Preamps?

P

peterpan

New member
Ok. I'm starting in this world of Recording.

I'm buying a MR-8. I'm planning to record my electro-acustic nylon guitar, vocals, and maybe some bass and keyboards.

My question is. Do I need a preamp? or what else do I need to buy besides the MR-8 to record this acoustic style.

I'm planning to plug my guitar cable directly to the Mr-8. Is this OK?
 
I can't tell you about guitars, but with vocals I plug a dynamic mic directly into the MR-8 and turn the trim all the way up and it works fine. However, if I wanted to spend the money (which I don't have right now) I would get an inexpensive preamp.
 
Get you a Shure sm58 for vocals and a Shure sm57 for electric guitar. (even though you will plug your guitar into the recorder, you will want to mic the amp every so often) and Get a good pre amp. ART makes great pres.
 
If you want to make a good recording with the MR8, a preamp is a good idea. I imagine that after a time you'll get bored of going directly into the MR8 with the acoustic and want to combine both the direct sound and the sound recorded with a microphone. Using a dynamic microphone on the MR8 when recording vocals or acoustic guitar doesn't yield such good results as when a preamp is used. It is generally agreed that the audio buddy by M-audio, is one of the best intro level preamps. It is transparent and quiet. Also, the Art opl is a good deal at the moment, I think it is about $60, but reviews on that one have been mixed. I record acoustic guitar and vocal with both dynamic and condenser microphones. As far as I am concerned, a preamp is indispensable.
 
Hey PeterPan,

Having recently purchased a pre-amp (Art Tube Pre-amp), I have been much more satisfied with the vocal results.

I think a pre-amp would be a good investment, or should I say a good sunk cost.

Have fun!


KF
 
A lot of the reviews I've read about the ART say that it's really good as a direct input for bass guitar. However, most people seem to find it lacking for everything else. Judging from the posts in this thread, I guess the moral of the story is to try before you buy.
 
Bigsnake00 said:
I dig your songs, I dig your sound.
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While the songs themselves are fine, the quality of the recording is very demo'ish, and hardly useful in proving or disproving whether a pre is "good" or not.


ART preamps are the shit for the price. Nuff said.
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Well - you got the word "shit" right.........

Seriously - no....... A Tube MP is a pretty fair DI box for bass, but that's about it.......

...'nuff said.
 
for guitar (electric) preamps, i use a digitech rp100 (digital)
and a zoom 9150 tube preamp. i have used them separately
and lately, i've bee using them both together for some different
guitar tones (get the warm distortion of tubes, and the clarity
of digital modeling).

i tried to record vocals using my cheapo radio shack dynamic
mics, but couldn't get a level at all. so for my first digital
recordings of some vocal songs I just used the condenser mic
that's built into the mr8. it worked pretty well.

i also did some experiments using my zoom 9150 on a clean
setting w/ some vocals. it worked pretty well also. i plan
to experiment more with that.

down the road i'd like to get a better condenser mic to use w/ vocals
and acoustic guitar...
s---
 
My young friend - as I said above, there's nothing wrong with the songs. The recordings, however, do sound like demos....

This isn't meant as an insult, it's simply a result of inexperience and the gear used.... you still need to grow your ears, but it will come.

You have to understand though, that the expectation of sound quality is lowered considerably when someone is just starting out and people will compliment you with those expectations in mind.

You're on the right track, and your skills will undoubtedly improve, but you're a far cry from being able to effectively critique gear citing your recordings as examples!

Like I said - no insult -- just a perspective.
 
Bear.....I know you own a "real" studio with "real" preamps, but keep in mind that most mr-8 users are recording strictly for fun. Allthough the tube mp might not be up to par by your standards, it serves most recreational recorders perfectly. And I dont care what you say for $60 you cant beat it, end of story.

just a perspective

b
 
Originally posted by Bigsnake00

"And I dont care what you say for $60 you cant beat it, end of story."
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Bigsnake, with all due respect, (and this is not to say that the ART is a bad unit), I would think that the Audio Buddy is probably a better deal when recording at this level. Both units are similarly priced, but most people that are familiar with both of them state that the Audio Buddy is a superior piece of equipment. I have even read some posts that claim it is often used in in professional level studios. Apparently, on occasion, it is a useful alternative to the more expensive preamps. Like you say, this is all about having fun. However, it's more fun to have a versatile piece of equipment that delivers, no matter what instrument you are recording. :)
 
I also heard that the audiobuddys were pretty good. I plan to buy one some day to add 2 channles to my ART.
 
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