Topic: Suggestions for preamp?

[AdamHuston]

Busman BSC1's > ? > DR-680


Am interested to hear what ya'll think I should get 

[mccordo]

I just got a set of BSC1s that I run with a V2 > DR100mkII and love it so far. I've only been able to tape one show with them in a small club, but I'll be taping Trey at HOB Orlando next week and can see how it does in a larger room.

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Yeah, a Grace or a bright preamp would be my vote.

[adrianf74]

A V2 or V3 would be my call as well.

[hi and lo]

I don't see why you need an external pre and don't think it will provide a tangible benefit. Save your money for a mic upgrade.

[Phil Zone]

I run mine with a Littlebox with output transformers, and there is one in yard sale. I have tons of tapes on lma front he link in the description. I did run them with the stock 680 pres and it sounded good, I wouldn't hesitate to run them that way. 

[Gutbucket]

Preamps can make a difference. Grace pres are very nice. Niant pres are too. I use a V3 and like it very much, these days usually via a SPDIF connection to the 680 when I need more than 6 channels.  I find it sounds nicer than the 680 stock preamps, but I don't hesitate to use those.  Usually the choice for me hinges on practical ones like much I want to carry, how many batteries I need, and how many channels I want to record.  Generally I find microphones more influential, especially given the quite decent performance of the stock preamps in the DR-680.   Personally I'd question mics first (and their setup but sticking with the gear question).  YMMV of course, it does for others.

Maybe you've already been doing this, but if not.. run your microphones straight into the DR-680 direct for a while, play around with mic configurations unless you've already determined which setups you like best with the BSC1's in various scenarios, then if you can, borrow other mics and preamps to try and determine for yourself which way to go.  Barring that, listen to other taper's recordings made with different combinations and weigh that against opinions.  Your gear is already to the point where suggestions begin to veer into subjective opinion..  there's mine.

[achalsey]

I'll echo a few previous comments. 

Personally, it seems silly to me to run a Grace or SD pre with BSC1s.  I don't see how it would be beneficial to run a pre amp that costs more than your mics.  Yes, cost doesn't always relate to inherent quality, but obviously mics should first and foremost in the chain.

The 680 pres are totally adequate (except for running mic-in on high gain in my experience but that's a different story), so saving up for higher quality mics would be a suggestion I would second.

And totally agree with Gutbucket.  Figure out what types of venues you generally will record in and search out similar examples where people ran gear that you're looking at.  It won't help a ton if you think you want a V3 and the only examples are stadium shows when you'll be running mostly in smaller clubs.

[AdamHuston]

Thanks for the input, I think for the time being I will hold off and keep saving money for another pair of mics

[Ultfris101]

Lots of good input from some very experienced folks. Mics make the biggest difference in my more limited experience as well as far as raw recording quality. Something else to consider is the logistics/mechanics of the gear chain as well I am finding.

Depending on the setting you tape in (for example are you in a bar/club with access to power or in a field at a festival with batteries only?) it can be nice to have a pre like a tinybox with a built-in battery spreading out load.

The pre's in the stock R-44 aren't regarded as the best but they're not bad either especially if you're recording loud rock in a bar anyway. So I could run mics directly into my R-44 with phantom on and power off DVD batteries and be ok, but with the tinybox in the chain I kind of like the dedicated power source for the mics and then the DVD batteries for the R-44 which is not supplying phantom and everything can run a really long time. My tinyboxes supplying P48 to full body mics run 5-6 hours at least (never pushed them to test), but when I run the AKG and Schoeps active setups the tinyboxes can run for 20+ hours without recharge if necessary. Can't do that with just an R-44 or a DR-680.

Also, with my tinyboxes I can easily power my mics and feed a smaller recorder like a Sony M10 if I'm in a place I won't be getting a board feed and therefore don't really need 4 channels or need to have a small bag footprint.

So you didn't specify in your original post whether it was sound quality or something else you were considering (but most likely sound quality I'd guess) but there are other things to consider in my experience. i also don't know what your experience level is so please forgive me if you've thought of all this.

i'm one who likes to have lots of options so I don't get stuck with a single piece of gear failing and leaving me without a way to record and I like to run multiple rigs for comparison and redundancy purposes. it can be educational to throw a preamp of some kind in there and get experience running with it.

Also, might be worth it to see if YOU can tell a difference. I'd wager that at least some of the people who chimed in here learned that mics make the most difference by trying different pre's themselves. If it's in the budget to get something on the order of a tinybox it might be worth it.

[page]

Thanks for the input, I think for the time being I will hold off and keep saving money for another a better pair of mics

ftfy. the bsc1s are excellent starter mics, but once you get more serious about recording, I don't see much reason to keep them when you can sell them and use some of that cash to fund a better set.

and yes, hi/lo is ultimately right. I fell into the trap of answering the question and moving on.

[mccordo]

In hindsight, a mic upgrade down the road would probably be the best option. I started with a set of Audix M1280s ran directly into my DR100mkII and was happy with the sound. That being said, I got a deal on a V2 and have been thrilled with the sound when paired with my M1280s and now my BSC1s. A new set of mics is in my (probably distant) future as well once I save a little money and sell off some of my current gear to fund them.

[stevetoney]

FWIW, I had a pair of NAK300 clone mics that were worth less than $100 and put PSP-2 behind them and it sounded really REALLY good (pretty dang close to my Schoeps, actually), so I don't think that the mics before preamp comment is 100% absolute, but generally I agree that mics are more important than the preamp in terms of investment.

[JimmieC]

Love my V2, almost like a child to me.  Would love to try a Naiant littlebox, portico 5012, usbpre2, or etc someday.

[colinw]

I run BSC1 > Tinybox, and I love the sound. I am very pleased with the quality of the recordings I am getting and I feel they compare very favourably to mics much, much more expensive. The Tinybox is awesome, and the perfect little device.