1.2 Why do I need a Mic Pre II?
Microphones come in all shapes and sizes, they also come with different
output levels. Ribbon microphones, for instance, have relatively low output level
as do dynamic microphones. Phantom-powered condenser microphones, on the
other hand, can have a very high level output as can tube condenser
microphones. It takes a very flexible, quiet, and carefully thought-out piece of
gear to make all those different types of microphones sound their best when
connected to the next device in the recording chain.
Think about this: every recording console, from the cheapest starter model
to the million-dollar consoles in the world’s greatest studios, has microphone
preamps. Most inexpensive digital audio interfaces have some sort of
microphone preamps. Simple arithmetic shows that semipro mixers and
interfaces must have cheap mic preamps, or they wouldn’t be economical to
sell. The mic preamps from classic consoles of the seventies and eighties have
become very valuable as outboard equipment. Sadly, many classic old consoles
have become worth more broken up and parted out than as complete consoles.
Since the 1990’s Geoff Daking has been making new old-style mic
preamps, equalizers, and compressor-limiters for professional users. He is,
perhaps more than anyone else, responsible for the new generation of
‘boutique’ preamp makers. As a recording engineer he has owned and had
hands-on experience with many classic recording consoles. He analyzed the
things that characterized those consoles, and the reasons we loved the sound
of them so much. Newer consoles, both cheap and expensive, were being
manufactured with chips and without transformers in the preamps to save
money. Geoff realized he could build professional microphone preamps in
America using high-quality input transformers and discrete circuitry at a price
that most users could afford. Their sound quality rivals the great classic console
modules at prices that are much more approachable, and without the
maintenance headaches that 40-year-old switches, capacitors, resistors,
connectors, and obsolete components can cause.
The Mic Pre II is the latest in the line of Daking products that live up to that
promise. It features input transformers made by Jensen, perhaps the premiere
transformer maker in the world today, high quality capacitors, resistors, and
discrete transistors, built in the USA. Get ready to really hear your microphones
for the first time!
