any suggesstions. one with xlr's and phantom power.

one not expensive and not bad at all is the Joemeek threeQ: it has also a good compressor and a built in EQ.

good lookin ellaguru! thanks. just looking into these for now. probably wont need one till down the road.

budget preamps, the groove tubes "the brick" game me some of the best results (with Adru) and myself...my vocal chain was The Brick to DBX 160x to Shure SM7b...sounded dope

cool thanks Beirdo.

Hey how much are you looking to spend? Do you need stereo? Are you using it to record to your computer or something else? Do you want it to be neutral or have a strong character. I've been looking around as well and can pass along some experiences.

Well, id say im shootin for bout the 300 duckies range. i will be recording on an MV. im just starting to research these things so im still not sure what features i can and cant live without. your input will be appreciated. thanx mega.

at that price just look for a pre and use a plug in to get your EQ and comp

when you want to compress vocals go for the DBX 160x/xt/a...great comp on everything or the FMR RNC but that one is sort of bland (to me)

yeah for that price the actual pre won't be much better than what you can find on small mixers or audio interfaces. I'd look into getting some sort of channel strip with eq and compression that you can use to track with. I heard good things about the art pro vla ii or something like that. I think you can upgrade the stock tubes with some NOS tubes to give it some different character. Since I don't use a mic, I am looking for some kind of tracking compressor I can use to track my samplers into the computer. I'd love a fatso since I can use it one the way in and on the way out and it has nice easy presets but since it's super expensive I'm looking into the FMR RNLA as a poor man's alternative. FMR has a stereo pre for $500 that's supposed to be great.

i was asking this same question about a year ago..

before you waste your money on a pre-amp..
just get a decent mixer
the type of mixer a young band would use.
not only is it a pre-amp but comes in very handy later on for gigs..recording..even running all your shit at home through it.

i got this for less than 100euro and it was money well spent: http://www.thomann.de/ie/peavey_pv_6.htm

I use my Behringer 2442 FX for mic pres and it does the job just fine. While were on the subject, does anybody know of any brands of entry level outboard gear (EQ, comp, limiter, filter, etc.)?

On the subject of cheap preamps: Look into the M-Audio DMP3. They're very inexpensive and surprisingly decent. Two channels, too. It's the kind of pre a smaller studio might have several of for back up when extra musicians show up.