Mic preamp

S

Saloje

New member
Hi there !

I'm currently in position when i can invest some money in my home studio. I currently have Presonus Audiobox 2/2 plugged into my PC and Rode NT1 Mic. Most of the time i record vocals, acustic guitars , violin, and saxophone but 70% of time vocals. I was thinking about preamps and find the Studio Projects VTB1 and PreSonus BlueTube DP v2 that i can afford. In other hand, maybe i can invest in new mic maybe.
Now the question is; is preamp a good way to go from my current position, and which of the two would you recommend or should i pass that low budget preamps and maybe get a new mic that can handle vocals better?

Thx:)
 
Cheaper might do, as one has to go up to respectable levels. Ya, I'd snag a VTB1. Next time around would the MIC.
 
I suppose at the early stages you could probably upgrade anything and see a result.
Maybe it's best to ask how far you intend to go in home recording, and what you think is causing any current problems that you might have.

What's your environment like right now? Acoustics play as big a part as anything else, at least.
 
What mic would you recommend for jazzy cleaner strong vocal ? I often record very loud natural sounding vocals sometimes leaning to opera singing and I get this harshnes above 2-3 khz that I cant get rid off in eq and cant quite locate exactly. Like it's all over the place. ? Will preamp soften that spectar of freq from my Rode Nt1, or would maybe a dynamic mic like sm58 be a better choice for that purpose.
Sry for bothering you guys and girls, but im trying to get a little deeper into that stuff for making a better choices.
Thx
 
Steenamaroo said:
What's your environment like right now? Acoustics play as big a part as anything else, at least.
Click to expand...
Well I record in small crowded room. No extra acoustics treatment, and I get a decent low room leak into main signal but yes I can work on that too. I mix on my headphones and then on to my jbl lsr305 monitors.
 
" I often record very loud natural sounding vocals sometimes leaning to opera singing and I get this harshnes above 2-3 khz that I cant get rid off in eq " If indeed it is an NT 1 (not 1a) you could be pushing the AudioBox into mild distortion. The Nt1 is a pretty hot mic at 35mV/pa and the A box overloads at -3dBu in which is around 500mV and 23dB above 1Pa but you DID say "very loud" and an SPL of 113dB AT THE MIC from a very close loud voice is not unheard of. In any case, well below the limit the pre amp in the AI will probably start to get a bit 'gritty'. (the 1'a' is less sensitive but still 25mV/Pa and therefore marginal IMHO)

So, another pre amp? Not in my book, you might fix the problem with a 15 quid XLR 10dB attenuator!

Last thoughts. I don't know how good those JBLs are but monitors are very often THE best place to upgrade.

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
"

So, another pre amp? Not in my book, you might fix the problem with a 15 quid XLR 10dB attenuator!

Dave.
Click to expand...

What distance from Rode Nt1, not 1-a, would you put very loud male singer ? I'v read ppl say 1-2 foot away. If that is true i'm going wrong when setting singer from mic only 6-8 inches.
 
Saloje said:
What distance from Rode Nt1, not 1-a, would you put very loud male singer ? I'v read ppl say 1-2 foot away. If that is true i'm going wrong when setting singer from mic only 6-8 inches.
Click to expand...

Well, there is generally a pop/splash screen 3-4" in front of the mic then the singer a good 6-8" in front of that. You normally (but not always) want to be back far enough to avoid excessive proximity effect.

Dave.
 
ecc83 said:
Not in my book, you might fix the problem with a 15 quid XLR 10dB attenuator!

Last thoughts. I don't know how good those JBLs are but monitors are very often THE best place to upgrade.

Dave.
Click to expand...

Well i'm gonna try XLR 10dB attenuator and move singer a bit far away and see if that helps.
Thx for info
 
garww said:
That is a signal attenuator, while it may be physical distortion at the capsule
Click to expand...

The NT-1 has a quoted maximum SPL of 132dB and I doubt any human being could produce that level. The mic could be faulty of course.

I am not a big fan of them but the SM57/8 is at least some sort of world standard so if OP can try one of those with the cap' mic we could get two tracks to compare? A 58 at 100dB SPL will be chucking out some 16mV or so and that should not embarrass ANY mic pre!

Dave.
 
Sry for asking but is there a difference between

- XLR 10dB attenuator

and

- XLR -10dB attenuator

I'm asking because one would give boost and another cut in signal flow. So i should probably get -10dB attenuator .

