A good mic pre or a good mic?
Posted on June 4, 2009
A friend of mine called me yesterday and said he had $1900 to spend on a microphone and a mic pre. He asked me whether he should spend more on the microphone, or more on the pre. The mic is to record vocals and acoustic instruments, standard home studio applications. This is a really good question and I would love some opinions on this. Personally, this would be my choice. Firstly, a nice clean neutral sounding mic like a Rode NT2-A (there are a couple of others in this price range as well) for around $600. I would then spend the remaining $1300 on a good quality straightforward mic pre like the Focusrite ISA – One. There are other budget pre’s which are good such as the FMR Really Nice Pre, which is great value. Any thoughts?
Jun 06, 2009
Hi James, love the new website. The trouble with buying recording gear is everyone has their own opinion. I respect what you have suggested, but what about an el cheapo Behringer mic and an M-box. Do listeners really notice the difference once the signal has been processed to the max in the box? I don’t reckon they do.
Jun 06, 2009
You are possibly right. As Neil Finn says in one of the recent issues of Audio Technology, it’s hard to kill a good song.