want the best they can get. I think there are some differences in quality here.

M-audio AudioBuddy (Dual)

http://www.zzounds.com/a--3745/item--THKMIMAB0




PreSonus TubePre Single

http://www.zzounds.com/a--3745/item--PRSTUBEPRE




Studio Projects VTB1

http://www.zzounds.com/a--3745/item--STUVTB1




Art Tube MP Studio V3

http://www.zzounds.com/a--3745/item--ARTV3




Behringer MIC2200

http://www.zzounds.com/a--3745/item--BEHMIC2200

[Blue Bear Sound]

Out of those specific mic pre choices the VTB-1 is the most usable, IMO. The ART can useful as a bass DI, but far too noisy for use as a mic pre. Having tried some PreSonus pres, I'm guessing it probably runs a close second to the VTB-1. And to me, the M-Audio and the Behringer would be tied for last place....

YMMV

[Dugz Ink]

As shown in THIS THREAD, the noise can be reduced in the cheap mic-pres by replaing the cheap Chinese tubes with tubes that are made in Russia, USA, etc... but then your $99 mic-pre has cost you between $111 and $128, so it's not an "Under $100" mic-pre anymore.

[1620drum]

For cheap pre's, the VTB 1 is the winner. I think they're a great buy for the money. Unfortunately ones ears will grow tired of it or any other cheap pre after a short period of time.

[foofightingjohn]

I have the VTB1 and the Tube MP V3, and I used to have the original Tube MP (traded in at Long n McQuade for credit towards the VTB1). Blue Bear is right about the original Tube MP being hissy and good for merely DI, but the V3 version was completely overhauled and works alot better than the VTB1 for home recording because of its presets. Flip it to 'Guitar' and your recorded guitar track barely needs any EQ, it just sits in the mix so easily. Same for the Bass and Vocal settings, although I havent had a need to try the other presets. The built in limiter is useful too, and I did replace the stock tube with a groovetubes. One more thing about this budget pre, the tube inside actually glows, although very faintly, and when removed from the unit there is no audio output, so it is in fact part of the signal chain in some way at least. As for the VTB1, it is good for vocals but doesnt sound as good as the TMP V3 for instruments. Its "Tube Blend" sounds cheesy though and I always leave it at Solid State, which defeats the purpose of having a tube in there at all I think...well thats two cents from a Home Recording guy on a student salary! lol

[nielsbeard]

i have a art v3 what model groove tubes tube would replace the stock tube? or how can i find out? thanks. I like my v3 i just experimented with using it on my bass drum i got alot of improvement on the sound but as mentioned above, i also noticed some hiss.

[foofightingjohn]

12AX7, or ECC 83, both the same tube but from differnet countries. Either of those two will work. I used Groovetubes 12ax7.

[Blue Bear Sound]

Blue Bear is right about the original Tube MP being hissy and good for merely DI, but the V3 version was completely overhauled

Maybe so, but I still find the V3 is a noisy little box.....

[foofightingjohn]

I know what you mean, I had it for about 6 months before i realized the connection joints arent as tight as they should be, and when I tried a Planet Waves cable with the springmounted contacts, it fit in the instrument socket tighter and all of a sudden some new connection was established (the neutral? ground? not sure) and the line level went up in relation to the noise floor. I was able to confirm this using Acousticas noise analysis software. Other people have said the same thing, they call it the 'screw' trick, anyways time for school gotta go.

[foofightingjohn]

Anyways to continue my story, so I use the V3 for all my instrumental recording (going into my Audiophile soundcard and through Native's Guitar Rig), and the VTB1 for vocal recording. Having both is definitely a better option than just one or the other, cause instruments sound like mud on the VTB1.

