Preamps for home recording

Tell me about preamps please. Also please recommend some good preamps for home recording. Please.

reposted from the home studio

I would not bother recording acoustically at home without a decent preamp. you can get away with the right cheap mic if your preamp is decent. odds are high that plugging the best mic in the world into a tascam's built-in "preamp" will result in a dingy sounding recording. so read up on mic preamps.

your best answer is probably the m-audio dmp3, which does wonders for acoustic recording. however, unless you get a good deal on one it will eat up most of your $200 budget.

http://www.amazon.com/Midiman-M-Audio-DMP3-Microphone-Instrument/dp/B000095JBC

a secondary option at a lower price point is the audiobuddy. it's a very nice preamp that will get the job done and can be had for around $50. stay away from ART, behringers, or presonus. some people get good results from them but overall the quality control from those companies is not the best.

http://www.amazon.com/M-Audio-Audio-Microphone-Preamp-Musicians/dp/B001E3TWNI

the groove tube brick preamp is also very good, but only if you stumble across some serious cash or find one cheap.

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/Groove-Tubes-BRICK?sku=482845

when it comes to budget mics, it's hard to make a good recommendation since you really have to make a love connection between your voice and a mic. voices are idiosyncratic instruments, and so are cheap mics. go into the shop and try a few out, preferably in concert with the preamp you'll be using. I hate shure mics, they do nothing for my voice, but people like them because results are predictable. MXLs are not very well made.

take a look at CAD mics. you're not going to be able to afford an e100 or e300, but they make great mics and although I've never actually used one, the GXL3000 seems like a good bet for $100.

http://pro-audio.musiciansfriend.com/product/CAD-GXL3000-Microphone?sku=270366

this forum is good source of info:
http://homerecording.com/bbs/index.php

and googling a term like "mic shootout" can return interesting results like this:
http://www.transom.org/tools/recording_interviewing/200508.mic_shootout.html#

as a last bit of advice, when it comes to mic'ing acoustic instruments placement is key. moving a mic an inch can have a big effect on the sound, so play around in the beginning to find out where the mics sound best in the room you're recording in.

― Ned Raggett (Edward III), Tuesday, September 16, 2008 12:24 PM (2 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

On Edward's recommendation, I got the DMP3, and so far it's served me well. The project I got it for commences tomorrow, but I've been using it to record demos and learn how to use this digital eight-track I've borrowed, and I've been pretty happy with both acoustic guitar sounds and vocals. The two inputs/outputs is a great feature, especially if you're mainly recording acoustic guitar with it (like I am); I really like stereo recording of guitar, with one mic right in front of the sound hole and the other up in front of the fretboard.

thanks

yeah, stereo mic image through a preamp can get you a pro sound at home real quick. post some clips if you get a chance?

Yeah, will do. We start recording tomorrow, and depending on my partner-in-crime's schedule, will do every day next week, so will hopefully have some good things to show off soon.