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[PinkStrat]

Hi Harvey & all:

How has everyone been? I am now in the market for a pair of nice sounding neutral mic preamps to use with my 2 old SM57s, new 421, pair of 441s, e609, AT4047, KSM32/SL, C414B-ULS, 2 AKG C-391Bs and a pair of mid 1970s era AKG D224Es dynamic mics. Just something that will give me what it really IS without too much coloration. What would you suggest as a starter pair of mic preamps? I've been seriously thinking about getting a pair of RNMPs from Mark at FMR Audio. Wanted your opinions on these things. Oh, please know that I am transferring all my tracks from a older Roland  digital machine over to my Otari MX 5050 Mk.III mastering deck.

Many thanks for all of your guidance!

Best regards,
Dean Farley

[hargerst]

It's almost impossible to beat the RNMP for the lowest price best preamp.

[PinkStrat]

Hi Harvey,

That cinches it then! I was also thinking the Grace mic pres and the Great River but I need more horsepower on my number of recording tracks to get into those quite yet so I'm gonna go with the RNMP. I also like the fact that I can put a RNC in there next to the RNMP and have a great sounding set in that small of a package. Nice and light too! Look like Mark has thought out everything quite thoroughly. Thanks a million.

Best regards,
Dean Farley

[gtoledo3]

I think that basically, the only two low money choices that are as good as top dollar pre's are the rnp and the sytek. The rnp is a little "scooped" in the mid-range, and the sytek has a little more mid. They compliment each other very well, and you can stack tracks with either one without a bad sounding buildup of frequencies.

[gtoledo3]

Not to pan the Grace, b/c it is workable, but it is not as good as the marketing. The grace 201 was my first pre, and I wound up selling it right after I got the syteks... I rarely sell stuff off, but I couldn't help but feel that the money would be better spent elsewhere.

[PinkStrat]

Hi gtoledo3,

Many thanks for that commment as it was just in time! I chose the RNMPs over the Grace mic preamps. Was the 201 about $599?

[meverylame]

I would imagine that you've already put all the cash that you have up but for the good of anyone else I'll recomend the safe sounds audio P1 or an ampex 600 or 300. Ampex units are great for color. Also if you're any good wiring you can buy ward beck, quad eight, and even langevin modules on ebay cheap all day long.

[Jakob]

A colleague of mine told me about the m-audio octane

http://www.midiman.com/index.php?do=products.main&ID=fb3 e9310bc0341f272b3b31d2cbf4e97

He said they used the same burrbrown chip as in the Apogee Minime preamp, compared them and considered the octane pretty good sounding. Although I must say i havent heard it yet, but the guy is usually very discriminating. I´m not looking for preamps but it might be worth checking out for some of you.

Maybe someone knows the unit already and can give us 1st hand feedback.

Yours
Jakob

[TotalSonic]

gtoledo3 wrote on Thu, 17 June 2004 19:41

Not to pan the Grace, b/c it is workable, but it is not as good as the marketing. The grace 201 was my first pre, and I wound up selling it right after I got the syteks... I rarely sell stuff off, but I couldn't help but feel that the money would be better spent elsewhere.

Just goes to show that one man's doo-doo is another's treasure -
I LOVE my Grace pres.  I consider them some of the best cash I've ever spent for audio gear.  I even have preferred them to Focusrite Red's in many cases.  Obviously OMMV!

Best regards,
Steve Berson

[Warhead]

meverylame wrote on Thu, 17 June 2004 23:24

I would imagine that you've already put all the cash that you have up but for the good of anyone else I'll recomend the safe sounds audio P1 or an ampex 600 or 300. Ampex units are great for color. Also if you're any good wiring you can buy ward beck, quad eight, and even langevin modules on ebay cheap all day long.

I have not used those Ampex units, but the Safe Sound Audio P1 gets used all the time here and it rocks. Of course, it's more than a preamp though and more of a swiss army knife.

But I'm biased!

War