Mic boosters

[Steenamaroo]

Sure, but better how?
If you mean louder then my point that is if noise floor isn't an issue then louder isn't better.

 

[Eric V]

I really am not hearing much noise, the preamps seem to do a nice job. So if I increase volume, the noise floor will be raised? Is this always the case, or does it depend on the gear which - I imagine it does?

 

[rob aylestone]

All preamps have a noise spec - as in how far the signal sits above the noise - usually of course, hiss. If you throw more money and design weight at a preamp design, the signal sits further above the noise. In practice most preamps, if they have a scale of 0-10 on the gain knob are probably noise free until you ht 7 or more and that last turn of the dial brings the noise up noticeably. If 6.5 is enough for your levels to nearly peak - noise isn't a problem - if you move the mics away a bit, then 7.5 might just be too much. My experience is you start to pay a lot of money for half points on the gain knob. An SM7b foam on the lips might hit the read at 6.5? I've gotva couple of mics with really high outputs that lips on the grill means pad in and gain down to around 2 or 3. That's the kind of range your gear needs to be able to deal with. Most mics in my studio are happy with the gain on about 6 - 7 and I often just leave it there. Modern kit shows you levels on the meters at the bottom of the range that you can't even hear without turning levels right up. We have so much to play with now.

 

[Eric V]

All preamps have a noise spec - as in how far the signal sits above the noise - usually of course, hiss. If you throw more money and design weight at a preamp design, the signal sits further above the noise. In practice most preamps, if they have a scale of 0-10 on the gain knob are probably noise free until you ht 7 or more and that last turn of the dial brings the noise up noticeably. If 6.5 is enough for your levels to nearly peak - noise isn't a problem - if you move the mics away a bit, then 7.5 might just be too much. My experience is you start to pay a lot of money for half points on the gain knob. An SM7b foam on the lips might hit the read at 6.5? I've gotva couple of mics with really high outputs that lips on the grill means pad in and gain down to around 2 or 3. That's the kind of range your gear needs to be able to deal with. Most mics in my studio are happy with the gain on about 6 - 7 and I often just leave it there. Modern kit shows you levels on the meters at the bottom of the range that you can't even hear without turning levels right up. We have so much to play with now.

Very useful info Rob, thank you for explaining this in detail.

 

[Steenamaroo]

I really am not hearing much noise, the preamps seem to do a nice job. So if I increase volume, the noise floor will be raised? Is this always the case, or does it depend on the gear which - I imagine it does?

It depends where you raise it, which is sort of the point of these boosters.
If you turn up your mic gain or digitally boost your recording, you're turning up everything.
The intended signal, the noise from the room, the equipment self noise...


If you use a cloudlifter you're boosting the signal from the mic before the rest of the gear chain so anything capture by the mic is increased, but the self noise of the rest of your chain is the same as it was.

If you have a healthy signal to noise ratio you should be able to do all the turning up you need in software.

 

[Eric V]

It depends where you raise it, which is sort of the point of these boosters.
If you turn up your mic gain or digitally boost your recording, you're turning up everything.
The intended signal, the noise from the room, the equipment self noise...


If you use a cloudlifter you're boosting the signal from the mic before the rest of the gear chain so anything capture by the mic is increased, but the self noise of the rest of your chain is the same as it was.

If you have a healthy signal to noise ratio you should be able to do all the turning up you need in software.

I had set the AI level so that it stayed in the green, with an occasional leap up to orange if I really push the mic. From there, I adjusted in the software to tweak it a bit. It seemed to work well doing it that way. Noise wasn't a real problem. I just was wondering what boosters do, and thanks to everyone I have a better idea. I don't know what my signal to noise ratio is, but I had the software (Reaper) set at -6 db if I remember correctly.

 

[Steenamaroo]

You don't really need to know a number. You just need to know "I can hear hiss while I'm talking" = bad.

 

[Eric V]

You don't really need to know a number. You just need to know "I can hear hiss while I'm talking" = bad.

Perfect. Then I am on the right track. So far it is pretty good, I saved a project to use as a template to build from, just in case I forget my levels. That way if I goof up badly, I can go back and try again. Plus CTRL +Z is helpful too.

 

[Folkcafe]

In addition to the Cloudlifter there is also the Soyuz Launcher which is liked for adding color. For $199, it might be subtle for the price but it is highly rated. At the other end I have a couple of Klark Techik CM-1 which I picked up from Sweetwater for $29. 25db of clean transparent gain. Use it on a couple dynamic mics when I am trying to record something at a bit more intimate levels. I've used it with a Presonus PD-70 on a Gibson WM10 with light finger picking with good results.

There is a bit of top end boost on the Presonus but without being harsh so it worked well on acoustic for the sound I was after. So far I am really liking this mic for a lot of things. Next I am going to try it on hi hats the next session I have a full drum kit and may try it on snare.

Sweetwater tends to heavily discount items not in stock. It took me two months to get the CM-1 but at $29, was worth waiting for. They are once again out of stock and again, $29. Cheap add to your kit.