EDIT, well so you can get an idea of my setup heres what ive got for my mixerless home recording hobby:

-Dell Dimension 3000 Windows XP SP2
3.0 GHz, 1 Gig ram, 16x DVD RW, M Audio 2496 Audiophile

-Art Tube MP V3, SP VTB1, Marshall Valvestate 150W combo amp, Fender Deluxe 112 combo amp,

-2 SM-58s, 1 Studio Projects C1,

-Acoustica Mixcraft 2.5, Izotope Plugins Bundle, Fruity Loops v3.4, Guitar Rig 2, Acoustica Audio Editor,

-Apex HP90 closed back headphones, KRK RP5 pair of monitors

-A nice big desk from Business depot to sit all this attractive gear

-Alot of patience and a willingness to learn! lol

I dont use MIDI at all, I record track by track and mix in Acoustica MC, and its taken me about 2.5 years since I bought my first piece of gear to upgrade to all this on my Home Depot part time salary....but its fun and I really enjoy it.

[RUJU]

how are you liking your C1?? i heard it has an "essing" problem.. if u dont know what that means, its when you say words with the letter "s" in it and it comes out bad..

[foofightingjohn]

There is no 'essing' problem with it really, if you know good mic technique. I use a popscreen 3 inches from the mic, and the vocalist sings about 4-6 inches from the popscreen. The only reason it may be essy is in a poor acoustic room with lots of bare drywall and ambience and air noise. Its a really good mic which means itll pick up all the things you dont want it to pick up too. But using it with my VTB1 there is no problem at all. On a side note, using the Art V3 on the Vocal preset seems to exaggerate the highs a bit and makes the sibilants a bit more pronounced. But again, devent preamp and a good room will bring out the full potential of the C1, which is nothing short of pro quality.

Heheh hehe...look at my post count......hehehe schoolboy fun

[RUJU]

^lol... u have any clips you could post of some vocals on the C1... would be appreciated...

[bilco]

I voted for the Audio Buddy, plain vanilla, but clean and transparent. Good 1st preamp in my book.

Art Tube MP Studio V3 - I don't own it, but I have borrowed one from a friend and it is pretty versatile. Better for a bass DI than the Audio Buddy, good for vocals. My friend uses this on every track to "warm up the sound of digital recording" and he has been recording since the 60's.

bilco

[boogiemaster]

Hi Guys

I’m having trouble choosing a pre amp because I need it for a condenser microphone at the moment that will go into a Delta 1010 soundcard.
I will also want to record some electric guitar and other things through the amp and into the Delta, I was thinking of the ART Tube MP Studio V3.
Do you think I would be better going for that or something else? My studio is just basic and I’m slowly buying things for it at the moment.
I’m monitoring through the Mackie HR824’s and some other cheap reference Monitors; my computer is an Athlon 64 3800+ with 2 gigs ram sata hard drives etc.
Advice would come in really handy, thanks
Darren

[nanashiwanderer]

Read through this thread, the comments on all these pres are there.

[doybins]

peace to all, this is great thread!gbu

[sanganas]

Studio Projects VTB1 is not under 100$, it's 119$ now, so the winner is Presonus TubePre

[nanashiwanderer]

They raised the price 2 months ago. and that doesn't mean the tube pre is the winner... it just means theres a serious lack of good preamps under a 100$.

[supermel74]

Between the Prosonus and the ART, which is better for vocals using an AT2020 and a Korg D1600 digital multitracker? I know that's really specific, but I figured more information couldn't hurt. Thanks.

[thesigma]

Anyone using the Samson C-Valve mic pre? curious cuz it has a s/pdif output and I have two unused s/pdif ins...... I'm sure it won't be the last preamp you own, but for a guy like myself who wants to get rid of his analog mixer (cuz it's a POS Behringer) and has a Delta 1010 and audiophile 24/96......Anybody.....Vocals aren't really my thing anyway.

[Lefty]

I saw this at MF... has anyone used it? it's just $30. and the MF reviews it at 4.5 stars... So... good (1st pre) for poor guys like me

thanks.

[boneyfiend]

Can anyone give me an idea of how any of the above preamps compare with what is built in to the Alesis Mulitmix 12?

I have that mixer and I'm using it with Ableton Live. I'm not disappointed with it, but I also am too naive/n00b to know if I should be expecting better sounds. Also, I'm using an AT2020 for the mic.

Any insight is appreciated. Thanks.