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View Full Version : 002 and preamps

Fraggy
02-16-2008, 07:25 PM
I was wondering on some preamps.

We just did a recording session yesterday and it went great.
I wanna move on to getting some good preamps.

What is a good 8 channel preamp (probably for drums)?
what is a good vocal preamp
and what are good guitar preamps?

and any other rack gear essentials.
Motleyguy
02-16-2008, 09:50 PM
Focusrite makes some great pre amps for a fairly low price. I know you can get a lot of their units that come with built in compressors, sound pretty good for vocals. I'm not sure about drum pre's, but I like the ART MPA pre amps. You'll also need a couple of stereo compressor units. The ART VLA is a great tube compressor. I also like the DBX 160 (single unit) and the DBX 166A (stereo unit).
The Chemist
02-18-2008, 08:43 PM
http://www.rme-audio.de/en_products_octamic_2.php

These pres wil blow you away. No joke. I used some about 2 months ago, an WOW. Crystal clear, lots of gain and headroom, excellent AD, easy to use and built like a tank. But, the downside is price, but even that is a bargin for it's sound. These pres are, IMHO, about 100x better then the Focusrite ISA preamps. They compare to most Avalon and Seventh Circle Audio pres.

They run at about $1500 for the Box, PSU and everlasting support.
Fraggy
02-19-2008, 01:52 AM
so basically i can just stick that optical cord and run it into the 002 and have 8 channels going in right?

and on the 002, if you use the TRS inputs, does that bypass the preamps? if not, how do you do that.
The Chemist
02-19-2008, 08:25 AM
Yes, that is how ADAT works.

Yes, the TRS bypasses the pre-amps if you select it to. I beleive it's a control on the box itself.

I got to thinking, and another good set of 8 preamps are the UA 811o.
Motleyguy
02-20-2008, 12:57 AM
so basically i can just stick that optical cord and run it into the 002 and have 8 channels going in right?

and on the 002, if you use the TRS inputs, does that bypass the preamps? if not, how do you do that.

If you plug into the TRS, you need to switch it to Line Level (I believe there's a switch on there, probably on the front, by the pot used to set the level) that allows you to switch between Mic, Line and Instrument level. Instrument level is for guitar/bass that hasn't been DI'd. You could also use it for keyboards, but I usually just use line level for keys.