Gear that substitutes a reggae preamp

Good luck to anyone trying this out.. your gonna waste so much time and money on it..  most of the above suggestions don't come anywhere near the functionality of a proper reggae pre..  fair play to App, he gets it and has worked out a proper solution..  best listen to App I reckon... 

With all due respect (and this does not directly answer your question) but I think this is important...

Focus on the music you play, your 'performance style', your crew and how you wanna run the 'system' as a whole before you go down the path of "what do I need to meet the requirements of a Reggae Sound System"  - especially if funds are at a minimum.

There are no right ways to do this and the fun (for me and our crew at least) is in making do with what you have to create a vibe, an energy and an atmosphere at an event. You don't need x amount of the right kit to achieve this energy and experience for the people who attend. As an example, King Shiloh (who are relatively successful and based in Amsterdam) run an Allen & Heath DJ mixer. Whether or not you like their sound is a matter of opinion, but it goes to show that you can break 'tradition' and still have lots of fun and get the crowd going!

They say that necessity is the mother of creation!
Big ups, Ben

app wrote: Only thing im missing from a regular preamp is graphic eq (could be added) and sweeps for upper bass and midhis (a mixer with sweepable lomids and himids would solve this). And in my solution the outputs arent going straight to amp so i need a dsp. I do have more flexibility when dubbing cause Im using a mixer, dubs are made with a mixer after all. I can also adjust the crossoverpoints of low mid and high. All you need to get started is two mixers and a crossover.

But with those channel strip & graphic EQs you wouldn't have that +20 to +30 dB boost per EQ that can be found on reggae pre EQs..

Earplug wrote: shagnasty wrote: A whole lot of crap here from people that haven't a clue what a Pre is used for and how... A soundweb with a panel, yes.... A F**king MixWizz, stroll on....... Uuuuuuhhhmm - the guy asked about small mixers with parametric mids. What´s the problem? And what´s that in the video he posted? Not exactly a reggae pre. Please look at the context before opening your mouth.

Don't do Drugs, I get in enough trouble with booze and caffeine...

Jesus Kiddie-having sex Christ...

a 'reggae pre-amp' as i've seen it is more a stereo-in X-Over than the mixing desks that up-above have posted.

Shagger's idea of using a 9088 is kinda simple. if you can achieve it with discreet components (LIKE THE REAL 'REGGAE PRE AMPS') then it can be achieved with a soundweb with the added bonus of flexibility/resale value.

If you NEED it to be analogue then you're about 17 years too late.

Biggest issue with the desk solutions is that you have no way of separating the frequency bands of the EQ into your separate drivers like a 'Reggae PreAmp' does. How do you plan to stop your scoops from playing 15kHz with a desk?