new mic pre, advice please??

[David]

Hellooo,

I currently own a focusrite platinum voicemaster pro, which i have been reasonably happy with for a few years, but lately its been playing up, so i think im going to invest a little money and upgrade.

I'd like something with onboard compression similarly to the voicemaster but not a must!

I guess id spend up to 600, anybody able to recommend anything from personal experience?

(incase anyone is interested im running an SE Z5600a mic into it and the pre-amp would only be for vocals)

[TrevCircleStudios]

I'd say unless you can afford a lot more than £600 dont bother buying anything with compression. Cheap compressors for the most part really dont sound good and, for tracking at 24bit, there really is no need for compression on the way in. The way forward IMO is to buy the best preamp you can for your money. Best bang for buck IMO is the FMR RNP which is well within your budget. Heck you might even have enough left over for a Shure SM7 which will give youa different flavour altogether for vocals. As ever YMMV.

Originally Posted by David

Hellooo,

I currently own a focusrite platinum voicemaster pro, which i have been reasonably happy with for a few years, but lately its been playing up, so i think im going to invest a little money and upgrade.

I'd like something with onboard compression similarly to the voicemaster but not a must!

I guess id spend up to 600, anybody able to recommend anything from personal experience?

(incase anyone is interested im running an SE Z5600a mic into it and the pre-amp would only be for vocals)

[terminal3]

Or, if you really must compress on the way in, get an RNP and and RNC and then pop the RNC on the insert. Would only be a bit over £600 I think.

[David]

Thanks for the advice guys, would you say the FMR RNP is definitely worthwhile over the Focusrite? Will i see a huge difference?

How comes its not a good idea to have a little bit of compression on the way in? I've found it pretty useful in the past, an has saved me alot of time in the mixing stage

[dvdan]

Hi Dave
Definitely take a look at these beauties:

http://www.davelectronics.com/bg1.htm

no compressor though, but as Trev says its not really worth it for your budget. The difference over a decent soft comp, will only be marginal at best.

The ssl alpha channel is in your budget and definitely worth a look:
http://www.dv247.com/invt/36675/ it can be nice and clean, or aggressive and rich... with quite a sweet eq on board.

[terminal3]

Originally Posted by dvdan

Hi Dave
Definitely take a look at these beauties:

http://www.davelectronics.com/bg1.htm

no compressor though, but as Trev says its not really worth it for your budget. The difference over a decent soft comp, will only be marginal at best.

The ssl alpha channel is in your budget and definitely worth a look:
http://www.dv247.com/invt/36675/ it can be nice and clean, or aggressive and rich... with quite a sweet eq on board.

I have/use both of these on a regular basis - both excellent for the cash.

The SSL has a limiter, but it's really only meant to catch you from accidentally clipping - so no real dynamics to speak of - but the EQ is pretty sweet if a little limited. For the odd time I do track with dynamics (usually for colour) I patch a dbx 160A into the insert of the Alpha Channel, but that would put you well over-budget.

The BG1 is a very transparent, round preamp - very little colouration but that's a Good Thing in this case. It's derived from old Decca designs, so that should give you an indication as to pedigree/heritage.

[FrankGIK]

Originally Posted by terminal3

Or, if you really must compress on the way in, get an RNP and and RNC and then pop the RNC on the insert. Would only be a bit over £600 I think.

Frank

[TrevCircleStudios]

Originally Posted by terminal3

Or, if you really must compress on the way in, get an RNP and and RNC and then pop the RNC on the insert. Would only be a bit over £600 I think.

+2 (but only if you have an overwhelming urge to compress on the way in!

[dickiefunk]

The Safe Sound P1 is also worth a look :-

http://safesoundaudio.co.uk/p1.html