Help: Using a microphone through a preamp and into a line-input!

[Justsomeguy]

I would like a compressor though, as an insert to my channel strip. If you know of a decent, affordable compressor let me know.

And so you say that it's hard to tell between pre's unless you're EQing and/or compressing? And do you mean EQing and compressing through the channel strip, or does EQing and compressing during mixing result in a difference as well?

Just when EQ'ing and compressing when mixing there seems to be a huge difference, especially with how easy they are to work with. i've PM'd you the results of which pre was which.

There are a lot of cheapish compressors nowadays, and they all have a slightly different tone, but in terms of quality the FMR RNC is outstanding for £160, and keeps getting named the best comp for under £1000! it's very clean and in "super nice" mode it almost sounds invisible whilst still compressing. the DBX 160 is also great and they appear on ebay every now and then. Saying that, it depends on how you'd want to use it. if you have it in line as an insert on the alesis then you'd have to use it with an external preamp first as i don't remember the alesis having dedicated insert points. this also limits you to compressing whilst recording which can be useful but if you over do it then it's nearly impossible to take the effect off once it's recorded. it may be worth having a look at nice compressor plugins in your DAW purely for mixing. there's a lot of threads talking about compressor plugins so i'd suggest having a search.

 

[biffbiffson]

Thanks again! I'm still learning compression in Adobe Audition 3.0, new to mixing/mastering. Not having to purchase any gear atm is really nice, but I'm just trying to make sure I have everything I "need" to get the right sounds.

 

[cusebassman]

Now that I think about it, you may be correct on the line-in not having a preamp. I believe line-level means that the signal strength is already up to a usable level. Sorry, for my brain fart.

Some mixers may not have trim or gain on line-in's, but some do - on the Tascam 2488, the 4 line inputs have additional gain controls to boost signals further if need be. The Yamaha MG24, for example, has gain control on the stereo input channels, which I believe are configured to only accept line-level inputs:

http://www.sweetwater.com/images/items/1800/MG24-14FX-xlarge.jpg

 

[adema1226]

biffbiffson,

You said you took the ART preamp back because it didn't sound any different from the mixer's preamps. Were you trying to use the 5'th channel's 1/4" jack for an additional XLR mic, or were you just trying to use it instead of one of mixer's XLR inputs because you don't like the mixer's preamps?

I'm asking because I want to record drums and have the same mixer you do, the Multimix 8. I'd like to use the 5th channel for an XLR condenser mic, but all four of the mixer's XLR inputs are taken. Can I use the ART preamp for connecting an XLR mic into the 1/4" jack on the 5th channel of the Multimix 8? Or would the volume be too unbalanced?

Thanks for any help... and if anyone else here might have any idea how to answer my question, your answers would be appreciated as well!

 

[biffbiffson]

Yes, you can use the ART PRE in the line-in, XLR to line-in even. the gain on the 1-4 channels will then be located on the ART pre. Recording drums is exactly why I wanted to try a pre on my multimix line-in's. The ART Tube Pre didn't sound any different to me than the MultiMix 8 pre's going through line-in or XLR - and I don't think those connectors matter, I think the sound from the pre will be exactly the same, imo, but not 100%. The ART Tube pre just adds a slightly tube distortion when in and outputs are maxed out, then you can adjust the volume to your PC by using the channel volume on your multi! Let me know what you think of the ART Tube pre if you get one!

 

[adema1226]

Thanks biffbiffson,

I finally got two ART Tube Pre's and it worked like a charm. Just like you said, the stock pre's in the mixer are of equal quality. Plus, I was using the pre's to connect overhead condensers to my mixer, and the built-in phase reverse switch can help a lot there too.

All this time I thought I was too limited with my mixer, only having 4 XLR inputs. Thank goodness for your help. I'm finally able to record with 6 XLR mics at once!