Suggestions on cost effective multi purpose Preamp/DI for guit/bass/vocals. $100-150?

I use the Focusrite Scarlett Solo on my laptop. It's under $100. There are other Scarletts with more ins and outs that cost a bit more.
 
On my Desktop I use the Saffire Pro 14.
 
I like the Focusrite products a lot.
 

Hi, arachnaut. Thanks... I am however covered as far as an interface. I actually run an FR 18i6 (and have an old Layla Echo too). The inputs are nice for sure but I'm looking more for something to REALLY juice up my tone before it hits the interface.
 
I'm assuming the type of devices I'm thinking of probably can't be had for less than $500 but I was looking at DIs again based on another thread here and wandered off into looking at tube pres and all sorts of dedicate DI boxes. I had been looking at simpler things like the MOTU Z-Box but that only does guitar and really I just want something more flexible and "tubey".
 
I'm probably delusional but with all the budget gear out there these days who knows... maybe there is something. If anyone would know it's you guys.

Thanks, bats. That's looking a little more like what I'm talking about. Will take a look. Over the next couple years I intend to be opening up more and more for session work so I just really need to get some clean, solid input stuff going on. What I've got already works well but I have to wrestle with it more than I like. It's a time waster.
 
Cheers.
 

Okay... so after poking around at the ART stuff (thanks bats)I think I found a good example of what I need.
 
ART Tube MP/C
 
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TubeMPC
 
Not sure how good it actually is but it seems to have some fans and it has the high-z input as well as XLR in (and both balanced XLR and unblanced 1/4" outs). It even has a compressor on it which might be nice. $100 so in the price range I'm looking for. Doesn't look like it has throughput though but I guess there are other ways around that.
 
Anyone own this thing? Any suggestions on similar devices?
 
Thanks... this has been very helpful so far.
 
PS: I know this technically should be in the Hardware forum but it does kind of fall under tracking techniques... and there are more eyeballs down here. Eyeballs who have been watching me wrestle with my input issues for quite a while now too and have consistently pointed me in the right direction.

@arachnaut... If you want an educational read on DI boxes check this article out...
 
http://thehub.musiciansfriend.com/live-sound-buying-guides/how-to-choose-the-right-direct-box
 
Sooooo many different types for different applications which is why I again got all confuzzled and thought I'd post this thread to see what kind of devices might get recommended. I've posted similar threads before because I'm always trying to sort this out but there are so many variables and I'm kind of a dum dum when it comes to electronics that I have to revisit the subject every now and then. I've mostly stuck to working with what I already have and kept some units on my radar but if I'm actually going to bite the bullet I figure I better take another stab at understanding it all and seeing what's out there. Also my needs/wants have changed a little after doing a lot of tracking over the past year.
 
To me up until a few years ago a DI box was just the little dealymabob sound guys would make my various bass players plug into to tap off into the board. Who knew there was a whole universe of the buggers out there that do different things? lol
 
Cheers.
 
Edit: And this thread has taught me what 500 series modules are all about. I'd of course seen them but now I know it's a specific form factor. Due to my gimpiness and dislike for bulky gear if I ever get a decent business going I think the "Lunchbox" method would be much better for my needs than rack stuff. So that's cool.

but not a DI.

It doesn't have a mic preamp but the Little Labs Red eye is an incredible workhorse: http://www.littlelabs.com/redeye.html   http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/RedEye3D
 
Rocky

The Art tube preamps actually aren't that bad, especially if you replace the stock cheap valve with a better one (e.g a JJ or NOS 7025). They're not "high end" of course, but will add a valve quality that solid state won't.

A dedicated guitar pre/DI that's just a high impedance input with XLR out to feed an interface line input may well add nothing that the interface can't already do, assuming it has a high input impedance "instrument" input. If it doesn't any Boss pedal will provide a 1MOhm input impedance and low impedance output, even with the pedal switched off and the Boss FET switching buffer is as good as any cheap DI you'll find.

By the way, if your bass is a Fender Precision with the split-coil pickup the two halves of the split are set up,so the pickup is actually a humbucker, not a single coil. The early Precisions had a small single coil pickup but Fender changed them round about 1957 when they became styled more like a Strat. Fender kept quiet about the humbucking nature of the pickup allegedly because Gibson/Seth Lover already held the relevant patent.

It's the humbucking characteristic that gives the Precision its deep, rounded tone and thump compared to a jazz bass.

I forget what you have for an amp, but another option to consider it running an output from the amp (either direct out, or even an effects loop send). If the channels are clean, this can be used as input to an audio interface (for amp sims). If the speakers can be easily unplugged it is even better for not freaking out the neighbors. I am not sure if this is a feasible option for you though. Downside is there is no ground lift capability there and I know you have been struggling with that one.

Here I mention it again - the KB-37. It's like a miracle product. You can probably find one for resale or at a discount house in the neighborhood of $150. I use it with Amplitube 3 and Guitar Rig 5. New it comes with PodFarm. I happen to prefer Amplitube.

Some links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRpCXWSC8TE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwBR1OfHRtM

Beepster
What I need it for...
 
