The 6 Best single Channel Microphone preamps (2023 reviews)

If you are looking to buy an all-around great preamp for your daily purpose, coda music technologies single channel microphone preamp is the right option. It works great using a yamaha mixer. It's good for what it is, a low noise, phantom powered microphone preamp, but it is a bit large and more friendly for stationary or pedal board mounted use. It will only work with dynamic and ribbon mics, not condesner mics. It's a simple plug-and-play, and the output from the mic is instantly raised. It really doesn't color the sound at all.

Another thing worth noting is that the enclosure is metal and it has brackets on the front and back to protect your XLR cables.

Why We Like This:

Awesome for podcasting with a rode podmic
Works really well with no noise
Much less gain needed on pa and audio interface
Great gain, no noise and plenty of volume headroom

Best For The money: Grace Design single Channel Microphone Preamp

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The grace design single channel microphone preamp is specially designed for your daily usage and has all useful features. It does wonder on violins and cellos. It precisely captures what's happening at the microphone and conveys it to your DAW input. If they want to add color or post-effects to your takes, then they can do so with your natural voice in mind. It sounds very transparent and absolutely quiet with that configuration.

The ribbon and HPF options on the front are great, plus having the coarse gain plus fine trim knobs independent is awesome. It does have a 48v phantom power support. It is designed to accommodate routing.

Why We Like This:

Good brand reputation
Lot of satisfied buyers

Best With compression: ART single Channel Microphone Preamp

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The art single channel microphone preamp is the best reliable preamp on the market today. If it is for a distracted, busy engineer, or one recording people unfamiliar with managing their own levels as your record them, you sometimes run into surprise level excursions. It is made up of high quality components, although with the stock 12ax7b china tube, there will be some noise at extreme levels. It does have balanced and unbalanced outputs. It includes a tube as part of the circuit to add some harmonic coloration and distortion. It can be used as a coloration on a solid state amp design.

It comes with variable valve voicing, and the tps ii is completely versatile and maintains a high quality of performance you would expect from an art tube preamp. It is great with a little eq and compression afterward.

Why We Like This:

Great value, good flexibility, quiet, as "clean" as you want
Clean and really adds juice to vocals
Delivers what they promise

Best For home Studio: Warm Audio single Channel Microphone Preamp

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We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a convenient and appropriate preamp. The warm audio single channel microphone preamp is exactly that - it's a simple preamp that hits all the right notes. The WA12 is a perfect accessory for the Bugari EVO Digital accordion. You can get vintage sound by increasing the gain and decreasing the output, and get a clear and crispy sound by decreasing the gain and increasing the output. This unit is built rock solid too. It maintains vocals good and also it is great value for the $$$ especially for this class of preamp.

You’re gonna love this product, there’s so warm they’re hot and if you know how to turn these Dials on this machine, people are going to say “wow” this sounds so much better. The sound is absolutely beautiful. This is a pro quality product that will elevate whatever you do with it.

Why We Like This:

Excellent value for the home studio
Single channel microphone preamplifier and di with xlr, balanced and unbalanced inputs
Good brand reputation

Best With effect: Focusrite single Channel Microphone Preamp

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The focusrite single channel microphone preamp might be a relatively new release, but it's still nothing short of impressive this year, thanks to multiple price cuts and added new features over the past few months. Building on the features of the scarlett octopre, scarlett octopre dynamic brings you the ultimate scarlett expansion with eight scarlett mic preamps and analogue compression on every input channel providing a musical, soft-knee style of compression for more subtle control of your dynamics. It offers eight balanced line outputs, sourced directly from their respective mic preamps for use on stage in a live environment. This can be connected to an audio interface or recorder with ADAT inputs.

Eight analogue outputs can be sourced either directly from the mic preamps for live use, or via the adat inputs to give you eight more analogue output channels from your daw. The compressor would be great for drums, but would not save you any channel space on the board.

A switchable Air mode will add extra clarity to your acoustic instruments when recording with your Scarlett 18i20, replicating the revered Focusrite console. There is no control for the compressor beyond a single pot, which appears to raise the ratio and the gain accordingly. It is ideal for expanding any high quality, multi-channel recording system.

Why We Like This:

Pro performance with eight of the finest mic preamps
Flexible analogue compression on every channel
Simple adat connectivity via optical cables

Best With reverb: Presonus single Channel Microphone Preamp

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Not everyone likes to purchase preamp for their daily usage, but the presonus single channel microphone preamp would be an anomoly. Live or in the studio, the bluetube dp v2 is a great-sounding tool you’ll use on a variety of sources. It offers far and away the widest variety of tone-shaping capabilities of any preamp in its class. It gives it a real tube amp sound. It is built to travel, its rear panel sports two combo mic/instrument inputs and unbalanced 14” and balanced xlr line outputs.

It's presence is quite noticeable when using the Rode dynamic mike.

Why We Like This:

A warm sound while practicing guitar whilst listening through headphones
Added in the t-12ax7-s vacuum tube for a slightly warmer sound
Combo mic/instrument inputs with class a xmax mic preamplifiers and 48v phantom power