And is there a difference in quality between 10 $ and 40 $ attenuator or am i just paying for brand like in most casses

Thx.
 
Saloje said:
Sry for asking but is there a difference between

- XLR 10dB attenuator

and

- XLR -10dB attenuator

I'm asking because one would give boost and another cut in signal flow. So i should probably get -10dB attenuator .

And is there a difference in quality between 10 $ and 40 $ attenuator or am i just paying for brand like in most casses

Thx.
Click to expand...

No, one refers to " a ten dB ATTENUATOR" the very name tells you it causes a signal loss.

Paying 4x as much might get you better construction, possibly Gold pins and JUST maybe closer tolerance resistors but the latter don't matter a flying one since Z source and Z sink are indeterminate and possibly a bit reactive. But do make sure these are BALANCED MICROPHONE attenuators of 150-200 Ohms nominal resistance. You do NOT want High Z (10k) line jobbies nor the archaic (outside labs) 600 Ohm types.

Dave.
 
Saloje,

The gain numbers on your Presonus for the mic are 0 to 60. At about what 'clock' setting (ex: 2 o'clock) would the gain knob pointer be at where set for the vocals you are doing? Does the 'Clip' light ever flicker on or are your gain setting well below that point? I have the earlier gray body version of the NT1 and don't ever recall having a 'harshness' issue and I'm a fairly loud singer, although it appears between versions Rode seems to have bumped up the sensitivity from 20 mv/PA (old) to 35 mv/PA (new) which would be hotter than any other mic I own.

Does you room have any 'treatment' to reduce reflections of your voice bouncing around the room? The further you are from the mic the more susceptible the mic may be to picking up reflections in the room and perhaps contributing to something in the frequency range you're not liking.

I have the SP VTB-1 and it is what I consider one of the better inexpensive preamps in that price range. Either a solid state or tube sound can be blended to give the sound a bit of coloration or 'warmth'. It may not clean up the 'harshness' you have, but may lend a smoother tone to the mic. Can also be used as a DI for electric guitar or other similar instruments.
 
The VTB1 was notable when it came out, but we gots that baby Golden Age now, and I think the TPS is worthwhile. If CoolCat is around, he can chime in on the best ART for low bucks & a couple sleepers
 
arcaxis said:
Saloje,

The gain numbers on your Presonus for the mic are 0 to 60. At about what 'clock' setting (ex: 2 o'clock) would the gain knob pointer be at where set for the vocals you are doing? Does the 'Clip' light ever flicker on or are your gain setting well below that point? I have the earlier gray body version of the NT1 and don't ever recall having a 'harshness' issue and I'm a fairly loud singer, although it appears between versions Rode seems to have bumped up the sensitivity from 20 mv/PA (old) to 35 mv/PA (new) which would be hotter than any other mic I own.

Does you room have any 'treatment' to reduce reflections of your voice bouncing around the room? The further you are from the mic the more susceptible the mic may be to picking up reflections in the room and perhaps contributing to something in the frequency range you're not liking.

I have the SP VTB-1 and it is what I consider one of the better inexpensive preamps in that price range. Either a solid state or tube sound can be blended to give the sound a bit of coloration or 'warmth'. It may not clean up the 'harshness' you have, but may lend a smoother tone to the mic. Can also be used as a DI for electric guitar or other similar instruments.
Click to expand...

When I record I always pay attention not to record too hot. I never clip and my knob on presonus is mostly around 10-12 clock position. That setings get me -12 to -20 db in daw, and from what I heard that is ok. You can check my other post " Opinion and sugestion on vocal track " in this subforum where I uploaded solo vocal and mixed vocal and hear harshness that I talk about. Now since I recorded 7-8 inches from mic that may be the problem since I heard some do it from feet or two for louder vocals. My room is not treated but its not empty eather. If you listen to clip I posted you can hear what im talking about.
Thx
 
Saloje said:
When I record I always pay attention not to record too hot. I never clip and my knob on presonus is mostly around 10-12 clock position. That setings get me -12 to -20 db in daw, and from what I heard that is ok. You can check my other post " Opinion and sugestion on vocal track " in this subforum where I uploaded solo vocal and mixed vocal and hear harshness that I talk about. Now since I recorded 7-8 inches from mic that may be the problem since I heard some do it from feet or two for louder vocals. My room is not treated but its not empty eather. If you listen to clip I posted you can hear what im talking about.
Thx
Click to expand...

I replied to your other thread here concerning this quoted statement you made above.
 
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