Trying to decide which pre...

[techmaster]

Okay, I'm running a home studio. Got an industrial band together, consisting of me and 2 other guys. We're pretty serious, but unsigned as of yet. We're working on putting together our first album, and possibly first do a demo with 3-4 songs to try and find a label. As of now, we've got a lot of nice gear. I've got a ton of analog and VA synths, one guy has a Fantom X6, and we've recently recruited a guitarist with various guitar rigs ranging from a half stack down to some small units that sound surprisingly big. (like the GK amp) So, I'm currently running my vocals through my audio interface's built in mic pre's, and they're absolutely boring. The mic is nothing special, just an AKG Perception 220. I'll probably upgrade to something along the lines of a Rode K2 eventually, but right now my biggest need is a good mic pre. I've got a pretty good compressor unit, and some effects stuff to run my vocals through, and I've got my vocals pretty close to where I want them. I really feel that a decent pre is my biggest need right now.

I've been looking around at the various low priced pre's, such as the RNP, the Joe Meek's, and so on... and I just keep coming back to SCA. This is going to mainly be for my vocals, which will be pretty distorted when all is said and done. I'm looking for a crunchy vocal, and so far everything I have done so far to get my vocals near that target sound, has an adverse affect of making the vocals really muffled and muddy at the same time. I have some new effects boxes that seem to help this quite a bit, not to mention the compressor set to a pretty high setting before going into the effects, and the vocals are definitely closer to what I want. So far I've been doing a lot of spoken word vocals, not really sung, but that could be a possibility in the future. So...vocals that are like a crispy/crunchy spoken rap sound to them, but very aggressive. I'm a male, with a baritone voice.

I'm just curious what mic pre would be recommended. I've been looking at the N72, T15, and A12. I love the price of the T15, and realize that it would be an excellent way for me to get into the SCA pre's. Technically, I'm fully able to build any of these, having already built a self sourced x0xb0x (exact TB-303 replica w/improvements) myself. I keep hearing rave reviews of the N72, and I know the Neve's are some of the best pre's out there, so it's a nice way to get into the high end stuff for not much money. Being that I've been looking at the stuff like Joe Meek and FMR RNP, I'm guessing that the T15 is probably in that same class, if not better... so would it be good enough for somebody who is going to be using a lot of effects like distortion on the vocals? Also, I know a lot of pre's, you can crank the pre-gain and get an overdrive distortion on the vocals...which would probably be a good thing for what I'm trying to achieve, so it's a desirable affect. Does the T-15 distort, or is it an ultra-clean pre? I get the feeling that the J99 is probably not what I want due to its cleanness.

Also, some versatility would be nice, we've been dual-mic'ing my guitarist's amp with a combination of condenser and dynamic mics, so the sooner we can start running his guitar through a decent pre, the better as well.

I'm looking for budget at the moment, but will probably upgrade to stereo pre's fairly quickly, and if I were to go with something like the T15 now, I'd probably eventually get a pair of N72's as well. So, is the T15 good enough for me to get started with? Or should I really hold out for something like the N72 right off the bat?


If it helps, this is really the vocal sound I'm going for:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl6kWsYmIHs#t=1m0s

Skip ahead to the vocals at 1:00 to get an idea. I already know they're using Avalon pre-amps which is out of the question, I've already spent too many thousands on other gear to be putting that kind of money into mic pre's this late in the game. Our album isn't that far from being done.

[phatmateo]

I'd say go for an A12 because of what it does to the upper mids on vocals. Its a more aggressive sound. You can never go wrong with the N72 though. Thats my #1 vocal preamp

[lynyrd]

The T-15 will get you started as an SCA user, and is high quality, but I recommend the N-72 as a vocal preamp. I like the bigness of the N-72. As a side note, I have a Beesneez Jade as my goto vocal mic and it sounds great.

[doublecoil]

Tech. I've got 2 each of the 72 and the T-15. The 15 is actually a great all around. Very accurate, clean, easy to build and inexpensive. IMHO, the best bargain today on the pre market, by a very long shot. The sound for vocals is similar to a high-end board pre that is designed to handle everything well. The 72 certainly brings MORE to vocals. I use both 3-4 days a week in my studio, and the 72 wins nearly every time for vocals, regardless of the mic. For that KMFDM thing, seems like either one will get you there. You can overdrive the 72 hard, but with outboard processing, the T15 will do very well.

I actually prefer the 15's for snare, drum overs, direct synth (depending on the patch), mic'd bass guit, etc... They make a very nice complimentary pair of pre's.

On the mic side, just a thought. I've got the U87's, 414's, etc... and I tried the MXL V69 Mogami because it was under 3 bills. I'm blown away! And I haven't even changed out the cheap tube yet. I love this thing! Kind of cheezy on the build side, but this thing is worth owning, especially for vocals. Also shines overhead for drums and on acoustic guit and bass. And through the N72. Lotsa warm and round. Sounds like a $3000 mic. I haven't used my U87 in a while.

[niccolo]

Yo Doubecoil,
do you feel the MXL can handle SPL enough well for OH applications? I hear it does not have any pad..

thanks and sorry for hijacking the tread.

But I can comment on it as well: even if every pre that I have tried from SCA so far has found a vocal application (see my sig for a list), I'd say that neither of those pres will distort in a way you may find "final" for your needs, so I may suggest finding a really good all around pre that may serve you also when you'll need to track something else, and, surprisingly enough I'd advise you to take a second look to the J99, along with the forementioned N72. Cannot comment on the T15 but I'm sure you would not be disappointed also given the fact that it does have a full fader attenuator.
Keep in mind that you can always put a pad or a variable attenuator after the output of any module you choose to build to obtain the same effect of overdriving the output tranny without doing so to your AD frontend..

[doublecoil]

Niccolo... I've used it on OH many times without any overdrive issues, and I've had some real pounders in here. I have a snare that cracks like an M80, and no problems... yet. But as I said, it's not a pro piece construction-wise. Time will tell on the long-term reliability. Looking forward to changing out the tube.

Anyhoo, I agree with niccolo that the N72 won't give you a final nice square wave sound you might need, but a subtle overdrive will get you going in that direction. It drives really nicely. No way to go wrong with it.