which pre is for me

eraserhead

eraserhead

Member
Hello I'm looking for the right pre to go with my axe-fx. I'm putting my recording studio together and i need to find the right pre to go along with my axe-fx my style of music is in line with steve vai and frank zappa im looking for a good rock pre with color and a big fat sound here is a few im looking at

vintech dual 72
vintech 73i
chandler gremm

any help would be great thx also i would be running in the DI most of the time thx
 
If you're using it strictly for the di and only for guitar honestly there's really not much reason to go with such an expensive preamp. You could even just get a di box or just go with the digital outs direct. If you're using it for microphones also then that's a different story. What's the rest of your set-up like and what else do you need the preamp for? You're shouldn't be looking for to get any "color" from the preamp at least for the axe-fx. You want it as transparent as possible so you can use the axe-fx to get the tone you want IMHO
 
Might need a little more info.... ;)

What exactly are you wanting the Preamp to do that the Axe FX can't already deliver? Mic Pre perhaps?

I've recorded the Axe FX direct in to my sound card (MOTU 828 mk2) heaps of times and it sounds stellar without needing any additional preamp..

If your looking at recording vocals then i can't stress how important a reasonable mic is... Even a great preamp won't make a shit mic sound great so consider that before dropping the bucks on a mic pre for example I use a Rode NTK valve mic which captures vocals beautifully straight in to my sound card.

Anyway, post more info about what you hope to achieve and i'm sure there'll be plenty of guys with some great advice.

T
 
I have a nice Vintech 1272, but I don't use it with the AFX. I just use the digital out direct into my MOTU HD192, and it sounds GREAT! Think about it. By doing this, you skip the AFX DA conversion, analog output circuit (and any ground loops), the mic pre circuitry, the AD conversion of your DA, and all the cabling in between.
 
thx for the replays so far i have tested a chandler grem and an api 3124 vs. going right in a m-audio 410 and there is a slightly rounded warmer bigger recorded tone when useing the chandler. These mic pres are from a friend of mine also i have heard a neve with even better results.
 
This touches on the question I had: is there any benefit to using a pre for bass, for example, when going into the Axe?
 
Only if you (a) really like the tone of that pre and (b) are unable to recreate that tone within the Axe.

I still use a vintage analog chorus pedal with a distinctive sound that I haven't been able to nail 100% in the Axe. I've been able to get close, so it's possible I'll get it the rest of the way there at some point, but until then I'm just leaving it in my effects loop. Other people still use particular distortion pedals or phasers they haven't recreated.
 
I haven't tried this personally, but couldn't a similar effect be achieved by placing the tube pre sim after mic modeling?
 
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