Doing clean DI guitar tracks which can then be mainipulated with sims. This is really the most important aspect. I want the most responsive/dynamic/braod freq range signal possible. Does not matter if it colors the sound. I just want it to make that clean signal as full, textured and useable as possible.
 
DI bass. Same deal as guitar. I need a good input signal from my single coil P-Bass.
 
Vocals. Something to warm up my semi crummy mics. I have a decent mixer with nice pres but certainly not as nice as a tube pre or well built solid state pre (if that is even a thing).
 
What I need from the unit...
 
Reasonably quiet with a ground lift or something to keep hum noise at bay.
 
Multi ins or XLR for vox and preferably 1000 ohm instrument input for direct guitar bass connections (or at least a decent input for attaching such instruments).
 
Thru-put to send out to an amp or whatever preferred.
 
Being able to take and condition the line outs of my amps or other effects pedals/units might be cool but I don't even know if that is appropriate for a preamp. I guess if it takes line level stuff though then that would work.
 
Thanks.

 
This small Mackie mixer will do all those things:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/402VLZ4
http://www.mackie.com/products/vlz4-series-compact-mixers

Dupe. D'oh!

Studio Projects stuff was mentioned a few times in my intertube travels. At first glance that unit certainly looks like it'll do many of the things of the ART MP/C... for two thirds more though at the Canucker retailers which is still a great deal. As I do my budgeting though I'm definitely going to have to keep a reign on what I spend for a device of this kind. As it stands the ART unit (if I can find it locally to avoid shipping) is going to run $120CAD which with our loverly sales tax will bump it up to a little under $140.
 
To me worth it to get all the functions. After reading the manual I see it will actually be able to do re-amping stuff which would be AWESOME and I actually have ZERO outboard input compression which is kind of lame (and of course I have no tube stuff to warm/complexify signals). I'm not seeing much that will do all that stuff for as little and as much as it pains me to not just bite it and get the better units for a little more seeing as how a lot of these things are single channel and still cost effective I can always snag them later and have multiple units of varying quality for varying purposes. In fact considering the other, less complex ART units are actually $40 I may pick up one or two over time as finances allow for simple mic inputs for multi mic acoustic/vox type recordings. And then if I can actually make a go of my session work or compositions for sale business I'll get serious and try building some proper 500 series chains for input (which was another thing I've learned from this random query). That's at least a couple years away though.
 
These past two days of looking into all this have been very educational. Still gonna come back and reply to some of the other comments because there is some cool stuff being mentioned. Sooper cool thread.
 
Cheers.

synkrotron
Hi Beep,
 
What do you currently use for getting audio into Sonar?

Hi Synkro... kind of a loaded question because over the past year I've mapped out a whole pile of signal paths using my outpboard gear. Probably best if I work backwards....
 
My Focusrite 18i6 is my main interface. I've got an Echo Layla 3g PCI card as well that I could use but it's a bit of bugger on my new MOBO which has "bridged" PCI (which is why I bought the Scarlett). However I can, in theory, use the Layla VIA the ADAT input on the Scarlett to obtain up to an extra 8 input channels (or switch to another driver mode and use them in tandem but I would never do that).
 
Blah blah... I use the Scarlett as my interface. We'll leave it at that.
 
My simple connection method is of course straight into the multi ins. Usually with my guitar using the Inst./Hi-Z setting because I can't really do vocals in this crummy apartment. It's a VERY nice input for both intrument (guitar/bass) connections and with an XLR for dynamic/condenser mics. I've recorded lots of stuff that way and for guitar it works well for certain amp sim settings but now I mostly use it just to practice and record test tracks. Then I fire up my outboard gear to do finals. My outboard gear is big and bulky and a PITA to use which is why I kind of want a simpler solution. It is also all older stuff and completely solid state and my routing options are decent there are certain things it simply will not do properly (like reamping or transparent DI).
 
So from there I've got a bunch of crap I can hook up in various configs. I guess it makes the most sense to mention my mixer because although I can connect a lot of gear directly to the Scarlett a lot of the time I opt to run through the mixer for the extra EQ, the direct channel outs and the nice mic pres (which I can use instead of the Scarlett pres as well as make use of the line inputs on the back of the Scarlett to get WAY more inputs).
 
The mixer is an OLD Mackie CR1604. It is from the pre Onyx era (so it does not have the Onyx pres which are SUPPOSEDLY superior but these old pres are very nice and crisp). It has direct out on the first 8 (of 16) channels that I can hook up to the 8 line inputs of the Scarlett (6 1/4" ins on the back and the two multi ins on the front). I generally leave two to three direct connections from the Mackie into the line ins on the back of the Scarlett so I can do the following...
 
I have two amps with XLR outputs. The first is a Line 6 Duoverb. This is a VERY old Line6 amp head from when they were first starting out. It's modelling is kind of um... old but it has decent clean tones and lots of routing options as well as two independent amp and output channels. So I can dial in two distinct tones on the two amp channels and output them individually from the balanced XLR outs straight into the Scarlett or into the mixer and then into the Scarlett. It also has 1/4" line outs as well but I have never used those because I think they are unbalanced so I haven't seen much reason to (but I guess I COULD plug them straight into the Scarlett... I think I would lose the output trim capability of the amp though which would suck... whatever). I can also "blend" the two channels into one channel that outputs from one of the balanced outputs (and it seems the second balanced output continues to output the single output from the second channel which is kind of cool).
 
