I've been thinking of the berhinger ADA8000 to go with my motu mk2 828 for recording live shows. BUt I'd like to get more ideas for mic pre's, i.e. do they have more afferct than what mics you have, is it better to have different mic pre's for options, or should I get something with eight in's to have better portibility consistantcy and control. What do you use, for what. If I have a limited budget I could get a lot of stuff(nicer mics) for the money I would save bying a ADA8000. A motu rep recomended m-audio's octane and Focusrite's octoPre. What do you think?

It's better to have one decent preamp and several mics than the other way round. Focusrite's budget boxes offer good value for money.

Well, you're not far from a philosophical question…

First it depends af what you plan to do. If you need a few mics at the same time the solution will be the best multiple pre you can hav with a according mics for your budget. If you're less tight, you can on top of the multiple pre (a clean transparent one) have one pre with some caracter.

Or, you can rely only on a few pre each different, and a bunch of different mic. But you would need to know exactly what you buy before hand and especially how pre and mics sound, their use etc.

Tell us a bit more of the use you plan for them exactly…
Will it be a stereo couple or something needing 8 mics on very different targets?

On the mic side save if you in front of a dangerous rapper or rocker (not that all are) there are some very pretty mics out there for not too much $$$, now you may need some allrounders, and some specifics. On the pre side, it's a philosophy question as I said, so transparent (urgh I hate that) or not?

So exact use? Total number of mics at one time? Philosophy?

Try Minidisc community portal a great resource.

Thanks for all the replys. Now I was asked o record some punk rock type bands for a low budget skate vieo. I think I can do it because I've been recording in different formats for years just. So Now i need enough equipment that won't break my wallet but give my friends/partners a good product. So I thought I'd use my g4 and motu, a bunch of random mics, get an external hard drive and some more memory, top it off with a mic pre and do some on location( though we will be able to do retakes) recordings. I've had the 'practicle recording' book for many years and it has been the bridge from me guessing and getting better recordings. enough info? I was hoping to record with audio desk recording multipule tracks, probibly run the drums through my small mixer. phew!

anyone try the focusrite platinum/le octopre? How do you feel about compression on my g4 compared to in the mic pres? How about m-audios octane? thanks

You're always going to do better going with quality not quantity. I would not touch that Behringer unit. If you are dead set on an 8 channel unit, go either with the Focusrite that you were talking about, or go with the Presonus Digimax LT...that thing is the bomb! I use those preamps on drums all the time (the digimax) right alongside with my Avalon and API preamps and the digimax doesn't skip a beat.

If you can do with one good preamp, in that price range, I would recommend something like a Sebatron, an RNP, or a Groove Tubes Brick (good Bass/guitar DI also). You will get a lot better sound if you stay away from that Behringer!

Thanks for the note
I did end up getting the Focusrite octopre le, though I was a little bumed that I had to pay an extra 200$ for the optical/adat card. Otherwise the sound quality is noticibly better than the motu 828 pre's
thanks again