trinilopez

we did a little test a while ago - we recorded through 4 mic pres, an avalon, a grace, a millenium and a digidesign, all with the same mic and placement. we recorded a cellist, piano, operatic vocals and percussion, and had each musician judge the quality of the recordings. the ranking after adding all the scores was: 1 - grace 2 - millenium (close) 3 - digidesign 4 - avalon it was the grace 101 that we tested. also, the avalon was 5 years old, so maybe needed some sevice. now this was strictly classical recording, so YMMV i'd recommend trying to get your local pro shop to lend you a bunch of pres for a similar test. they will probably be as interested in the results as you are...

Originally posted by GZsound Yeah.. the "best preamp" discussion. And then we get "buy a used Symetrix SX202 for $150.. or get a Seventh Circle pre kit, or you can't make good music unless you have a _____. It is extremely confusing. The bottom line question in my mind is if good music can be made with an RNP, or a Symetrix or a Seventh Circle.. Really hard to get a definitive answer. Hmm - well I did at least a dozen albums of classical and other music using in part a Symetrix SX202. I certainly thought they were "good music" . The labels thought so too (New Albion, Tzadik, New World, etc.). Yes, I did these when I was on more of a budget, and I probably wouldn't choose Symetrix now that I have some resources... but I still think one can do a good job with limited tools. Even with a mic pre between $100 and $150.

check ebay for a symetrix sx202 good clean mic preamp - 2 channels for around 150.