Since the modelling is kind of cheesy (remember it's old tech) I use the Line 6 to get a better "clean" signal than I can from the Scarllet input and the fact I get two signals means I get two distinct clean tones which are easily pannable (unlike a clone which would just increase volume). However even in this regard it has problems. It is all transistor and the signal kind of fizzles out when you try to sustain a note. Like the signal gets a little wierd and fuzzy then cuts off abruptly when it dips below a certain level. It sucks. Totally fine for non stop thrashing though.
 
If I add some extra gain before the input of the amp I can defeat this. I recently discovered that by putting my MXR Gain pedal in front of it I can get the sustain I want BUT that pedal adds a lot of noise. The ART Tube pre claims to be able to be used before an amp so maybe it will do the same thing while injecting some tubeyness AND hopefully be a little less noisy but I do not expect that. Still it would be nice.
 
Anyway, I use the Line6 quite often for final takes setting both channels to the cleanest/brightest/strongest settings I can find that work the best with whatever sim I'm using in the computer (so I tweak the amp if need be to make the sim respond better then save it as a preset on the amps onboard memory which is another cool function). Then that'll go through the Mackie where I can EQ it a bit to get out any low rumble or add extra air/mid, into the line ins on the Scarlett then into Sonar and into the sims.
 
Complicated and annoying BUT it does produce better results than just plugging into the Instr in on the Scarlett and I get 2 channels to play with.
 
The otehr amp is my old Traynor TS140. A very nice sounding old school solid state amp. It has a single balanced XLR out that unfortunately outputs a kind of off kilter wave form but damned if the thing doesn;t sound nice. It also has a five band graphic EQ on board for sweetening the tone which makes it hit the sims very well. Unfortunately there is no output trim, it runs SUPER hot, I cannot increase the gain at all without activating the speakers or overloading the mixer (and I am afraid to disconnect the speaker because it would likely blow the head), etc. Essentially it is like a stunningly beautiful but finicky girlfriend that DEMANDS things to be just so. That again goes into the Mackie (it actually has to because I need to reduce the output signal).
 
For bass I of course have all those options as well and I recently found the Traynor seems to get the best results but I have not actually recorded bass through it yet. Still this is guitar equipment that has a tendency to strip away some of what a bass needs to get through a mix. The Scarlett input is "okay" for bass but really... it kind of sucks... okay... it sucks for bass. I'm thinking a tube pre/outboard compressor will help make that input work better and/or it will allow me to DI into the mixer so I can access the EQ section (the 3 band EQ strip on the Mackie is actually very VERY nice). Again that all goes into Sonar and either a sim or sometimes I just set up a few tracks with various drive/compression/eq settings to get a blended sound (this seems to work better than the sims I have many times).
 
For vox... well I never get to do vox anymore but may try again soon if just to test out my mics and do some low volume vox/voiceover stuff.
 
Thing is my mics are either dynamic mics and/or suck. The condensers I have are okay but budget models so they've got a weird thin sound to them. Essentially all my mics need something warm/fatten them up or in the case of the dynamic mics bring up and compress their levels.
 
Everything else I do is in the box so drums are no longer a part of the equation (although with a single channel unit I could go back and "reamp" old drum tracks one piece at a time which might be cool) and the only real synth I own is busted and I have so many FM sounds with Sonar I doubt I'd ever need its stock sounds (DX-7).
 
Oh... and I have some pedals and stuff but I rarely introduce those into my signal chain anymore aside from the AXFX5G that has some interesting stuff. But many are BOSS so I need to try out some of the stuff tlw was referring to earlier.
 
Looooooong answer is long BUT you asked and it may give folks an idea of WTF crazy old Beeps has and what he needs... or just be an interesting peek into another dude's studio.
 
Cheers.

Hahaha! Thanks Beeps... Yeah, a loooong answer that dood 
 
Concentrating on the guitars... Might I suggest that one of your problems may be that you've got too many options? I never had that much guitar stuff myself... Just a Boss GT-5, which was nice, but I never use it now.
 
I can see plenty of suggestions for DI boxes and what have you, but why can't we just plug our guitars straight into our interface, like your Scarlett, or my QUAD-CAPTURE (although mine is kinda busted and I'm also using a MMP-2 which connects to the QUAD-CAPTURE via SPDIF, so at least it is still in the digital domain).
 
Don't get me wrong... I'm asking this, only because, with all the stuff written above here makes it sound like I'm doing it all wrong, that is, connecting my guitar to my DAW via a simple interface and then getting all the amp modelling and effects within my DAW using Guitar Rig or TH2, or even something like FabFilter Volcano.
 
For me, at least, it makes things a lot easier... Less outboard gear and cables, and therefore less chance of introducing noise.
 
Downside, obviously, is missing out on using all that lurvly outboard gear and amps/speaker stacks...
 
And I can only record a maximum of two tracks at a time.
 
cheers
 
andy