preamp questions

What are some good alternative preamp choices with low noise factor, and ability to produce an uncolored signal. I will use waves plugs for most of my compression/effects/warmth, etc. I need a good preamp, to get phonal signals into my sound card, as clean as possible, where they will be chopped, edited with whatever effects in soundforge and sent to the mpc, via usb, then sent through the soundcard from the mpc to sonar for multitracking, final edits, other effects, etc. I have been looking into the hi-fi market, at an AMC 1100, but Im not at all convinced the answer is there. Please don't lead me down the direction of DJ mixers. I already have a vestax PMC pro 5, and the noise factor is simply not cutting it. I need a dedicated professional sounding preamp, whether it is for a turntable only, or could even be a good mic preamp that I could plug a turntable into. Let me know your advice/reccomendations. Thanks.

If you are talking about using a turntable, you will need a phono preamp. You can get a Hi-fi quality one or an inexpensive one from Radio Shack. In terms of feeding that signal into your computer, you can go from that preamp into you computer's audio interface, or you can use a mixer that then connects to your computer's audio interface. I use a mixer myself. It allows me to input multiple signals without having to physically alter any cables.

As for the mixers, I think a small Mackie mixer is a good choice.


Peace.