Daniel SnyderWinston-Salem Recording Connection

Microphone Pre-Amp Selection Posted on 2012-02-24 by Daniel Snyder

When you first start building a studio, there are many crucial items that the quality of your music depends on. One of the most important things in your studio will be the microphone preamp. When choosing a preamp, its important to accept the fact that getting the cheapest preamp on the market just won't do if your serious about making quality music. Opinion does come in to play once you start getting into good quality pres, because there is no universal best when it comes to preamps. If your starting out on a super tight budget, its best to use the preamps on your mixer or audio interface, but choose your microphone carefully. You can get good sound of these built-in preamps by using techniques like adjusting the gain and trim levels until they're to your liking, while making sure to keep the signal path clean. It takes around $300 to get a good single preamp that is noticeably better than the built-in preamps on audio interfaces and mixers. A few preamps that are common in studios and aren't too expensive are the FMR Really Nice Preamp (RNP), the Grace 101, and the Golden Age Pre 73. The good stuff runs between $1000-$3000. The 3 preamps mentioned above are held in high regard because once you get past that threshold of quality, it becomes more about the texture of the sound your looking for, like how pleasantly it distorts and produces good harmonics when pushed. in conclusion, I hope this helps if you're just starting a studio and looking into buying a preamp. Remember the best tool when choosing is information!

« Return to Daniel Snyder's Blog

More Blog Entries from Daniel Snyder