I need a mic preamp.

[benwalker]

another bump for the behringer mic100. Very budget version of the dbx mini-pre, but adds a bit of tube warmth (oooooooh.....) and has 48v phantom

Don't bother with the limiter section though, since it's more of a "turn off if too loud" button ...

now if only my Edirol wouldn't clip at stupidly low volume levels, I'd be laughing...


benw

[tee boy]

Im suprised nobody has mentioned the Focusrite Trakmaster. As uber-budget pre's go its pretty good. Has a compresser and eq too. Team it up with a Rode NT1 and you should get a reasonible vocal sound. This combo aint no VT737 + U87 but it should do the job just fine for the cash.

[PeterL]

I own DMP-3 and love it for its sound-quality and low-noise, so I think you can't go wrong with the cheaper AudioBuddy.
I use one channel of DMP-3 for Guitar and the other one for Mic with great results.
It has no tube(sound) in it, but I do it after recording with plugins (Voxengo all the time!!).

[Lady J]

DBX 376 Tube Channel Strip

12AU7 tube (i've had the stock american one replaced with a new old stock Mullard)
48V Phantom Power XLR in
Line in
Front Panel Instrument in for electri cor electric acoustic guitars
S/PDIF digital out
AES/EBU digital out
multiple sample rates
tape saturation emulation
parametric eq
compresser
de-esser

[Ixox]

Trackmaster.... DBX 376... Hmmm....

Reminder

I know M-Audio has a preamp, the Audio Buddy, which is within my $100-or-so price range

[pdadda]

I don't have enough space on my PC desk to fit something that big.

-David

Huh-huh. That's what she said. Sorry-couldn't resist. And I have the maturity level of a 14 year old boy.

[somedude]

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Given your budget another option is to purchase a small mixer, many of them use the same mic preamps as their more expensive companions in the same range. I bought one of these:

http://www.behringer.com/UB802/index.cfm?lang=ENG (http://www.behringer.com/UB802/index.cfm?lang=ENG)

Which is very quiet. It gives two powered mic channels with xlr inputs if you want/need them, plus two stereo line in channels, and I use the 'tape in to ctrl room' function as a volume control for my active speakers. It cost me about £60 a year or so ago.

Anyhoo, my tuppence.

[Permanent4]

Just tried the Audio Buddy. Testing on it has gone just fine so far. In fact, I think this will do the trick very well for now.

Thanks, scuzzphut, and thanks for all the other recommendations. I'll revisit some of them when I decide it's time to upgrade again.

-David