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Budget Mic Preamp Recommendation

77FenderJazz

77FenderJazz

Jan 12, 2020
126
328
58
Minneapolis, MN
#1
Doing some home recording but still looking for some good bass capture. I have a REDDI and an SM57 but really like what the sE Electronics Voodoo VR1 mic sounds like…but if I upgrade to this mic I won’t have the gain to run it properly using my Scarlett 2i2(at least that is what I understand). Looking for a budget preamp.
Have been considering selling the REDDI and getting the ART MPC Pro 2 channel and using one channel as a DI and one for the VR1. I do like the REDDI but I don’t want to drop a bunch more cash on top of that for a preamp.
Apparently I want to have my cake and eat it to.
 
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#3
frnjplayer said:
Where did you see that the Scarlett wouldn't give you enough gain? Looking at the specs the VR1 has almost the same output as the sE V7 which is a basic dynamic mic. Unless I'm missing something I would think the Scarlett preamp should be fine.
Click to expand...
Read on quite a few boards that by the time you try and get the gain high enough it is too noisy…or you just don’t quite get enough of a level at all…that could be wrong.
 
#4
There are a couple of things that could be part of the noise issue and I'm not going to say that any of these are definitive in any given case. There just general noise sources in signal chains. First and simplest is poor cable shielding followed closely by poor cable routing. Move the cable or change the cable out with a different one. If the noise changes that's part of the problem. Signal Level. If you're recording quiet sources then you do have to gain up a lot which will increase noise. Recording a bass amp should give you lots of level to work with. Check what the people that are claiming the need to apply lots of gain are actually recording. Equipment self-noise. Back in the dark ages this used to me a large and common problem. Decent modern electronics tend to be much better at it but it's still there. I've noticed that my 2i2 has a different internal noise level depending on which computer I have it plugged into and it is all related to that PC's power supply. I have a laptop where the Scarlett is unusable if the power supply is plugged in. Run the computer on battery and it's silent. In my experience with a couple of sE mics, they don't bring a lot of self noise to the table and they have similar output levels to most dynamic mics. My take would be to try the VR1 with your system and see if it works. Then go looking at better preamps if necessary.
 
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#6
77FenderJazz said:
Read on quite a few boards that by the time you try and get the gain high enough it is too noisy…or you just don’t quite get enough of a level at all…that could be wrong.
Click to expand...

I think a lot of folks, myself included in the past, hit the internet in search of a problem. In more recent years, I've just been using and enjoying my stuff, and if I hear something or stumble across a problem, THEN I might utilize the internet as a source for possible solutions. Stop reading the boards first.. ;)

frnjplayer said:
...My take would be to try the VR1 with your system and see if it works. Then go looking at better preamps if necessary.
Click to expand...

Amen. What he said.

A more straightforward answer to you, especially on a budget, might be to do what I did in the early starvation years when I was starting to do a lot of multitrack work as I built up my fledgling home studio. I didn't have money for the assortment of good mic pres I have now (favorites are Great River and Millenia), and the interfaces I was using at the time didn't have built-in mic pres like the Focusrite and many others do now. Sooo... I pressed my Mackie VLZ mixer into service, taking the individual outputs via inserting a cable into the effects loop jack only until the first click, accessing the signal directly from the individual mic pres before any other circuitry. Bang for the buck, those Mackie VLZ mic pres were pretty amazing, and you can probably pick up a used 1402VLZ for not a lot of coin, yielding six surprisingly good preamps.

Edit: Just checked; there's a few 1402VLZs on Reverb right now for well under $200.

Still, as already said, I wouldn't bother to do anything until you've ran with what you already have, gain-staged appropriately, and come to the conclusion personally that what you have isn't doing it for YOU.
 
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#10
What do you mean by "budget"? The Cranborne Audio Camden EC-1 is fantastic. Just check out some reviews and you'll see universal praise. But it's $600. It does often go on sale for $400. Both are honestly a steal for what it is. Incredibly transparent but also has the ability to get a more vintage "gritty" sound. Includes a fantastic headphone amp that alone would be worth hundreds of dollars.

If you're going much cheaper than that, I don't really see the point. Most interface preamps are going to be just as good as a cheap mic pre.
 
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#11
If you just need more gain, consider an in-line preamp. The most well known one is the Cloudlifter. People often get this to pair with gain-hungry dynamic mics like the Shure SM7B. I personally prefer the sE Dynamite. It does the same thing just as well as the Cloudlifter but it's $50 cheaper. Last I looked it was exactly $100. I also like the way it attaches to the signal path better than the Cloudlifter. The Cloudlifter's box shape makes it less flexible.

Anyway, an in-line preamp will make it so you're barely using any of your interface's gain at all.
 
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#13
ART has made good gear for excellent value for many years. I have a TPSII that I pair with an inexpensive pair of condenser mics I use for piano or drum overheads with very pleasing results. I have used it with bass and acoustic guitar also with good results in my old ProTools interface and Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 as well as direct into my Tascam.
 
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#16
I'm seeing used Focusrite ISA One preamps in the $400 range on Reverb, and the mic input and the DI channel can be used together/independently on this unit. And yes, that VR1 ribbon mic requires a lot of gain.

That being said, it's going to be tough to beat your REDDI as a DI for recording.
 
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#19
With a high-quality DI like REDDI, I would simply look for a high-end preamp; or stick to what the sound card has on it, as your sound card is quite a decent one. In one of my signal chains for recording, I use a Millennia Media HV-35P after the REDDI, and bypass the preamps on my RME Fireface 800 (even though the RME has great preamps). HV-35P is steep in price ($1,130 at Sweetwater), but it is a one-time (and maybe a life-time) investment, so unless you would go for something in those lines, I would not buy a mediocre preamp.
 
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#20
77FenderJazz said:
Doing some home recording but still looking for some good bass capture. I have a REDDI and an SM57 but really like what the sE Electronics Voodoo VR1 mic sounds like…but if I upgrade to this mic I won’t have the gain to run it properly using my Scarlett 2i2(at least that is what I understand). Looking for a budget preamp.
Have been considering selling the REDDI and getting the ART MPC Pro 2 channel and using one channel as a DI and one for the VR1. I do like the REDDI but I don’t want to drop a bunch more cash on top of that for a preamp.
Apparently I want to have my cake and eat it to.
Click to expand...


I really doubt that a mic in front of a bass amp speaker will need more gain than you have from the Scarlett
 
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