Okay u prolly laughed but i am serious. Like i have a firebox and ksm27 i get that connection. But i am looking at avalons, p-solo, the brick.....those type of preamps. how would i hook those up to a pc?? i never understood how that would be done? do i need to keep my firebox and use line-ins?? or i am i missing something? also how do u hook up reverb and delay machines?? don't shoot the uneducated.
How do u hook preamps to a computer?
- Thread starter antman
- Start date
Massive Master
www.massivemastering.com
Line out of the preamp into line in on the interface.
I'd very much NOT hook up effects on the way in...
I'd very much NOT hook up effects on the way in...
darrin_h2000
Banned
You might go with software effects running a computer based system...I use a self contained unit (2488 neo) to do all the recording needs and there is an effects loop to add the hardware effects.
Richard Monroe
Well-known member
Yo Antman! Somewhere along the line, you need analog to digital conversion. This can be accomplished by a preamp with a built-in analog to digital convertor, a standalone A-D converter, or by an interface with line in and digital out. The tough part is to accomplish this without plugging your cool preamp into a cruddy preamp first. Which option you choose has to do with your budget, the number of channels you need to record simultaneously, and the digital format by which you want to transfer the data. Unfortunately, really good ones cost an arm and a leg. Prepare for sticker shock....
http://mercenary.com/apro800191.html
That one, the Apogee Rosetta, rocks.
On this page, you'll find a rundown of some of the best there is:
http://mercenary.com/addaconversion.html
Now, how do we do it in the real world, where we can't spend the price of a good used car on A-D coversion?
Answer- by and large, we use audio interfaces, some of which will allow us to bypass the pedestrian preamps in the interface. I use Digidesign Digi002, which is a Pro Tools interface, but can also be used as a standalone digital mixer. It has firewire output. Most systems today use S/PDIF, which is only for 2 simultaneous channels, AES/EBU (which is like the XLR cable version of S/PDIF), USB, which is usually, but not quite always, only 2 channels, firewire or ADAT lightpipe, which can handle up to 8 or more channels, depending on the unit. So as an example, my Digi002 has firewire output. It has 4 channels with built in preamps (1-4), 4 line ins with no preamps (5-8) up to 8 channels in by ADAT (9-16) and 2 channels in by S/PDIF (17-18). My best analog preamps go into 5-8, bypassing the 002's preamps. Of course, the A-D conversion is done by the Digi002, which is pretty good, but it's no Apogee or Lucid. I use a cheap 8 channel preamp/A-D-A convertor (Behringer ADA8000) for channels 9-16. There the conversion is done by the Behringer, which is shockingly good for what it costs, but is in a different world than the high-end convertors noted above. My Joemeek twinQ has S/PDIF out, either coaxial (RCA) or optical (only 2 channels, but uses the same lightpipe cable as ADAT). The Joe meek does the conversion , and it's probably about as good as the Digi002, maybe a little better. All 18 channels come out of the digi002 by one firewire cable. I can use it as a Pro Tools controller, or as a standalone digital mixer into any software I want.
There's a lot of different units out there. Some of them offer lots of bells and whistles, but I'm betting you give up some quality in the basic conversion. Example:
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=41924&Category=Audio_Interfaces
When you get down to wicked cheap, there are a few surprises. One of them is that there are some pretty inexpensive FX units that can double as an A-D convertor. Example:
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=41360&Category=Audio_Processors
I've used the older TC Electronics M300, which is pretty damned similar, as an AD convertor
quite a bit. Take 2 line outs from any 2-channel preamp to the line ins of the FX box, and hit the bypass button, which bypasses all the effects. You get 2 digital channels out by S/PDIF. OK, it's not a Rosetta either, but it is about as good as the A-D conversion in most cheap computer interfaces, and for $200, it's not a bad reverb unit either.
In conclusion, really good A-D convertors cost a ton of money. For those that aren't willing to shell out that much, they are mostly stuck going through the preamps of less expensive interfaces, or at least through the inferior A-D conversion of less expensive units. It's a reality that we all have to deal with, and one that becomes more critical when you really do have a badass preamp that you need to get into the computer. No question- that Avalon loses *a lot* when it's run into a USB Mobile pre. All you can do is buy the best A-D conversion you can afford. Good luck-Richie
http://mercenary.com/apro800191.html
That one, the Apogee Rosetta, rocks.
On this page, you'll find a rundown of some of the best there is:
http://mercenary.com/addaconversion.html
Now, how do we do it in the real world, where we can't spend the price of a good used car on A-D coversion?
Answer- by and large, we use audio interfaces, some of which will allow us to bypass the pedestrian preamps in the interface. I use Digidesign Digi002, which is a Pro Tools interface, but can also be used as a standalone digital mixer. It has firewire output. Most systems today use S/PDIF, which is only for 2 simultaneous channels, AES/EBU (which is like the XLR cable version of S/PDIF), USB, which is usually, but not quite always, only 2 channels, firewire or ADAT lightpipe, which can handle up to 8 or more channels, depending on the unit. So as an example, my Digi002 has firewire output. It has 4 channels with built in preamps (1-4), 4 line ins with no preamps (5-8) up to 8 channels in by ADAT (9-16) and 2 channels in by S/PDIF (17-18). My best analog preamps go into 5-8, bypassing the 002's preamps. Of course, the A-D conversion is done by the Digi002, which is pretty good, but it's no Apogee or Lucid. I use a cheap 8 channel preamp/A-D-A convertor (Behringer ADA8000) for channels 9-16. There the conversion is done by the Behringer, which is shockingly good for what it costs, but is in a different world than the high-end convertors noted above. My Joemeek twinQ has S/PDIF out, either coaxial (RCA) or optical (only 2 channels, but uses the same lightpipe cable as ADAT). The Joe meek does the conversion , and it's probably about as good as the Digi002, maybe a little better. All 18 channels come out of the digi002 by one firewire cable. I can use it as a Pro Tools controller, or as a standalone digital mixer into any software I want.
There's a lot of different units out there. Some of them offer lots of bells and whistles, but I'm betting you give up some quality in the basic conversion. Example:
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=41924&Category=Audio_Interfaces
When you get down to wicked cheap, there are a few surprises. One of them is that there are some pretty inexpensive FX units that can double as an A-D convertor. Example:
http://www.8thstreet.com/product.asp?ProductCode=41360&Category=Audio_Processors
I've used the older TC Electronics M300, which is pretty damned similar, as an AD convertor
quite a bit. Take 2 line outs from any 2-channel preamp to the line ins of the FX box, and hit the bypass button, which bypasses all the effects. You get 2 digital channels out by S/PDIF. OK, it's not a Rosetta either, but it is about as good as the A-D conversion in most cheap computer interfaces, and for $200, it's not a bad reverb unit either.
In conclusion, really good A-D convertors cost a ton of money. For those that aren't willing to shell out that much, they are mostly stuck going through the preamps of less expensive interfaces, or at least through the inferior A-D conversion of less expensive units. It's a reality that we all have to deal with, and one that becomes more critical when you really do have a badass preamp that you need to get into the computer. No question- that Avalon loses *a lot* when it's run into a USB Mobile pre. All you can do is buy the best A-D conversion you can afford. Good luck-Richie
ocnor
Lord Of The Thighs
darrin_h2000
Banned
My advice is to go for an interface that would give you as many inputs as possible...for the sake of growth...get at least an 8 channel...there is a 16 that tascam makes...but having not used it IDK if there are problems with the unit.
I think Massive Master answered that one for you already. But as for how good the results will be with the firebox, you'll have to ask someone who uses one. I use a emu 0404 with an outboard preamp for vocals and it's working fine.