What do you guys/gals think the best direct pre-amp is

[The Dude]

Hello Everyone,

Looking to setup my PC for recording. What do you guys/gals think the best direct pre-amp is for going straight into a soundcard. Need good clean tones as well as good tube distortion.

Thanks

[kennydoe]

Originally Posted by The Dude

Hello Everyone,

Looking to setup my PC for recording. What do you guys/gals think the best direct pre-amp is for going straight into a soundcard. Need good clean tones as well as good tube distortion.

Thanks

Most here will say POD or J-Station. I use an old Zoom 9030 - you can still get them on ebay sometimes. Sounds great - much less processed than the other two I mentioned.

I can send you some stuff I recorded with it if you want.
~K

[Two hands31]

Line6...Line6...and Line6.

[JESTER700]

Yamaha DG Stomp for anything but massive gain.

For that, I use a V-Amp2. Not that I think it's the best for it, but I don't use that sound that much and the V-Amp was CHEEP ($100).

[texshred777]

UM...Formula1...Formula1...Formula1 (that would be mesa)

[Gresh]

POD Pro is the king for direct recording to PC, hands down. Crystaline clean to mind melting distortion, it's in there... and with a digital output and semi-useful effects...just icing on the cake. PM me if you want a more in depth description.

Brad

[Reachwind]

I have the poor man's Line6 POD, the Vamp 2. It sounds great for recording. Nothing can beat a real tube amp but the modeler is great for playing when you don't want to wake up the kids.

[The Dude]

Hello Everyone,

Just the quick response I expected from so many nice people..

I have heard a lot about the Line 6 POD Pro..No chance to use one locally. Some of the other pre-amps I had questions about are:

1) Mesaboogie Triaxis
2) Mesaboogie Rectifier
3) Marshall JMP-1

Seems that the rectifier is all analog knobs...that would be a hassle for any midi switching. I plan to have all switching done via midi. No foot controls..Kinda sorts the rectifier out huh. I have not heard much about the JMP-1. Is it all name and no game or does it really perform? How about the Triaxis?

The Line 6 POS Pro is not a tube pre-amp..Kinda shys me away from it eventhough I hear such good things about it...Am I being silly?


Anyway I diarrhea of the fingers as a new friend commented....Time to hear more from the troops.

Thanks again

[Reachwind]

Originally Posted by The Dude

1) Mesaboogie Triaxis
2) Mesaboogie Rectifier
3) Marshall JMP-1


The Line 6 POS Pro is not a tube pre-amp..Kinda shys me away from it eventhough I hear such good things about it...Am I being silly?

The difference between the Line6/vamp etc and the preamps you mention is the modeling. They reproduce not just distortion/effects but also speaker cabinets and room size (through adjustable reverbs). The modelers aren't multi-fx preamps they are much more than that. I know that the vamp2 has sound samples online for its amp models and I'm sure that line6 does as well. Go check those websites out.

[Carlo]

what do you guys think of the Sansamp PSA-1?

I was thinking of getting that one day for direct recording purposes.

[BucketBot]

Originally Posted by Carlo de Dios

what do you guys think of the Sansamp PSA-1?

That's the one I would go with. I have heard a lot of good things about it.
The Line 6 stuff is just to stale sounding.

[kent]

The Pod Pro is definately much more than just a preamp. The cabinet and speaker simulation combinations really add an openess to your guitar tones that are almost impossible running any other conventional preamp direct. I recorded an unprocessed guitar signal as I tracked and then ran that signal back to the Pod. I could then tweak away at my tone as it related to the overall mix. I have to say the thing which amazed me most while recording with the Pod Pro was how easy to get the guitars where I needed them in the mix. If take your time and have a good ear and a great guitar, you should be able to get some great tones. If would like to hear the CD I recorded using the Pod Pro about 90% of the time, just email me and I would be happy to send it to you.

Kent

[nuno]

Originally Posted by Carlo de Dios

what do you guys think of the Sansamp PSA-1?

i like it cause its simple: no frills, no zillions buttons to push and no 1000" LCD displays. just a bunch of knobs and a button to save your sound.

i never tried it, though...

[MidnightFlamed]

If the PSA-1 is half as good as the GT-2 (which I've heard it is) then I'd definitely believe it's great for direct recording. Personally, I'd go with something that had genuine tubes, but the difference in price can be staggering. I suppose it also depends on what you're looking to do with the recording. Sometimes I just make recordings so I don't forget riffs I make on the fly, and the GT-2 is what I usually run into the sound card. If I were making a homegrown album, it'd be mic'd tube amps all the way.

[Gresh]

Originally Posted by kent

The Pod Pro is definately much more than just a preamp. The cabinet and speaker simulation combinations really add an openess to your guitar tones that are almost impossible running any other conventional preamp direct. I recorded an unprocessed guitar signal as I tracked and then ran that signal back to the Pod. I could then tweak away at my tone as it related to the overall mix. I have to say the thing which amazed me most while recording with the Pod Pro was how easy to get the guitars where I needed them in the mix. If take your time and have a good ear and a great guitar, you should be able to get some great tones. If would like to hear the CD I recorded using the Pod Pro about 90% of the time, just email me and I would be happy to send it to you.

Kent

Kent brings up an excellent bene of the Pro, and going one step deeper....the Pro allows you to not only track your unprocessed signal, but while doing that you can listen to any model you want so that you can get the feel of your sound and use it to inspire your playing. In other words, he can listen to a fully processed sound while sending the unprocessed version to tape (or whatever media). The flexibility is astounding. Personally, I don't find it stale sounding at all and I find new tones everytime I sit down with it. Recently I have been tweaking a lot of the Fender models and having loads of fun with those tones. Makes we want another strat.