Recording Guitar Mixer or Valve Pre Amp?

[bluntside]

Hey guys. Okay i want to record some guitar with my drum machine i use on my computer (EzDrummer)....i have a basic ESP Ltd H-50 Guitar and a Roland Cube solid state amp... about 20 watts i think...

Now atm im using the Line out on the amp and straight into my sound card and ofcoarse it sounds terrible (im using heavy distortion as im playing metal music)

SO i want to add some warmth/tone to it...my options were (as i dont want to spend much) either Mic up the guitar with a mic (would require an audio interface or a mixer (something with phantom power) then into the PC)....Or get a Valve pre amp and either use that between the guitar/amp or use it to power the Mic and plug straight into Mixer (not sure if that will work however)...

for the two options im looking at either a Behringer Eurorack UB502 Mixer or the ART Tube MP Tube Microphone Preamplifier

What do people think is the best option???

[ssscientist]

Originally Posted by bluntside

for the two options im looking at either a Behringer Eurorack UB502 Mixer or the ART Tube MP Tube Microphone Preamplifier

The most important link in your sound chain has got to be a decent sound interface like this or this.

if you plug either a mixer or an ART Tube Preamp into your stock soundcard you won't help your guitar sound much at all.


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[bluntside]

Originally Posted by ssscientist

if you plug either a mixer or an ART Tube Preamp into your stock soundcard you won't help your guitar sound much at all.


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Put i would use it to mic up the amp instead of using Line Out....surely that will make a difference using a Mic? does the mic need to go through both before it can go to the computer? what will each do? ie i know that they both power the mic so the signal is strong enough for a PC to pick up...but will the valve preamp make the sound any warmer? if so can i just use the valve pre amp and not need the mixer?

[bluntside]

keep in mind that i have a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS so its not all that stock...it still has ASIO and can record in 94khz

[bluntside]

And im not a huge fan of just plugging straight into a audio interface....my mate has a Tascam audio interface he payed AU$400 for and it sounds exactly the same as my Audigy 2 and has WORSE Latency....so i figure i rather use my Roland Cube and Mic it up....just dont know the best way to feed a mic into my PC...just need something basic....thought the valve preamp would be handy as it could warm up the tone a bit??

[Track Rat]

Valves won't warm up anything but the room they're in. Just find yourself a decent mic preamp, a decent mic, play with the placement in front of your amp and patch the preamp into the LINE input of your soundcard.

[bluntside]

Originally Posted by Track Rat

Valves won't warm up anything but the room they're in. Just find yourself a decent mic preamp, a decent mic, play with the placement in front of your amp and patch the preamp into the LINE input of your soundcard.

So a Valve Preamp wont be any good? when you say "find a decent mic preamp" can you give me an example...and what it is that makes it good (ie what am i looking for in specs)

[ssscientist]

Here's a decent microphone preamp --- link --- that will provide reasonable guitar recordings for the short term and is something you won't need to discard once you've upgraded your signal path.

In other words, if you can stretch your budget a little it will be a good thing to have for the foreseeable future.



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[tdukex]

Originally Posted by bluntside

And im not a huge fan of just plugging straight into a audio interface....my mate has a Tascam audio interface he payed AU$400 for and it sounds exactly the same as my Audigy 2 and has WORSE Latency....so i figure i rather use my Roland Cube and Mic it up....just dont know the best way to feed a mic into my PC...just need something basic....thought the valve preamp would be handy as it could warm up the tone a bit??

Yes, you should mic up you amp. And the DMP3 is a very good mic preamp. But your Audigy, regardless of the listed specs, is not going to provide very good AD conversion. It is a weak link. You would be much better off with an M-Audio Audiophile 2496 or an EMU 0404. You can find them for about $75-$80.