Audio Density and Preamps

[charon17]

I've done desktop recording for quite some time now and find that the audio I record is tenuous in comparison to professional music. Visually, my audio looks louder (by comparing wave forms in mix edit view) than professionally recorded music, but the pro music is always stronger and louder. One of my friends recently started composing music with his computer in much the same way that I do and his signal was vibrant and strong; he had very little previous experience recording. The only thing different about his recording rig is that he used a tiny Peavey bass practice amp as a preamp to boost his signals. I only use the preamps in my Mackie mixer when I record, perhaps this is where my problem is.

Does a preamp really make that much difference in the density of the waveform? If so, please recommend a favored preamp that I could look into. It would be nice if I could use this preamp for guitar and keyboard as well as bass guitar applications.

Thanks for your help.

[RideTheCrash]

Maybe because professional is compressed? It's a thought.

[Jeff_D]

Maybe his bass amp has a built in compressor- the kind you cant adjust- our Peavey PA amp has that "feature"- Be nice if i could adjust is though

-jeff