pre amp > compressor setup question

A

andybhoy

New member
Hi guys,

I have a pretty basic home studio im trying to improve, but have a few questions.

I have a phonic helix firewire mixer with pre amps. At the moment mics, and guitar amp mics are straight into the mixer.

Im looking at buying 1 (maybe 2 of) a presonus Bluetube preamp and a DBX266XL compressor/gate.

Would the correct setup be =

xlr mic -> preamp (bluetube) (with phantom power on) -> xlr to compressor (dbx266xl) > xlr input to mixer > firewire to mac.

the bluetube doesnt seem to have a send. i had originally thought id send and return from the compressor then, to the mixer from the output on the bluetube??

first question (if the above is correct) leads me to. when i plug into the mixer should the phantom power be set to off on the mixer, as i am now powering the mics via the pre amp? also - what should i set the gain to on the mic channels? id obviously want the gain effects from the preamp aye, but will i get silence if the gain is down on the mixer?? im confused...

Thanks guys
p.s i am thinking of these 2 products going by reviews on the net, and my limited budget. but if you guys know of any others youd recommend plz, let me know.
 
1 If the preamp supplies phantom power, that's all you need. You don't need to have it on at the mixer.

2 The preamp delivers a line-level output, so you should connect it to a line-level input on the mixer.
 
ahhhh right. tyvm.

And i suppose mess about with the gain on the mixer till it sounds right(ish) or set mixer gain to 0?
 
A few things to think about...

The most important part of your signal chain is your room treatment. Even if you're using the best mic in the world, if the room sucks, the recording is going to suck. Unless you've already done so, spend your money on getting your room to sound good.

No offense, but there are tons of posts on here where people say, "My recordings suck. I read somewhere that a preamp and compressor will make them great. Blah, blah, blah."

There are no "magic bullets". By and large, if whatever equipment you have is working properly, there is no piece of equipment you can buy that will make a bad recording great.

You have to have a good room, you have to have a good mic, and you have to have good preamps. Then it is possible for you to get good recordings; you might even be able to get great recordings out of merely good equipment.

Assuming you have a good room and a good mic, use the preamps in your mixer until you are able to absolutely identify what is "missing" in the recordings you make with those preamps. Then find a preamp that offers both what you now have plus whatever you are now missing.

An external compressor can be a useful tool, but remember, if you record through the compressor you are stuck with the compressor. As a "newbie", you might be better off recording "dry", then using the compressor plugins in your recording software. If you record dry, you can then try various different compressor plugins and different settings with each. Learn how to use your compressor plugins, then, if none of them do the job for you, you could look at an external compressor. But you may well find that a plugin works quite well.

And if you do find you need an external preamp and/or compressor, save up until you can buy good stuff...
 
thanks for the reply mate - that is the other thing going through my head tbh.

I definitely need to get rid of some unwanted bass. the room isnt treated at all - its actually a spare bedroom... I am/will be scouring the studio threads for tips on good techniques for treating the room. but as its my house that i may sell soon i dont want to do anything too drastic...

i use cubase, and can get my songs sounding pretty good using mostly every gadget cubase offers... i was hoping with these items it would give me slightly more control. I'll never spend more than that i wouldnt think, as the more it costs the harder it is to make it evade my wifes attention!

so yeah... now what do i do... thanks for giving me some thinking to do on a saturday night mate ;D
 
DMP3 > bluetube > Art MP

You can do compression in post so you don't need to do it at the point of capture. Baring LIVE use of course. Or some I know what I'm doing, and I am gonna save some time in post. Not that anyone really knows what they are doing. Some things can be desired or not depending on the source. And what you like today may not be what you like tomorrow. Compression will let you run the gain a little hotter than you might otherwise, but beyond LIVE use or negating some "minimal" noise floor of the gear by running the gain hotter, not much use IMO. Or at least nothing that you couldn't accomplish in software for free after the fact.

So, in theory --- Mic -> Preamp -> Interface and press record. It sounds like your mixer is also your interface. Which could negate the need for a preamp, baring some phantom power type issue. Or a specific color of sound that lets you favor that chain.
 
Agreed - avoid using the compressor for recording. Use a plugin. Just watch your gain so it doesn't peak your Cubase.
Avoid going through 2 machines if you can. It might add unwanted noise. If you do, then play with the gains to get a good signal with minimal noise.
 
What ido says. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. The simpler and uncomplicated you can keep your signal path, the better chance you have of getting a clean sound, and the less chance there is of developing unwanted noise or other problems.
 
Many units equals many potential points of failure. Not that I'll ever recommend having two of everything for WHEN that does happen. But if you keep it simple, you'll at least have a pretty good chance of knowing WHAT failed.
 
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