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M-Audio TAMPA Pro Microphone Preamp and Compressor with SPDIF Output

Single channel microphone/instrument preamp of uncompromised quality.

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"Finally, a budget mic preamp/compressor that sounds good!" submitted March 29, 2004

By a customer from signsvcs.com
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Music Style: Hard Rock
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Sound: I have never owned an expensive compressor or mic preamp, because they have been out of my price range. I usually rent them when I do final tracking. I was pleasantly suprised upon pluggin this thing in. No more renting Avalons or UA preamps for me. The compressor is great, and the preamp has plenty of gain. This is by far the best deal for $400, and I highly recommend for the musician on a budget. I use it as a direct box for bass, and for vocals. I use a Studio Projects C1 mic and they work great together. Recording media is Sonar with a Delta 1010 sound card, Event 20/20 monitors. As far as vocals, my style is hard rock, and go though many dynamic changes on songs. MY VOICE CAN GET LOUD. Budget line preamp/compressors squashed my vocals and were not loud enough for the softer parts. This unit solved my problem. This is the best thing for the budget minded home musician who still insists on quality. Feature: Everthing you need is included (except for cables of course) Quality: Housing, knobs, and switches are all good for a unit in this price range Value: nothing touches this unit in this price range. Manufacturer Support: I have not had to use support, but my support on other maudio products has been supurb. They back up their products
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"It's Got The Sound..." submitted August 19, 2003

By a customer from verizon.net
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Music Style: Various
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Sound: I come from a background of using Avalon's, Neve, and other great pre's. Picked this up because I was curious about the "Temporal Harmonic" feature - it's not an "effect," but rather a way of processing the signal. Anyway, it is fantastic! The sound is very pleasing to the ears, and easy to listen to. Feature: Although the mic pre is very transparent and clean sounding, I bought this piece to have variable impedance for some of our mics, which works great - offering a variety of sonic signatures from the same mic. Another impressive feature is the compressor (easily worth the price of this unit alone!), which rates up there with sme of the finest I have used - transparent with no pumping when set properly. Quality: Very solidly built, nothing appears cheap. Connectors are all top-shelf. This piece should be kept safely in a studio rack, but I would be tempted to run it live onstage as a bass DI! Only owned it for a few months, so can't speak of long-term reliability yet. M-Audio is a great company though, and should take care of you if any problems arise. Value: In the under $1000 range, you would be hard-pressed to find a better value in a mic pre/comp combination (IMO). Manufacturer Support: Haven't had to use any yet. The Wow Factor: Not as sexy as an Avalon - but I think it sounds better! Sexiest part about the Tampa is what's inside - the internal design of this piece really makes it sound great! (No, I don't work for them!) Overall: Actually, I'n thinking of buying another one to run stereo sources through!
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"THE best pre out there !" submitted December 21, 2006

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Sound: Great sound. I own a pro studio with many pre-amps, some high end stuff(Avalon), some low end (Beringer). Since I got my Tampa, I always go back to it for vocals, guitars, bass and snare. Seems like everything sounds perfect with this. SM57 dosen't sound good with it, but all condensers sounds great, espicailly AKG 414 ULS and some cheaper mics like the MXL 2001. The sound is pure, clean, and that "harmonic realignement" thing seems to actually do a lot : sounds like analogue tape. This pre is a little bass heavy, but once you've figured that out, it's easy to correct in the mix. Don't waste your money on over rated gear... this Tampa is actually just as good, and sometimes better. Feature: Perfect, all it's missing is an insert for external compressor... I know, it has an internal compressor... Ease of Use: Presets in the booklet are actually pretty good! Super easy... Quality: Top quality. Value: Best pre out there for the money. Manufacturer Support: Seems good. The Wow Factor: Yes, and I have it. Overall: Very satisfied!
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"This thing is great !" submitted July 22, 2005

By a customer from yahoo.com
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Value
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Musical Background: hobby musician / home studio engineer
Music Style: mostly rock
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Sound: This pre amp can be truley transparent, or you can color your sound with it. It sounds alot more professional than some pre amps I have used. The compressor is very smooth, you won't here any pump from this compressor. Feature: It has a + 20 db gain switch and a -20 db output switch, so you can run the gain up real hot and lower your output. this gives you an almost tube like sound, but it sounds clear like solid state, it's cool. It also has a microphone impdence switch. And of course the compressor is great. Quality: It's made well, but I wouldn't transport it without a rack case. Value: It's worth the money! Manufacturer Support: I have not had to call m-audio about this unit. But I had a question about my soundcard one time and I was on hold for about 30 mins. Overall: I have made several recordings with the TAMPA and I have been very happy with it.
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