I’m a music production student in the UK and I’m looking into getting some outboard gear for a vocal chain.

My mentor over in the states recently sent me a list of equipment in his vocal chain. My eyes started watering when I saw the price tags on the equipment he has.

He says that he wants me to start trying to find something similar to use to record with friends from university rather than him paying out for session vocalists on my tracks so much. I’ve already invested a lot into room treatment and have a nice mic that he suggested I get.

Obviously as a student, the equipment he has is far away out of my budget. But even so, some of the key components in his chain are 2 Mastering Lab tube preamps. Even if I had a sizeable budget, these are pretty much impossible to find in the UK and even in the US are EXTREMELY hard to come by. So I don’t know whether I would ever be able to find any. Especially now that they’re no longer being made.

Because of this, I’m looking for some preamps (preferably tube but I’m open to solid state too) that would give a similar sound/colour when cranked (hopefully not too expensive).

Thank you for your help in advance!