Would love to build a serious Mic Preamp. Suggestions?

[iandy4]

For about a year now I've been looking at various mic preamp kits over the internet and drooling at the idea of buying a Universal Audio LA610 or a Neve 1272.  I worked in a studio for years but never got to hear any of the classic preamps you always hear about.  As far as building is concerned, is it even cost effective to build a kit or from scratch?  If so, I'd love some links to schematics or kits.  I'd love to build one. I don't have any expectation of building a neve from scratch but even building a dual pre that'd just beat the pre's on a mackie would be very satisfying for me.  Thanks!

[therecordingart]

I've built many kits and from scratch. There is not a lot of profit margin in the kits so the little markup that you do pay for is quickly justified by all of the time you spend sourcing parts and paying for freight charges.

JLM Audio Baby Animal pres kick butt, they can be configured a number of ways, and the owner of the company is a great guy www.jlmaudio.com .
Seventh Circle Audio has great kits and really good support www.seventhcircleaudio.com .
I haven't built their kits, but Five Fish has great prices and the owner frequents GroupDIY www.fivefishstudios.com .

There are a ton of kit companies, but those are the standouts. I've owned stuff from the first two and the studio I work out of has dealt with Five Fish.

If you want "mojo" I'd go with either an API or Neve topology. API is typically described as aggressive while Neve is described as round. Subjective and buzz word-y, but that's what they say.

[wavley]

I actually won a set of PCB's, DOA's, and attenuators from these guys http://www.diyrecordingequipment.com/projects/bearcat-412-discrete-mic-preamp/  it's pretty nice quality stuff.  I haven't built them yet because I'm waiting on the approval from my wife to spend $150 on transformers, maybe for Christmas (are you listening Santa Claus?)

But the website itself is a nice collection of various kits.  I would also check the Prodigy Pro forums for all sorts of nice projects.  


edit: I forgot to put the link

[artifus]

http://www.tangible-technology.com/ipr/AE230/html/wk_6/hamptone_fet_scan.pdf

[wavley]

http://www.tangible-technology.com/ipr/AE230/html/wk_6/hamptone_fet_scan.pdf

Oh yeah, I hear great things about that one!

[boogietone]

I have been wanting to get one (or more) of the 7th circle kits for some time. Any of the ones mentioned by therecordingart are good.

[wavley]

I just realized today that I have suitable output transformers to build my Bearcat 412 API clones, I just need to order some OEP inputs and build them up.  I can swap out for better ones later, I might get to build these soon after all!

[DavenPaget]

I just realized today that I have suitable output transformers to build my Bearcat 412 API clones, I just need to order some OEP inputs and build them up.  I can swap out for better ones later, I might get to build these soon after all!

Good luck with that ! 

[therecordingart]

I just realized today that I have suitable output transformers to build my Bearcat 412 API clones, I just need to order some OEP inputs and build them up.  I can swap out for better ones later, I might get to build these soon after all!

Go to this guy for API parts:

http://www.classicapi.com/

Good guy, and you can't beat their prices on DOAs and transformers.

[therecordingart]

I still have the Eagle file for API 312 cards. Really low parts count, but there are a few pricey items...the DOA, and i/o transformers. You can get those parts from http://www.classicapi.com/ and pay about $100 per channel on the whole project.

If you want to get really fancy you can do what I did and build some 312 cards, buy the JLM Audio power supply, Go Between kits, and DI kits. For about $175 to $200 per channel you'd have some high end sh&t.

[Minion]

Check out the INA217 and THAT1512 Mic preamp chips , they are pretty cheap and really easy to implement and design a PCB for and sound great and are used in quite a few prosumer mic preamps ......
I got 8 of them in my studio and use them all the time ......

http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/ina217.pdf


Cheers

[iandy4]

http://www.tangible-technology.com/ipr/AE230/html/wk_6/hamptone_fet_scan.pdf

Thaks for the link! definitely building this Asap

[iandy4]

Glad this thread is healthy.  I had decided a while ago to build the n72 from Seventh Circle months ago and this just backs up my conclusion.  Thanks guys.  Keep posting preamps! I'll probably have a thousand someday

[therecordingart]

Glad this thread is healthy.  I had decided a while ago to build the n72 from Seventh Circle months ago and this just backs up my conclusion.  Thanks guys.  Keep posting preamps! I'll probably have a thousand someday

After you fill up your Seventh Circle rack you should get yourself a 500 series lunchbox and fill it with DIY 500 series projects.

[iandy4]

Check out the INA217 and THAT1512 Mic preamp chips , they are pretty cheap and really easy to implement and design a PCB for and sound great and are used in quite a few prosumer mic preamps ......
I got 8 of them in my studio and use them all the time ......

http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/ina217.pdf


Cheers

Awesome! definitely checking them out

[a soBer Newt]

The INA217 I feel is the way to go.

[UKToecutter]

You could always try this -->  http://www.pmillett.com/micpre.htm

Might have a go at that myself when I clear some of my 'unfinished' projects off my shelf.

[Processaurus]

Check out the INA217 and THAT1512 Mic preamp chips , they are pretty cheap and really easy to implement and design a PCB for and sound great and are used in quite a few prosumer mic preamps ......
I got 8 of them in my studio and use them all the time ......

http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/ina217.pdf


Cheers

Thanks for that, I've been interested in these kind of modern specialty IC's for making pro audio type stuff.

To the original poster, a couple years ago I built a good preamp and posted some notes/pictures:
http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=79441.0


I sourced all of the parts myself and got things from all over, in the end it approached about $400 to build.  Shipping for getting things from several different places really adds up.  I would recommend 5 fish studios stuff (that's their psu kit in there), and just buying a kit there, if they look good to you, as the sourcing esoteric parts from several places takes a good deal of time and headscratching and adds up to be close in expense to one of their kits.

It's interesting, in use the mic pre is quite a good, professional grade piece of equipment, but I wouldn't describe the sound processing as being magical.  It just can make quiet things really loud, with low noise, and not screw it up, which many other designs (thinking of modern, transformerless designs) can also do.

[wavley]

I still have the Eagle file for API 312 cards. Really low parts count, but there are a few pricey items...the DOA, and i/o transformers. You can get those parts from http://www.classicapi.com/ and pay about $100 per channel on the whole project.

If you want to get really fancy you can do what I did and build some 312 cards, buy the JLM Audio power supply, Go Between kits, and DI kits. For about $175 to $200 per channel you'd have some high end sh&t.

I know about Classic API and intend on ordering the proper transformers eventually, but at $165 for two channels it's a spicy meatball to get my wife to swallow at this moment when her response is always "Don't you already own a set of Neumanns?", she doesn't really get that they are two different things.  Of course this weekend she did ask me to give her a list of parts I need so maybe she can make it happen as a Christmas present, so maybe Santa was listening after all.

The boards I won came with the attenuator and a set of GKL522 DOA's, so that's pretty cool, I also have a couple of 990's out of a PR&E desk I might try and compare.  I've already built a power supply, so once I get transformers it shouldn't take long to get them running.

[stringsthings]

Check out the INA217 and THAT1512 Mic preamp chips ....

Thanks for that, I've been interested in these kind of modern specialty IC's for making pro audio type stuff.

THAT makes some interesting chips for compressors ... they have some interesting technical notes also ..

http://www.thatcorp.com/4301_Analog_Engine_Dynamics_Processor.shtml