Recording Mic Preamp.

[JohnLA]

Ok guys. I'm buying Mic Preamp with USB connector.
I can't decide between: Line 6 UX2,EMU Tracker Pre 2.0 and Mbox2 Digidesign. Some videos from net:

Line 6


EMU


Mbox


Which one should I buy?

[KingAenarion]

The Mbox 2 is pretty meh... The 3 is much better imo

Out of those I'd probably go the Line 6 for now.

[Andii]

The Presonus Audiobox 22VSL is a really good interface in that price range.

The preamps are really transparent and it sounds a lot smoother overall than a lot of similar priced products. I had another inexpensive interface(Tascam us1641) with more channels and I "upgraded" to the 22vsl and was not disappointed with the huge jump in sound quality.


PreSonus

[JohnLA]

http://www.bamguitar.si/en/studio-eq...blackjack.html

I just bought this one. Great preamp. Tnx.

[EtherealEntity]

Nice Just being picky here but these are called interfaces, preamps are a component of them and there would have been misunderstandings had you not clarified what you meant in your first post You aren't even actually using the mic preamps unless you are using a microphone haha

[KingAenarion]

Originally Posted by Andii

The Presonus Audiobox 22VSL is a really good interface in that price range.

The preamps are really transparent and it sounds a lot smoother overall than a lot of similar priced products. I had another inexpensive interface(Tascam us1641) with more channels and I "upgraded" to the 22vsl and was not disappointed with the huge jump in sound quality.


PreSonus

Except the drivers for the Presonus' tend to be quite buggy.

They're also a little noisy on quieter sources because you tend to have to crank the gain quite a bit.

[EtherealEntity]

^ My Presonus does the job but +1 on the bad driver reputation. Mine doesn't really cause me many issues but I certainly wouldn't use it live or to track bands professionally. Crashes too much.

[JohnLA]

http://i45.tinypic.com/280npt5.jpg

IT'S HERE!!!

[KingAenarion]

That's actually quite a good choice. The Onyx Pre's are really nice.

[Andii]

Originally Posted by KingAenarion

Except the drivers for the Presonus' tend to be quite buggy.

They're also a little noisy on quieter sources because you tend to have to crank the gain quite a bit.

I haven't had either of those issues. My Tascam used to crash my computer and cause a restart. That hasn't happened to me a single time since I switched. Flawless performance here. Windows XP 32 bit.

Mileages vary on different systems.

[KingAenarion]

Originally Posted by Andii

I haven't had either of those issues. My Tascam used to crash my computer and cause a restart. That hasn't happened to me a single time since I switched. Flawless performance here. Windows XP 32 bit.

Mileages vary on different systems.

Yea the Presonus' performance is fine on XP... but you have to remember that XP is more than 10 years old now. The drivers for Windows 7 and even Vista just aren't acceptable in comparison. While the majority of computers using Windows still use XP, I would hesitate to guess that the majority of people wanting to do Audio Production on Windows are going to want to be taking advantage of newer computers and better utilisation of computer resources, which XP just doesn't do. There is no excuse.

[Andii]

Originally Posted by KingAenarion

Yea the Presonus' performance is fine on XP... but you have to remember that XP is more than 10 years old now. The drivers for Windows 7 and even Vista just aren't acceptable in comparison. While the majority of computers using Windows still use XP, I would hesitate to guess that the majority of people wanting to do Audio Production on Windows are going to want to be taking advantage of newer computers and better utilisation of computer resources, which XP just doesn't do. There is no excuse.

Yeah if there are issues with the other platforms that's not good. But I haven't heard it mention elsewhere and everyone's reviews are overwhelmingly positive.

But it's interesting you mentioned better utilization of resources in the windows versions after XP. I actually chose winxp on the recording system I built specifically because win7 (and of course vista..yuck) waste a lot memory and CPU. They are really bloated. But all that is off topic.

[Wookieslayer]

If you're not opposed to Firewire rather than USB, I highly recommend the TC Electronics Konnekt series. Sounds clean and clear. I use the Konnekt 8 but since it's discontinued now, you can try to find one used or look for the Konnekt 6, which is almost the same with less inputs and no MIDI, but it has onboard reverb and sick knobs and blinky lights!

Check GC's used site, they have a few for under $100 right now :wink:

Edit: wow I didn't read the thread, grats on the Mackie instead!