The 7 Best discrete Mic preamps (2023 reviews)

We consider a discrete mic preamp to be a worthy investment in the long run. We are here to help you choose the right one for your purposes from all the best available products in market today.

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Our Top Picks:

Best Overall: Buy: Golden Age project discrete Mic Preamp READ REVIEW

Best For home Studio: Buy: Warm Audio Mic Pre READ REVIEW

Best With Phantom Power: Buy: Behringer discrete Mic Preamp READ REVIEW

Best For Everything: Buy: Warm Audio discrete Mic Preamp READ REVIEW

Best With ADAT: Buy: Audient discrete Mic Preamp READ REVIEW

Best For Guitar Recording: Buy: Blue Microphones discrete Mic Preamp READ REVIEW

Best For Mic Preamp: Buy: Tonelux discrete Mic Preamp READ REVIEW

Best Overall: Golden Age project discrete Mic Preamp

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If you often find yourself scrambling for good preamp, golden age project discrete mic preamp is your end point. It provides a definite upgrade to any beginner studio. It is similar to the preamp section in the classical 1073 module with a corresponding sound character that is warm, punchy, sweet and musical. It allows for extra gain that slightly colors the signal, as much or as little as you’d like. It also does wonders for a DI bass signal.

The Air feature gives the vocals a nice top end breathiness. The LED light is blazingly bright. It can certainly add a coloration reminiscent of the design it is derived from.

• Real solid old-retro 50s transistor radio effect
• Has a warm sound, that provides a definite upgrade to any beginner studio
• Nicely excites vocals when you drive the gain

Best For home Studio: Warm Audio Mic Pre

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The warm audio mic pre is suitable and reliable and fits well with your daily usage. It provides 4 channels of classic american console preamps in a sleek 1ru design. The Kick retains a massive low end, and the snare is detailed and punchy. It can be used on drum overheads and toms, and it runs with the api all the way up all the way.

• Fully discrete, transformer coupled, through-hole component topology
• Good brand reputation

Best With Phantom Power: Behringer discrete Mic Preamp

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The behringer discrete mic preamp is capable of outshining several other preamp featured in this list in overall features in its price range. The Ultragain Pro mic2200 gives you the sound quality of a 2-channel vintage tube preamp and high-end di box all-in-one. It features a fully parametric eq with adjustable center frequency, bandwidth and level per channel. The onboard fully parametric eqs provide unparalleled tonal characteristics, allowing you to sculpt instrument and vocal sounds with the ultimate precision and musicality.

When used as a high-end DI (Direct Injection) box in the studio or on the stage, the MIC2200 delivers flawless performance and outstanding signal integrity. It provides accurate monitoring of output levels. The mic 2200 is ideally suited for use with standard digital recorders and sound cards, imbuing signals with the warmth, presence and classic tube-compression that will bring your digital tracks to life. It is perfect for studio and live applications.

• Both channels also feature independent phase reverse switches for maximum versatility
• Ultra-wide bandwidth from 10 hz to 200 khz for “open” sound
• Mic input stage based on discrete, conjugate transistor pair circuitry

Best For Everything: Warm Audio discrete Mic Preamp

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Warm Audio has been making great preamp for years, thanks to a combination of clever design and appropriate materials.

• 3 simple binary controls give you and handful of distinct coloring options
• Simple and fast just like a reliable 57 mic
• You get a usable warm tone on any decent mic and instrument/amp

Best With ADAT: Audient discrete Mic Preamp

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Similar to vintage valve preamplifier designs of the 1960s, HMX provides a sweet, thick tone that will sound incredible on anything from drums to electric guitars. It provides 8 channels of audient renowned console mic preamps, class-leading burr-brown converter technology, two jfet d.is and two retro channels with revolutionary tone control. By using discrete mosfet technology, HMX produces asymmetrical harmonic distortion giving you the option to add richness and body to the pristine tone of the audient mic preamp, d.i or line input.

Upgrade your soundwhether youre recording drums or simply need more channels, asp800 is the perfect tool for expanding your existing interface via adat. The preamps sound rich on 1&2 and the other 6 are very clean. Its flexible and intuitive feature set will transform your current setup into the complete recording rig, perfectly at home recording both acoustic and electronic instruments.

• 2 x retro channels with dual stage colour saturation controls
• Good brand reputation

Best For Guitar Recording: Blue Microphones discrete Mic Preamp

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The blue microphones discrete mic preamp should be able to handle its purpose and duties with ease. This analog sound is very clean, crystal clear and with a subtle and refined tube touch that smoothes the corners and gives a wider and more dimensional image. It features audiophile-grade ultra low noise metal film resistors and polystyrene capacitors, and provides the user with the best of both worlds. It will smooth out the sound, but not dramatically. It'll work great even with low output ribbon mics.

It features a single large backlit potentiometer (gain) and 1/4 hi-z instrument input. It is no switching crossover distortion anywhere in the completely balanced audio signal path. It is a very worthwhile addition to a broadcast level recording setup. It comes with no ics and only the highest. It becomes more grainy, harder, and less fluid.

• Lot of satisfied buyers
• New and hot release

Best For Mic Preamp: Tonelux discrete Mic Preamp

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The tonelux discrete mic preamp's material feels more premium than its price would suggest. The INSERT RETURN input of the V4is is a resistor isolated mic level input, that can be used when the MP1 is in a live recording situation and there is no splitter. It is a discrete mic preamp with a direct input on the front panel. It is transformer coupled in and out, and has a 20 db pad switch (effects both mic and dir), a 48v phantom switch and a phase or polarity switch. When turned up, the tilt control has a 0 to 6 dB boost on the high end while cutting the low end the same. It works with both the mic in and dir in and has its own tilt eq switch, which is a hard wire bypass switch when out.

The level of the VU meter is adjustable over the entire range from off to +14vu or +18 dbu and can grab a fast peak and display it. It allows the engineer to monitor the real mic pre gain or the output level of the mp5a. The Combo XLR/Direct input is for use with a hi-z instrument, etc.

• Delivers what they promise
• Lot of satisfied buyers