Hello, all!

I’ve spent the last few months building a serviceable project studio in my home, and it is just about finished short of a few odds and ends, and another mic or two.

In the process, I managed to maximize the channels for my interface (MOTU 828MKII) for a total of 12 ins, with outboard preamps of varying styles and abilities. All were budget-conscious decisions and I’m satisfied that I can get a variety of decent sounds with them, should I ever require 12 channels of inputs at once.

Pending the sale of some unnecessary older gear, I will be in the market for another preamp, because I have the option to not use one of the three pres on my mixer. I’d like it to be a “fun” preamp that doesn’t do what my other pres do. I’m looking for suggestions based on the preamps I have and what you think might fill a void in my entourage.

My current preamps are as follows:

1-2
MOTU mic pres x2 (I actually haven’t used these yet, but I expect they are not very exciting/just okay and not very loud)

3-4-5
Onyx pres x3 from my Mackie 802vlz4 (I like to use a small mixer to control my monitors and phones and have other routing options; I chose the Mackie because I could get a couple decent preamps out of it)

6
Art Pro Channel II (lots of options and sounds for tracking here)

7-10
Aphex 107 dual channel pre x2 (I love these and think they are incredibly underrated)

11-12
M-Audio Duo standalone A/D converter via spdif (These have the same pres from the DMP3, so they are actually not bad at all)

I’d prefer to spend $200-400. By “fun” I mean colorful, dirty, or even technically bad. I love cheap gear that does interesting things. My rack unit is full, so a desktop or half-rack unit would be nice. And I’d love for it to be something I keep around, even if I could afford nicer preamps in the future.
Any suggestions would be appreciated!

These are some examples of where I’ve been looking: Fredenstein desktop mic preamp or
Hornet mic preamp/DI or
Warm Audio WA12 mkII or
GAP pre-73 mkIII or
Joemeek VC3Q

I'd go for the Joemeek VC3 (not the Q) because the enhancer circuit is brilliant for parallel processing of bass to get it to cut through the mix. The compressor is also VERY different to anything else you'll hear which is the fun bit. The pre itself is quite clean and - dare I say it - bland, but by no means bad.

Talking of Joemeek VC3s, the guy that designed them is still going, if you have a 500 rack then the tfpro 503 is only £299 - a bargain for a handmade in the UK boutique pre. A similar (but quieter) pre design to the VC3 with more gain but with an excellent limiter based on the circuit in Ted's famous Alice 828. An excellent limiter that can be used for all sort of tasks from adding smack to a snare to dirtying up bass. https://tfpro.com/product/503/

Interesting! I’ve been reading that folks like the ‘Q’ version and don’t have much use for the enhancer, but those one-knob nondescript features do tend to do interesting things. I definitely think I would enjoy the joemeek opto comp, so I’ve had my eyes on the VC3 or VC3Q over other options. My ART has an opto comp, but it’s pretty tame.

I haven’t delved into the world of 500 series. Might be something for the next studio in a different house. Limited space here, and if I’m tracking drums my only option is to send the family to the in-laws so I can take over the first floor...

One vote for a Joemeek VC3. Thanks!

Tge new kid on the block...
Useful Arts Hornet.

Also Soyuz Launcher to mess a around with.
Does have strong coloration.
Chris
P.S. Aphex 107 Shhh...

My only preamp is the JHS Colorbox V2. You can go deep in tone shaping (3 band EQ with choosable frequency), it's an awesome DI for guitar and bass, and it range from crystal clear to fuzz. Phantom +48v goes through , and you can even use it as an boost/overdrive/eq pedal on an amp.

The JHS does look fun. I’d like to have one just on principle, but at only 39dB gain it looks like it would need to go into another preamp before interface.