cheap preamp?

[z32]

what's a decent cheapie preamp thats just a basic 1 channel with Phantom Power (DI is a plus)? or better yet, which ones should i avoid? i'm lookin to just get somethin cheap and used, i see a ton of Tube MP's on the market, but it makes me kinda worried that there's so many people selling them are they that shit? and how come all the cheapest preamps on MF are t00b? wouldnt it be cheaper to just make a simple little solid state POS?

[Nakatira]

Originally Posted by z32

what's a decent cheapie preamp thats just a basic 1 channel with Phantom Power (DI is a plus)? or better yet, which ones should i avoid? i'm lookin to just get somethin cheap and used, i see a ton of Tube MP's on the market, but it makes me kinda worried that there's so many people selling them are they that shit? and how come all the cheapest preamps on MF are t00b? wouldnt it be cheaper to just make a simple little solid state POS?

The Rane's is quite good, think they still go quite cheap.

I think some of the Art stuff sounds quite nice to, not the cheapest one allthough APL modded his to an API

[dross]

i've heard a lot of good things about the rane ms1b but never heard it in action. i'm a big advocate for the dmp3--it's 2 channels, but 2 GOOD channels for $160 new. i think the vtb-1 is going for $130 nowadays, and it's one shit-sounding channel. not as bad as the tube mp, of course, but pretty awful.

[z32]

yeah i remember everyone loving the DMP3...i may just keep an eye out for one o' thems. also guess i should mention that this would be for a portable laptop setup, so the smaller the physical size, the better.

[scrubs]

The Rane MS1B is pretty darn good for most things. If you can score one around $80-100 used, do it. No DI, though.

DMP3 is pretty solid for 2 channels.

Tube MP is ok. A little noisy, but usable. I have the "Studio" version, which is $30 at Musicians Friend. The DI is totally cool, though, because you can drive it into distortion pretty easily, which works pretty well for rock/punk bass.

[travis]

i've also read lots of praise for the ms1b, never tried it personally.

when my dmp3 was working, it was ok, but not a good match for 57's or bright chinese condensers, imo. same with the dmp2. pretty cool for not so bright condensers (m179 was aight).

vtb1, a little thicker / dirtier, not so good for a 57, not so bad for chinese condensers. the tube circuit is crap, leave it on zero.

tube mp, depending on the tube (it does matter) not so bad for either a 57 or chinese condenser, depending on the tube and gain, can be very compressed / dirty / noisy. keep the gain low, use a clean tube for less noise and compression. i preferred an old/dirty sovtek in it. noisy, but it had dimension. i think it was at group diy (where many a boutique preamp clone has spwned), the tube mp and 990 combo get some praise as low budget gold.

[NotCardio]

What would be a good 'clean' tube for the ART? I'm pretty much tube illiterate. I did win a bunch of them at the last JF, but I have no idea what I've got or what each one might be good for.

[dross]

Originally Posted by travis

vtb1, a little thicker / dirtier, not so good for a 57, not so bad for chinese condensers. the tube circuit is crap, leave it on zero.

+1.

[kojdong]

Originally Posted by z32

what's a decent cheapie preamp thats just a basic 1 channel with Phantom Power (DI is a plus)? or better yet, which ones should i avoid? i'm lookin to just get somethin cheap and used, i see a ton of Tube MP's on the market, but it makes me kinda worried that there's so many people selling them are they that shit? and how come all the cheapest preamps on MF are t00b? wouldnt it be cheaper to just make a simple little solid state POS?

Yeah I agree with the above assessments. I liked the DMP3 and the MS1B. I also have liked some of the old Fletcher designed Joe Meek stuff-- you can usually find that stuff cheap. I'm sure the newer Meek stuff is good too-- I've just never tried it. Bellari made some cheaper little t00b pres that ran at higher voltage than the ART stuff.

Originally Posted by NotCardio

What would be a good 'clean' tube for the ART? I'm pretty much tube illiterate. I did win a bunch of them at the last JF, but I have no idea what I've got or what each one might be good for.

Maybe a 12at7?

[Seeker of Rock]

Originally Posted by kojdong

I also have liked some of the old Fletcher designed Joe Meek stuff-- you can usually find that stuff cheap.

I run nothing but Joemeek outboard pres except for drums (snare and bass only thru JM). Probably $70-90 on ebay for one of the little boxes with phantom/DI/very usable preamp and kick-ass compression.

The older Fletcher-designed "mini" models are:

VC3
VC3Q
MQ3

Newer mini model which I haven't used is ThreeQ.