Topic: RFI - Advice on going to external pre or pre/ADC for a MT

[landshark]

Hi all -

I'm going to be recording a friend's band in about 2 weeks (typical rock'n'roll bar band, moderately loud), and was thinking of using this as an excuse to upgrade my gear a bit.  My current non-stealth setup is a pair of AKG 391's going into a MT 24/96.  This is a non-stealth rig things don't have to be tiny, but I'd prefer not having to keep a forklift handy to move everything. 

My goal is to spend under $400, and as I see it my options are:

a.) External mic pre only

b.) External mic pre and ADC (i.e., UA-5)

c.) External mic pre and seperate ADC

I know my mics will be a limiting factor so going hog wild on pre's isn't going to be worth it, but anyone have any suggestions on which option will get me the most bang and any recommendations on specific gear?  How much improvement will I realistically hear?

All advice welcome, thanks in advance!

Mike

[Nick Graham]

Your choices do get limited with a $400 budget - but there are some good options out there.

Pre only - I'd choose a Sound Devices MP2. Not sure what they go for anymore, but probably right in that price range.

Pre/AD Combo - your only 2 choices really are a digi-mod UA5 and a Denecke AD20. My first rig was AKG c1000s>AD20, and for the price the sound was fantastic.