Hi there!

I just bought a Rode NT1 microphone, but it needs a pre-amp. Could anyone advise me on that?

Thanks in advance!

I got the R0de NTK:) Nice sound, 147db dynamic range..what more could i want. Anyway...

http://mindprint.com/english/indexproducts.htm

Check out the mindprint stuff, the new en-voice has even got a usb out. Their compression is very musical and subtle.It's a tube as well , i own some of that gear so i really recommend it.

Other preamps that would sound nice with the nt1 are the stuff from focusrite,summit audio. Depends on what u wanna record. If u are gonna use it for tracking as well(u'll need eq as well) or you just want some preamp with a good signal flow to record stuff and then edit them afterwards.

Gluck

How much money ya got?

All kidding aside. FMR makes a great pre-amp for about $500

http://www.fmraudio.com/

I have one of there compressor and think it is great.


I see you are in Holland, my wife is from there

You may want to try the P3 from tfpro. It is a new company from the same guy who started Joe Meek.

I use two for my Chapman Stick bass. I haven't tried it on vocals yet, but I can give it a go tomorow morning, if you like.

The Unit is much less expensive than the FMR pre-amp, it has a mic pre-amp with Phamtom power, a optical compressor and a three band EQ.

Oh, they are red instead of the famous Joe Meek Green. I guess they sold the company so in the US it is Joe Meek, but in England they redesigned the line and are now tfpro.

I bought my units right from the web-site they were used at the Frankfurt shoe so they were discounted a fair amount. I think 199 euro.

http://www.joemeek.co.uk/

Pouckypluysch wrote:

I just bought a Rode NT1 microphone, but it needs a pre-amp. Could anyone advise me on that? Thanks in advance!

I just got a Sound Projects VTB-1 preamp... on sale at a few sites online for around $130... it's a super high quality single channel solid-state preamp with full 48v phantom power, impedance matching (for use as a DI box), ax7 tube blend, built-in high-pass filter (for rumble removal), and XLR and 1/4" ins/outs. I haven't used it a whole lot, but I like what I hear so far! Reviews says it's comparable in sound quality to high end mic preamps in the $1000+ range, and miles ahead of the built-in preamps in sound cards and cheap mixers...

http://www.studioprojectsusa.com/vtb1.html
http://www.micguys.com/studio_project_pre/sppre_vtb1.htm
http://www.piemusic.com/mp/vtb1.html
http://www.recording.org/e-mag/article_70.shtml

-Garret

I think Garret has better advice. I went back and tried the P3 with the mic pre and it didn't trill me. I could take some tweaking, but it seems better at being a intrument pre-amp to me.

That VTB-1 looks nice.

It you have the money I would still go for the RNP by FMR...

Great reviews and the compressor I have of theirs is second to none....

Okay, thanks so far!

I really like the P3 for vocals, but I admit one has to be really careful when tweaking (especially the compression).

I haven't tried the VTB-1 yet, sounds interesting.

But if you ask me, the TLAudio 5051 is the bee's knees. (And their VP-1 is the dog's bollox.)

CaptainMark wrote:

I really like the P3 for vocals, but I admit one has to be really careful when tweaking (especially the compression). I haven't tried the VTB-1 yet, sounds interesting. But if you ask me, the TLAudio 5051 is the bee's knees. (And their VP-1 is the dog's bollox.)

I love the P3 for Stick, what settings do you use for vocals?

Poucky - are we talking cheap, mid-range, or preamp-for-life purchases here?

Do you need just the mic pre, or do you want a tracking channel with comp, eq, limiting, etc.?

If anybody has the cash (or good credit) check out http://www.demeteramps.com and go to the Pro Audio link... for a smaller company they make some of the best 'pro' gear out there. Top stuff.

iDavid wrote:

CaptainMark wrote: I really like the P3 for vocals, but I admit one has to be really careful when tweaking (especially the compression). I haven't tried the VTB-1 yet, sounds interesting. But if you ask me, the TLAudio 5051 is the bee's knees. (And their VP-1 is the dog's bollox.) I love the P3 for Stick, what settings do you use for vocals?

Basically, just go really, really easy on the compression.

Probably best to go easy on the EQ too!

The P3 can be very aggressive, which can be useful sometimes, but isn't normally what I want when I'm recording vocals. So, when using the combination NT1 + P3, I have the gain around 12 o'clock (but that depends on the source of course), a short attack time, and just a little compression so that the LED occaisonally flickers on loud passages, the release time depends on the material, you've just got to fiddle until you find what is best. For the EQ i just add a very little bit of treble. The rest is done with plugins.

