The order of the signal chain?

N

NeuzGrouper

New member
Wow, that sounds like some kinda cult or something. Anyway, this is toally ridiclulous question, I bet.

I have a Aark Direct Pro Q10, and it has (4) Mic pre's built into it. I need a compressor still, and, boy, do I have questions. The upper limit of my budget for this item is $200 (US) or so.

My questions are:

Since the Aark has Mic pre's, do I or don't I need a mic pre in an outboard compressor? (ie - Could it help at all if I say, reconfigured the signal chain?)

Should I get an all in one unit, and if so, what features are most important in one of those (de-esser, etc)

And lastly, I have seen a lot of really positive comments on here about the RNC unit. my first thought on that is "No low impedence inputs?!?!!?! Are you crazy?!?!?!" Is that a factor, or not?


Any input from the members of this community would be really appreciated. You guys are GREAT!

(Obviously, a complete Newbie)

G
 
If you want to use a compressor while tracking you will need an external preamp unless the Q10 has inserts.

The RNC does not have low imp because it is a line level compressor and not a mic preamp. You need a preamp before running a mic into a line level device.

The rest of your questions are pretty much a matter of opinion.
 
Defending the RNC

Low impedance inputs are generally not a good thing in your audio gear, with a few exceptions, such a mic preamps (and even there, "low" is relative ... compared to the impedance of a speaker they're darn high).
 
OK, Cool. The Q10 will allow me to route the outputs on the back as inserts, so I COULD use it, but in general, Iif I can avoid it, I should stay away from low z ("z "= impedance, right? No comment on this, I will take as a "Yes"). Got it.

The opinions are where it gets sticky, doesn't it? That is a big part of why I come here, to be honest. The opinions here are educated ones Mine, well...isn't.

So, right now, Tex, and SJ, in your opinons, am I better, being a newb, getting one with all the bells and whistles? I have the q10, and am planning on buying either 1 or 2 condenser mics, ($200 budget) and a compressor unit. Have another $400 in the budget, and want to get going with that for now. Knock on wood, I will have another $500-$600 in 2 months allocated to my studio. I am not asking you to make me a shopping list. Just, if I may impose upon you both, would you give me your opinions on what categories of items I need to get going now. The hope is that I will outgrow the number of items I have much sooner than I outgrow the actual items themselves.


For now, I will be recording mostly 2 acuostic guitars, vox, double bass, and most likely sticking mics in, on or near anything that makes an interesting sound. The crickets outside my window need to be recorded, for instance. (In case that helps)


your input is mucho appreciado

G~
 
NeuzGrouper said:
OK, Cool. The Q10 will allow me to route the outputs on the back as inserts, so I COULD use it, but in general, Iif I can avoid it, I should stay away from low z ("z "= impedance, right? No comment on this, I will take as a "Yes"). Got it.
Click to expand...

That will work for mixdown but that is not really going to work for tracking unless the Q10 can route the audio to the inserts before it hits the digital convertors. The reason some people use compression while tracking is to maximize the signal before it is digitized so it defeats that purpose to compress live after the convertors. I dont really recomend tracking with compression so I don't think it's a big issue for you.

What should you get? I haven't used any of the cheap dedicated pres but there are lots of recomendations. DMP3, VTB1 and the upcoming RNMP seem to be popular suggestions. The MXL and SP mics are great IMO. The RNC and JoeMeek comps are pretty good for the money also.
 
I see. That is indeed a great help. I would imagine that tracking without compression gives you a cleaner source sound, but that clipping can then be much more of an issue. That was my main motivation for wanting to track with compression, really.


More research will have ot be done on my part. And thanks again for the advice, Tex.


G~
 
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