interface pres vs. external pres

famous beagle

famous beagle

Well-known member
I'm curious how many of you normally use your interface's pres (if they have them) as opposed to external pres. I know it sometimes depends on how many tracks you're recording at once, etc. But if you're only recording one track, let's say, which do you normally use?

If you could also, please list your interface and external pre.

Thanks!
 
I only use my interface preamps (on my Roland Quad Capture). I have in the past used the ones in my Mackie 802-VLZ3 mixer when I was experimenting with mixing reverb in to my tracking headphones while recording vocals and needed the extra routing options. I can't tell the difference between them. I'm not good enough to bother with proper preamps.
 
I use both. For most stuff that requires phantom power, I use the preamps on my RME FireFace UCX. That's not necessarily by preference, its just the way it works out easiest based on how I have my stuff hooked up. They're nice clean preamps, too.

For vocals and electric guitar cabs, I use an FMR RNP. It's a little darker than the RME pres, but the channel inserts make it easier to send it through a hardware compressor for vocals. Otherwise I'd probably use the RME pres for vocals.
 
I have one 'sweet channel' preamp that I use for what I think is most important. Like snare on drum, or for the main 57 on a multiple mic guitar rig setup. Everything else is the preamps on my interfaces.

I must say that IMO, for $1500 it only adds a little yumminess to be honest. The eq is really nice to have in some situations tho. Can definitely pull the life out of a SM7B for sure.

Vintech X73i.
 
I used to have a Focusrite pre-amp of some kind. Can't remember the model any more. I sold it when I was the poorest I ever was in my life, just to make rent (dark days my friends, not just because of being poor).

Anyway, now I just use the pre-amps in my TASCAM us-1800. From what I understand (and I admittedly don't understand much so I might be wrong), unless you're going into the $2000-3000 range, an external pre-amp isn't really going to do much for you. In other words, a $400-500 pre-amp isn't really going to make enough of a difference over the pre-amps of a decent interface.
 
I use a Studio Projects VTB1 and a Alesis MicTube Solo into my M-Audio Audiophile 2496. Had the VTB1 and 2496 for years and they've never let me down. I got the MicTube Solo free with an MXL 990 off eBay a couple of years back. This is all I use now as I never have any need for more than 2 pres at once.

I did have a Tascam US800 for a while but I never really got on with it. I only bought it to record drums for the band I was in at the time but the thing just popped and clicked too much for me. I never liked the sound the Pres produced either. So it got sold.
 
I use the built in pres in my focusrite saffire pro 40 every now and then but, depending on what I'm recording, I usually go with either a Neve 5017 (gotta love that "silk" button!) or a Warm Audio TB12.

I've got other external pres but these I use just because I can actually hear a difference with them whereas with the others (presonus Eureka, JoeMeek 3Q and Black Lion B173) I can't tell much of a difference, if any (outside of EQ and compression on the Eureka and 3Q, which I don't really use) over the saffire pres.
 
I use a UA LA610 MKII with my Sputnik. The EQ is invaluable as the mic is pretty bright (to me). I use the Opto comp at 3/10 and it really levels the signal out smoothly. Anything higher and I find it too squashed and noticeable. I rarely have to compress in the box anymore. My Lexicon U42S is super clean and works fine but I like the features mentioned above in the UA.
Mike uses a Focusrite ISA 2 on guitars and bass. Whatever they have inside really improves the quality - probably some kind of harmonics. He just got a Focusrite 428 MKII (I think) channel strip and it's as good if not better than my LA 610. Buttons up the ying yang. Still trying out the features to get a sound we like.
 
Dang, there's some high end preamplification being tossed around here. Neve, UA, Vintech...I didn't realize that you all were so fancy!

Somewhere, a Sweetwater sales rep is sitting in a room full of cash and money counting machines, ala Scarface :D
 
I use the pres in my Fireface UCX on everything except DI bass when I switch to Mindprint Envoice channel strip. Have a Presonus MP20 which sits on the desk but hasn't been turned on for a couple of years.
 
I use my mixer pres for just about everything (Zed R16 desk) and I've got a GAP-73 modded with carnhill transformers that I sometimes like on acoustic guitar (especially 12 string) and always on vocals. Its a very nice DI for Bass, the impedance switch is a good option for some of my mics sometimes too.

Nothing I've found I can't do (more or less) in the box, but I like having fancy toys and sometimes the flavour is nice.
 
