Presonus Studio Channel, your oppinions.

H

hiphop24360

New member
Hey, I record hip hop vocals.

Right now my recording chain is a Rode K2 into the stock preamps on my EMU 404 USB 2.0, into cubase, plus compression, EQ, and sometimes Plug ins sprinkled in lightly.

The thing is I just started recording about a month ago and I know there is more I have to learn about the equipment I already have, I feel I might be jumping ahead of myself by looking at a compressor/preamp already, On the other hand I konw in order to achieve an even semi professional sound a decent preamp and quite often compressor are almost a neccessity for those warm punchy rap vocals you hear on commercial cds. (Not that I expect to achieve that quality for many years and many purchases)

But I found a Preamp/Compressor that seems to be getting pretty good reviews and is very reasonably priced, the presonus studio channel. Basically I was wondering do you all think it is worth investing in at this point, and why or why not.

*Edit, The presonus studio channel compressor is listed in many places as having a maximum ratio of 2:1, this is NOT TRUE, it is 12:1 maximum compression. So yea don't let there horrible typo manual sway your oppinion

http://www.zzounds.com/a--2676837/item--PRSSTUDIOCHANNEL

^Link to product described
 
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A) IMO/E, you'd be (far) better off with a RNP or something of that sort. True's P-Solo would be another step up.

B) Compression on the input chain isn't typical (no matter what the marketing guys say).

C) 2:1 isn't a horrible typo... 2:1 is 50% GONE. That's a lot. 12:1 is hard-core limiting in a not-so-friendly manner.
On the other hand I konw in order to achieve an even semi professional sound a decent preamp and quite often compressor are almost a neccessity for those warm punchy rap vocals you hear on commercial cds. (Not that I expect to achieve that quality for many years and many purchases)
Click to expand...
The biggest part of those "warm punchy vocals" are punchy-sounding vocalists with warm-sounding voices. If you're talking Sony affiliated artists, you're almost certainly dealing with the C800 (a $10,000 mic) going into amazingly good sounding preamps in wonderfully set up spaces with teams of professional engineers on hand.

That said - You don't need to spend a bundle to capture a good sounding vocalist.** A SM7b through a P-Solo will compete with nearly any chain you can put together. Save the compression for the mix.



** Good sounding vocalist extra.
 
A) IMO/E, you'd be (far) better off with a RNP or something of that sort. True's P-Solo would be another step up.

B) Compression on the input chain isn't typical (no matter what the marketing guys say).

C) 2:1 isn't a horrible typo... 2:1 is 50% GONE. That's a lot. 12:1 is hard-core limiting in a not-so-friendly manner.

Quote:
On the other hand I konw in order to achieve an even semi professional sound a decent preamp and quite often compressor are almost a neccessity for those warm punchy rap vocals you hear on commercial cds. (Not that I expect to achieve that quality for many years and many purchases)

The biggest part of those "warm punchy vocals" are punchy-sounding vocalists with warm-sounding voices. If you're talking Sony affiliated artists, you're almost certainly dealing with the C800 (a $10,000 mic) going into amazingly good sounding preamps in wonderfully set up spaces with teams of professional engineers on hand.

That said - You don't need to spend a bundle to capture a good sounding vocalist.** A SM7b through a P-Solo will compete with nearly any chain you can put together. Save the compression for the mix.


1.Ok, So what your saying is that a hardware compressor is absolutely not something I should be concerned about at this stage. I hear you. For some reason it was me who thought this was neccesary. Thank you, all pass on that till I after I got a Grace 101 or somethin....than think about a dbx160x or whatever.

2. True P Solo, Grace 101, or Groovetubes Brick would be the three preamps id be looking at, any reccomendations for a k2 mic.

3. I just meant it was a horrible typo saying you can compress to 2:1 when you can really compress all the way up to 12:1

and yes I realize the biggest part of warm punchy vocals is the actual artist's performance at the time, of course, I aint no sony artist, I don't expect nothing like that, just the best I can live with and afford.
 
If you're just wanting a solid vocal chain, I would suggest a AKG c214 into a Presonus Eureka....I use the AKG for almost everything, vocals, guitars(acoustic and electric), Drum overheads. The Eureka is pretty nice to...class a pre, with a solid compressor and 3 band EQ. I use the Eureka as a utility pre also, on kicks, snares, vox, you name it. Very well rounded!
 
Thank you for all of your input, I actually ended up picking up an ART VLA ii compressor and am about to get a BLA auteur or UA610 preamp. But not before I practiced my act for a good few more months...2:1 only eliminates 50% of the dbs above the chosen threshold not eliminates 50% of the total dynamic range. (as im sure you realize).

I usually only hit the compressor slightly during tracking, Ive found a 2 maybe 3:1 ratio with a -5 - -10 dbs threshold is a good place to start, just so If I approach clipping the comp kicks in....it also adds a nice analog sound to the signal and I am starting to get the kind of vocals Im looking for, granted I have been practicing quite often and finding my sweet spot with melody in my flows.
 
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