The 8 Best vocal preamps (2023 reviews)

The triton audio vocal preamp should be able to handle its purpose and duties with ease. The Fethead is just a simple inline pre to give you around a. This model requires phantom power to boost the dynamic mic output. It provides plenty of clean boost for dynamic mics giving plenty of overhead for quality voice-over. It provides enough extra quiet gain to allow the preamp to silently "loaf" at a much reduced setting while cranking out a strong, clean signal.

This can be a plus (you can use just one cable) or a negative if you need to have the unit away from the mic for some reason. The audio is boosted nicely and without adding any noise. This device will work on either of those mics,one at a time.

Why We Like This:

Excellent gain and low noise with shure sm7b
60 db of gain required by the sm7b can introduce unwanted noise
Adds more than enough db for any dynamic mic

Best For home Studio: ART Pre amp

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Best part: art pre amp costs comparatively low and it is available to ship in 24 hours. This device is a low-level device that processes microphone signals. It will give you some warm tube boost to a guitar tube amp or warmth/boost to a non-tube amp as well as giving mic warmth. The upper overtones are also accentuated and that's what makes the overall experience really unique. The ART has plenty of good connectivity and does not limit your ability to monitor your inputs.

This ART is designed to be used with a mic like a Shure SM58 and produce a high level output via the XLR out or phone out. It does have input and output level knobs, vu meters and a couple of other features. The ART has analog in/out both xlr/ts(1/4") format. This is a great tool for making your mic “funny” turning gain all the way up peaking the mic making your words very inaudible.

Why We Like This:

Adds a lot of welcome color to vocals, acoustic instruments, mic'd cabs, etc
Great, affordable little piece of equipment
Input/output is versatile on the art

Best For podcast: Coda music technologies vocal Preamp

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Best part: coda music technologies vocal preamp costs comparatively low and it is available to ship in 24 hours. Cordless microphones have a gain control on the transmitter, or receiver, or both. It really doesn't color the sound at all. It takes phantom power, so as long as you have an audio interface or soundboard with 48v then you won't need a separate external power source. The ThIs is a great tool, if you have an open recording room, it can cancel noise completely. It is perfect for podcasts, live streaming, radio broadcasts, live sound, and studio recording.

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:

Additional noise, no feedback, no negative effects
Much less gain needed on pa and audio interface
25 db is a lot of gain for low gain dynamics or ribbon mics

Best For voice: Warm Audio vocal Preamp

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Warm Audio offers a variety of preamp for personal choice and yet maintaining quality in all the variants. 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 preamps.

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:

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

Best With reverb: Presonus vocal Preamp

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Not everyone likes to purchase preamp for their daily purpose, but the presonus vocal 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 comes with two combo mic/instrument inputs, and the half-rackspace blue tube dp is a great choice for guitars and basses as well as vocals.

It is built to travel, its rear panel sports two combo mic/instrument inputs and unbalanced 14” and balanced xlr line outputs. It has a very nice build quality that looks like it will stand the test of time. This is a pre-amp for aiding in the recording of instruments/vocals via.

Why We Like This:

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
A warm sound while practicing guitar whilst listening through headphones

Best For controlling The dynamics Of electric basses And guitars: Focusrite vocal Preamp

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The focusrite vocal preamp should be able to handle its purpose and duties with ease. It lets you control the dynamics of all your input signals with an easy-to-use single-knob analog compressor on every channel. It offers eight balanced line outputs, 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 eight outputs give you the option of expanding your analog outputs over and above the scarlett octopre.

A switchable Air mode will add extra clarity to your acoustic instruments when recording with your Scarlett 18i20, replicating the revered Focusrite console. It is ideal for expanding any high quality, multi-channel recording system. There is no control for the compressor beyond a single pot, which appears to raise the ratio and the gain accordingly. The compressor would be great for drums, but would not save you any channel space on the board.

Why We Like This:

Pro performance with eight of the finest mic preamps
Create powerful guitars, luscious keys and huge drums
Simple adat connectivity via optical cables
Flexible analogue compression on every channel

Best For stuff: DBX vocal Preamp

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The dbx vocal preamp is suitable and reliable and fits well with your daily usage. It fits all standard 500 series slots from any brand. It will transform their low level output signal to a high level, high current output for direct connection to the line level inputs of your mixer, sampler or any other recording medium that accepts line level, analog input. The high and low boosts sound great on many vocalists. There's also the phantom power button (+48v) to plug the condenser mic on lunchbox's rear panel.

The rack provides the power for the unit and insert points. It's very transparent and does its job very well.

Why We Like This:

Great compressor, classic sound in 500 series version
Come in handy to add in some bottom end weight back in
One of the new comers and featured product

Best With ADAT: ART vocal Preamp

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The art vocal preamp's superior materials makes sure that it ages well with use. Even the stock tubes sound decent enough on vocals, but where this excels is as a bass preamp. The MPA-II is great with instrument inputs, even with high-gain digital effects. It comes in a standard 2 unit space rack-mountable steel chassis, with a cnc routed black anodized aluminum face panel. The preamp is also flexible enough to handle more difficult sources like ribbon mics, thanks to the adjustable input impedance. Because of the full signal passing the tube, it truly flavors the signal with that good tube warmth everyone likes.

The ADAT/SPDIF digital output feature is great for exapansion. If you trim the inputs carefully, the MPA-II is also very graceful at handling overloads, sending the tubes into overdrive rather than giving you a nasty hard clipping sound.

Why We Like This:

Variable input impedance for flexible microphone voicing
You can really dial in and get alot out of your mics
New and hot release