Interface pres (M Audio M Track) for the simple stuff and my mixer pres (Yamaha DM1000) for more complex. On very rare occasions I can press beyond the 16 pre amps on the mixer by using Behringer ADA8000s on the slot inputs to the mixer--but I reserve these more for live as they can get a bit noisy (or else use them for loud stuff or line inputs).

I'm not one to get precious about pre amps. Yes, they can make a difference to sound but their effect is relatively subtle compared to biggies like the mic choice and acoustics of your space.
 
jimmys69 said:
I have one 'sweet channel' preamp that I use for what I think is most important. Like snare on drum, or for the main 57 on a multiple mic guitar rig setup. Everything else is the preamps on my interfaces.

I must say that IMO, for $1500 it only adds a little yumminess to be honest. The eq is really nice to have in some situations tho. Can definitely pull the life out of a SM7B for sure.

Vintech X73i.
Click to expand...

That Vintech is very nice-looking for sure, but I think I'd constantly be grabbing the wrong EQ knobs with them being arranged the way they are! I'm so used to thinking of the bass on the left (or bottom) and highs on the right (or top).
 
Armistice said:
I use the pres in my Fireface UCX on everything except DI bass when I switch to Mindprint Envoice channel strip. Have a Presonus MP20 which sits on the desk but hasn't been turned on for a couple of years.
Click to expand...

Wow, that Fireface certainly packs a lot of features in a small package!
 
There's a pretty good split going on here. It's funny. I think I got my first external preamp because I wanted to record using a condenser mic on a recorder (can't remember the model) that didn't have phantom power. Since I'd been reading about external pres anyway, I decided to just snag one of those (an M-Audio DMP-3) instead of just getting a phantom power supply.

Back then (13 years ago maybe?), which was before I had set up a computer-based system and was still recording with standalone digital or analog machines (I still do the latter as well), I got the notion that even a modest external pre will sound better than the interface's built-in ones (not the super expensive ones). Even though I now know this isn't true, I've just gotten into the habit of always using an external pre.

I remember the first time I ever noticed a difference in the sound of a preamp was when I used to record to ADATs in the 90s. I was using a Mackie 1604 mixer and switched to a Soundcraft Spirit Studio. There was a noticeable difference in the sound, with the latter being much darker but having more character. I think that's when I first understood what people meant by saying that Mackies can sound "sterile." And I think I transferred that notion to interface pres (I'm not sure why) and so I'm always biased into thinking that I'm just getting a clean-yet-sterile sound with an interface pre, which doesn't appeal to me (generally). Again, I know this isn't fact-based really; it's just a feeling.

Anyway, with that said, I usually use a Seventh Circle Audio N72 pre as my first choice on most stuff. Otherwise, I might try my (significantly) modified Presonus MP20 (which I really like), a dbx 386 (which can add a little grit), or a vintage Shure M67 when I want a dirtier, earthier sound. I also have a modified Art Tube MP that doesn't a whole lot of use. Until recently, I had a Steinberg UR22 interface, but I just got (last week) a Tascam US-1800 --- haven't recorded anything on it yet.
 
When I moved to the RNP from the preamps on a Yamaha MG mixer (into an M-Audio Delta44), I was really underwhelmed with the difference. It had more gain, was somewhat more crisp, but I was expecting a revelation in sound quality. It wasn't until I moved briefly to a MOTU Mkiii that I first heard a big improvement in sound quality. And now with the RME, I'm constantly impressed with how accurate and crisp it sounds.

I think that this points to the ADC that makes the most noticeable improvement. Feeding a solid preamp into an excellent ADC doesn't hurt either.
 
famous beagle said:
Wow, that Fireface certainly packs a lot of features in a small package!
Click to expand...

It really is an amazing little box. It's overkill for a hack like myself, but I wanted something rock solid, stable, and dependable that also had lots of analog ins/outs. After the nightmare that was the MOTU, I appreciate the stability of the RME even that much more. The fact that it's versatile, feature-packed, and sounds incredible are nice bonuses as well.
 
My studio "interface" is actually a Fostex D2424LV lightpiped to a Steinberg PCI card in my machine. It doesn't have mic pres of its own, so I use the cheapest 8 channel pre I could find (a Nady unit) which works fine. In my live/mobile rig I just use the pres in my Tascam US1641, which also work fine.

For me, a mic pre just needs to take the signal it's fed and make it louder without fucking it up. I really don't need any color or character from my mic pres. I much prefer having control over those aspects myself. I have plenty of filters and non-linear processes ITB that I can tweak to my taste, rather than just taking whatever the manufacturer decided sounded good at the time.
 
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