Tube Mics vs. Non Tubes.
- Thread starter HFFritz
- Start date
Recording Engineer
Moderator
Well...
It depends on the mic... Depending on the mic, you have to decide if it's worth it.
It depends on the mic... Depending on the mic, you have to decide if it's worth it.
peter miller
New member
Just a thought!
Maybe you could by a tube preamp (there are some cheap good ones)then you could use it with any mic' or even an instrument!
That's my 0.05 cents worth(oz currency).So it may be worth nothing at all
Maybe you could by a tube preamp (there are some cheap good ones)then you could use it with any mic' or even an instrument!
That's my 0.05 cents worth(oz currency).So it may be worth nothing at all
Recording Engineer
Moderator
Ahhh But You See
You'll NEVER get a tube mic "sound" from a tube pre. It's simply impossible for obvious reasons.
You'll NEVER get a tube mic "sound" from a tube pre. It's simply impossible for obvious reasons.
peter miller
New member
well I did say it may be worth nothing at all
Tubes, magical wonderfull tubes. Tubes color and add character, they respond differently to dynamics and transients than solid state equipment, simply you could say that they saturate, but that's simpler than it really is. Some analogies here. Tube guitar amps, so you've got this wonderfull sounding tube amp, it would be unthinkable that a solid state amp, through a tube mic, or tube pre would sound anything like the "real" amp. The same logic follows for mics. Tube mics have a character that can't simply be added in later with tube processing, just like you can't make a non tube amp sound like a tube amp. I don't know enough to get into any technical reasons. When judging a mic, it's not really inportant weather it's tube or not, just if it sounds good.
-jhe
-jhe
Recording Engineer
Moderator
Here Ya Go
"Much (and maybe all) of the answer is contained..." here:
http://www.dwfearn.com/articles.htm
>>You'll NEVER get a tube mic "sound" from a tube pre. It's simply impossible for obvious reasons.
It's obvious to me simply because:
Since tube mics, transistor mics, and FET mics all output different general characteristics (go to the link above to find-out how and why they differ from each other), then a preamp is going to react differently to those different general characteristics; no matter what the preamp. What you put in can greatly or subtly affect what comes out. You can do whatever you want down the signal-chain, but you're not going to get the same results of how the preamp reacted to the microphone gave it.
Of course, this doesn't stop just at microphones or preamps or compressors or tubes or transistors. It even goes far beyond component to component; which is not really too far depending on who you are. But not much beyond that can put you on a fine line. You choose the lines of electrical engineer, recording engineer, and audiophile for yourself.
Oh, but don't forget acoustics...
"Much (and maybe all) of the answer is contained..." here:
http://www.dwfearn.com/articles.htm
>>You'll NEVER get a tube mic "sound" from a tube pre. It's simply impossible for obvious reasons.
It's obvious to me simply because:
Since tube mics, transistor mics, and FET mics all output different general characteristics (go to the link above to find-out how and why they differ from each other), then a preamp is going to react differently to those different general characteristics; no matter what the preamp. What you put in can greatly or subtly affect what comes out. You can do whatever you want down the signal-chain, but you're not going to get the same results of how the preamp reacted to the microphone gave it.
Of course, this doesn't stop just at microphones or preamps or compressors or tubes or transistors. It even goes far beyond component to component; which is not really too far depending on who you are. But not much beyond that can put you on a fine line. You choose the lines of electrical engineer, recording engineer, and audiophile for yourself.
Oh, but don't forget acoustics...