Garret wrote:

Reviews says it's comparable in sound quality to high end mic preamps in the $1000+ range...

If that were true, then there wouldn't be a market for $1000+ preamps, now would there?

If you're intending to make "keeper" recordings at home and you'll be tracking live soundsources, then a good preamp will earn its keep a thousand times over. The cutoff point for quality examples is $500 - $600, and the two offerings in that price range that I'd recommend are the FMR RNP and the Grace Design Model 101.
When you're evaluating marketing bumf, bear in mind that a good solid-state preamp circuit will always offer far superior results to a cheap tube-based design.

I actually think a professional channel strip for a pre-amp is a bit out of my league at this point. I merely need the seperate phantom power, but I thought if I'd purchase a pre-amp I would upgrade my sound even further. I already have a seperate compressor, so that's not a necessary addition.

I think the VTB-1 would be a good option. I also saw the new MIC100 from Behringer. It's quite a lot cheaper (€ 55), and it does what I'm looking for. Anyone familiar with that one?

P.s. I just saw I accidently posted this topic in the wrong forum. Sorry for that...

I have an ART MP which I bought fro about $100. It is not bad at all, very quite and a nice clean sound....

Skittles wrote:

Garret wrote: Reviews says it's comparable in sound quality to high end mic preamps in the $1000+ range... If that were true, then there wouldn't be a market for $1000+ preamps, now would there?

Yah, of course the $1000+ preamps are superb, but that doesn't mean that a simple single channel preamp can't get close in sound... My point was that the VTB-1 is closer to the sound of a high quality mic preamp than any of the other cheap options, like the behringer & mackie mixers, art tube mp, etc., that folks buy because they can't afford anything better.

The engineers at Sound Projects are quickly building a great reputation for their products... the spend almost nothing on marketing, and build the boxes in china, so costs are low...

Skittles wrote:

When you're evaluating marketing bumf, bear in mind that a good solid-state preamp circuit will always offer far superior results to a cheap tube-based design.

Agreed! Which is why the VTB-1 is unique among the low-cost options... It is a fully discrete class AB solid state preamp... they threw in the ax7 tube blend feature as an added bonus, but it can be fully bypassed... Most of the cheap mic preamps are just starved plate tube designs, which are noisy as hell and lack warmth... This one isn't!

Read Harvey Gerst's review if you want another opinion... he owns a studio in Dallas and a lot of high-end gear...

Cheers,
-Garret

Garret wrote:

Read Harvey Gerst's review if you want another opinion... he owns a studio in Dallas and a lot of high-end gear...

Yeah, I know of Harvey Gerst, and his is definitely a name to conjure with. If the VTB-1 is good enough for him, that's good enough for me.

I just learned that in the Netherlands I can only get a VTB1 for about € 195,- incl. VAT. That's the distributor's suggested retail price. With the current currency rates, that's almost double the price I should pay when I get one from the US, where I can buy one for $ 129,-.

I probably have to pay shipping and extra taxes if I'd choose to do that, but still I find this a serious difference.

Does anybody know of another way to get one, preferably in Europe?

Digital Village have it for £102.99. That's about 145 euro, -without- shipping or $165. So its cheaper than the euro price but still higher than the US one. Without shipping. Hmmm.

Pouckypluysch wrote:

I just learned that in the Netherlands I can only get a VTB1 for about € 195,- incl. VAT. That's the distributor's suggested retail price. With the current currency rates, that's almost double the price I should pay when I get one from the US, where I can buy one for $ 129,-. I probably have to pay shipping and extra taxes if I'd choose to do that, but still I find this a serious difference. Does anybody know of another way to get one, preferably in Europe?

Can you order online? I originally ordered from www.music123.com, but then it went on back order so I cancelled and ordered from www.digitalproaudio.com. Both had the same price of $130.

I just checked the shipping rate on music123 for the netherlands and got $62... You might try calling Digital Pro Audio in New York.. that's where I ordered from, and they make a point on their site of saying that they ship internationally and to call for rates.

From their site:
Do you ship outside of the U.S.?
YES! For shipping orders outside the Continental U.S., we now only use FedEx International Priority. This is due to their superior reliability (and because of problems we had using other carriers or the USPS).

But please note that our shopping cart only calculates shipping charges within the Continental U.S. Please call us at 1-845-473-9987 or email us (sales@digitalproaudio.com) for the correct shipping and handling charges to your country. PLEASE PROVIDE YOUR CITY, COUNTRY AND POSTAL CODE when asking for exact shipping costs.

-Garret

What about the M-Audio "Audio Buddy"
Dual Mic Pre-amp with phantom for £59 from GAK.
www.gak.co.uk