How important are preamps?

[SeaOwl]

Hi!
I am going to record a project on a Tascam 424MKIII with a Rode NTK vocal mic and (probably) one or two Oktava MK-012's for the acoustic guitar (any suggestions for good and affordable acoustic guitar mics besides this?).

I'm on a budget, but still want to get the best sound I possibly can.

I'm curious how important a preamp for the microphones would be in achieving this goal. In another post, I saw someone recommend a Mackie 1202-VLZ/1202-VLZ Pro as a very good and affordable preamp. Given the other gear I'm using, would it make a noticable impact on the overall sound quality?

Any opinions?

I must get the gear very soon so I sure hope someone here can help

Sincerely,
Dave

[BradD]

I'd get an RNP for $475. That is a pre that will not limit your ability to make nice sounding music. If you need to record more than two channels at a time, the Mackie may be your best bet.

[eeldip]

i would hold off on the purchase till you have a bit more experience. preamps make your sound better, but are only one part of a whole bunch of shit... (monitors, proper cabling, good gain staging, etc. etc.)

work on mic choice and mic placement first. this is free! and it will improve your sound to a much greater degree than buying an expensive pre.

also work on getting the best sounds you can out of your instrument first. are you sure you want those kinds of strings on your guitar? maybe different strings would be better... maybe play in a different room... stuff like that. take a real hard critical listen to your instruments. get some outside opinions...

and regarding mics, i would say try to get the two oktavas for $99 then get some decent 57 sort of dynamic mic. like ummm... a 57 or a beyer or sennheiser or EV... look around and see what you can afford. spend like $50 on this. so total cost: $150.

if you make a recording with just the ntk and the oktava you are going to be fighting a lot of "thin" and "not punchy".

and realize this: the majority of advice on this board is buy this or buy that... mostly new stuff you can get at guitar center...

dont buy into that....

[chessparov]

The Mackie idea is reasonable, especially if you could also use it for live gigs.

Normally your best plan, in view of the quote above, would be to use your equipment for rehearsal. Then you can go to a local pro studio and have them professionally record the project.

They should have better (more experienced) ears, rooms, equipment, etc.
That would be a wiser use of your money IMHO.

Chris

[Beatnik]

Ok, have to disagree...

I have found pre-amps to make a huge difference even with cheap mics. I also attended the 115th AES convention last week and the general concensus of a couple of seminars i attended was that mic pres make a huge difference. even the placement of the components on the board can make it sound different. Many people on this site and some proffessionals i've talked to have recomended the DMP-3 from M-Audio. its 2 channels and $200 new from musicians friend. if you need more channels, the Mackie VLZ Pro boards will be your best bet. good luck

[darrin_h2000]

Theres some of us that would say that soundcraft Mseries Pres are better for the same money.

[Scinx]

Look at Soundcraft (M Series preferably or E Series) in addition to Mackie if you are going the mixer route.

[FattMusiek]

MK012s rock. And I would get the RNP preamp as I've heard great things about it. It goes for $400 or so.

[vox]

Originally posted by SeaOwl

I am going to record a project on a Tascam 424MKIII with a Rode NTK vocal mic and (probably) one or two Oktava MK-012's for the acoustic guitar ......

Sincerely,
Dave

Does the 424 have phantom power?

[lumbago]

The Rode NTK comes with its own power supply, so phantom power is not an issue.

I use a Rode NTK with a Focusrite Trakmaster - for my ear this works pretty well.

[SeaOwl]

thank you so much for the thoughtful replies. i'm going to go to sleep and digest all of this, and read it all again with a clear head tomorrow

this all seems so much more complicated than writing a good song does, although i don't mind, really. i'd just like the recording process to be as simple as possible but still be in control of it.

to the person who asked, the 424 indeed has no phantom power so if i decide to record on more than two channels at once, a mackie preamp won't cost much more than a simple phantom power supplier for 4 channels it seems

as for the the rnp i've also heard great things about it, but buying one or more than one if it isn't necessary doesn't seem wise. someone else mentionted that the extra headroom a good pre would provide would be useless considering analog tape has it's own limits and the extra headroom simply wouldn't show up on an analog four track. who knows?

thanks SO MUCH for so many opinons and advice. i'm really thankful i found this page.

My warm thanks,
Dave

[DJL]

Originally posted by SeaOwl
How important are preamps?

How important is the music?