software

I've been considering investing in one of these to put before my digital multitrack recorder to improve the sound quality a bit:

from : localhost/

what do you guys think? the mics I'm currently using are an SM57 and SM58 (and maybe soon a Studio Projects B1 Condenser), is it a worthy purchase to improve the sound? the price seems pretty good...

I have no experience with the Behringer unit but unless it is horrid it has to be better than the preamps found in most recording desks. I'd look around for some reviews online and see what you get.

Good - excellent mic preamps cost money and thats where a lot of stand alone recorder manufactures save money to keep the cost down. An aftermarket preamp is almost nessessary in most cases.

Yeah the preamp in the BR1200CD seems to fit that description, it often has trouble getting enough gain so even without considering sound I think an external preamp would be useful.

I've checked and seen lots of good reviews online on the MIC100, so I can only imagine it will be a worthy purchase...

Check out the Groove Tubes 'The Brick' tube pre

I have heard good things about the brick.

Also check out the D-TAR Solstice. It's got two mic-pres. While not tube, the circuit architecture was, shall we say, liberally borrowed from the big analog Neve boards from the '70s. It'll also give 15v phantom power. Plus, it has a million other uses.

If it was a Swiss Army Knife, it'd be the big fat one with all the extra blades (like the cigar cutter and the magnifying glass).

But one of its highlights is the stereo mic pres.

The Brick is a great pre for guitars...it is very smooooooooth and warm. It is a real tube design, not a starved plate, mostly their for marketing tube design like the behringer, presonus, and most other low end tube preamps. It also has a very ballsy power supply so your condenser mics will get a nice healthy 48v(not all 48v are equal). It also excels as a bass DI.

Mike