Craig Raymond
New member
I'm looking to add warmth to my tracks. Can anyone suggest a good tube interface rack piece? Any feedback here would be helpful....thanks in advance
Warming up those digital tracks
- Thread starter Craig Raymond
- Start date
sonusman
Banned
Try microwaving them. That warms them up, and really fast too!
I suspect that what you are looking to do for the sounds you are getting would not be solved with just about ANY tube piece of gear. Try changing the nature of the sound SOURCE before you go throwing money at a box expecting it to do something that it probably won't be able to change.
Everyone talks about how "warm" analog tape is, yet I have heard analog recordings that would fatique and clip you freakin' hearing within 2 minutes. I have heard solid state circuitry that has a very nice, "warm" sound to it. I have heard "tube" gear that was really harsh.
Hopefully some others here will back me up a bit because you are not going to believe JUST me, but you have a very big expectation of a tube circuit. Again, it has little to do with whether the circuit is tube or solid state, if it is a warm sounding circuit, it is warm. If it is a harsh sounding circuit, it is harsh. And in almost ALL cases, the "color" of the preamp is not significant enough to change the source sound in much of a significant way. So, if you sounds are too "harsh", then you might try finding some source sounds that are a bit "warmer" sounding first, then possibly investigate whether a tube circuit will benefit you in ways you need.
Good luck.
I suspect that what you are looking to do for the sounds you are getting would not be solved with just about ANY tube piece of gear. Try changing the nature of the sound SOURCE before you go throwing money at a box expecting it to do something that it probably won't be able to change.
Everyone talks about how "warm" analog tape is, yet I have heard analog recordings that would fatique and clip you freakin' hearing within 2 minutes. I have heard solid state circuitry that has a very nice, "warm" sound to it. I have heard "tube" gear that was really harsh.
Hopefully some others here will back me up a bit because you are not going to believe JUST me, but you have a very big expectation of a tube circuit. Again, it has little to do with whether the circuit is tube or solid state, if it is a warm sounding circuit, it is warm. If it is a harsh sounding circuit, it is harsh. And in almost ALL cases, the "color" of the preamp is not significant enough to change the source sound in much of a significant way. So, if you sounds are too "harsh", then you might try finding some source sounds that are a bit "warmer" sounding first, then possibly investigate whether a tube circuit will benefit you in ways you need.
Good luck.
postalblue
New member
there are many out there- steinberg's magneto, cakewalk's tape fx, wavewarm etc.
darrin_h2000
Banned
I have a 2 channel 15ips reel machine I use sometimes if whats coming out on disc is to Digital sounding. I track with tubes or tube emulation on voice guitars bass and drums. but synths are a different case.
crosstudio
New member
whenever i want that old school warmth (ie.. dirt) i get out my old lacquer machine and create a vinyl pressing of my digital recording, then i re-record the vinyl with my 1200's that way i get all of the brilliance of the digital revolution with all of the noise of the mechanical revolution.
now, to be serious, could you define warmth?
if i had a dollar for everytime i heard the words punchy and warm, i wouldn't be recording through a mackie 1604 pre-amp.
now, to be serious, could you define warmth?
if i had a dollar for everytime i heard the words punchy and warm, i wouldn't be recording through a mackie 1604 pre-amp.
Blue Bear Sound
New member
As was already correctly suggested, if your tracks aren't sounding "warm", the reason is not "digital," but that your source isn't being recorded properly in the first place.Craig Raymond said:
Pay attention to proper mic selection, proper placement, and use a decent mic pre (tube or solid-state, doesn't matter - if the pre is good, it's good!) There's really no such thing as a "good" budget tube gear - so if you feel you MUST have a tube, then be prepared to pay for the Neve/API/Manley gear... you can get excellent solid-state gear for much less - Grace, Great River, Langevin, etc...
BTW, for future reference - listen to what sonusman has to say -- I've never seen him off-the-mark yet (well, except for the db difference between a -10dbv and a +4dbU signal - but that's another story!)
Bruce
Craig Raymond
New member
Have come to learn that Sonusman is an excellent source of knowledge. Guess I took a little too much time off between analog recording and jumping into the home end!
crosstudio
New member
i knew that was going to come up eventually...
if you are going to get a tube preamp, do some research, and save some money until you have enough to get a good one.
if you are going to get a tube preamp, do some research, and save some money until you have enough to get a good one.
Listen to THIS.
This is the cheapest sound improvement you will find.
Vurt is absolutely dead on here. Room acoustics are SO important. Do NOT overlook them. It won't matter what preamp or mic or plugin you use, if the source itself is not sonically nice, don't expect to polish it up too much.
I have been tracking with fairly decent equipment as of recent, using an Avalon VT-737SP preamp (tube), SP C1, a borrowed Neuman U47, and even tried a Neuman TLM103 recently.
The better your mic and preamp, the MORE they will reveal any nastiness in the acoustic environment. What I am saying, is that if you have some near field reflections, good gear will bring those to the surface even more.
I learned this the hard way!
I struggled with recording acoustic guitars for so long. I kept listening back, wondering why it sounded too bright and boxy. Then one day, listening closely through headphones, it HIT ME! I was hearing near field reflections off the hard wall surfaces in the room that were adding in phase to some frequencies, and subtracting from others resulting is a gross representation of the source.
I spent some money on materials to treat the walls, and BAM. Night and day. There wasn't a plug in or preamp in the world that would have corrected that problem.
Sorry to go so long, but don't underestimate the room acoustics (ESPECIALLY hard wall surfaces) as to making it sound "harsh". It will indeed.
Trust me, 5 or six sheets of sound treatment material is a LOT cheaper than a high-end mic pre.
Spend the cash on the high end stuff, AFTER the room is qualified to justify its existance.
SH
Vurt said:
This is the cheapest sound improvement you will find.
Vurt is absolutely dead on here. Room acoustics are SO important. Do NOT overlook them. It won't matter what preamp or mic or plugin you use, if the source itself is not sonically nice, don't expect to polish it up too much.
I have been tracking with fairly decent equipment as of recent, using an Avalon VT-737SP preamp (tube), SP C1, a borrowed Neuman U47, and even tried a Neuman TLM103 recently.
The better your mic and preamp, the MORE they will reveal any nastiness in the acoustic environment. What I am saying, is that if you have some near field reflections, good gear will bring those to the surface even more.
I learned this the hard way!
I struggled with recording acoustic guitars for so long. I kept listening back, wondering why it sounded too bright and boxy. Then one day, listening closely through headphones, it HIT ME! I was hearing near field reflections off the hard wall surfaces in the room that were adding in phase to some frequencies, and subtracting from others resulting is a gross representation of the source.
I spent some money on materials to treat the walls, and BAM. Night and day. There wasn't a plug in or preamp in the world that would have corrected that problem.
Sorry to go so long, but don't underestimate the room acoustics (ESPECIALLY hard wall surfaces) as to making it sound "harsh". It will indeed.
Trust me, 5 or six sheets of sound treatment material is a LOT cheaper than a high-end mic pre.
Spend the cash on the high end stuff, AFTER the room is qualified to justify its existance.
SH
VOXVENDOR
New member
Just a little reflection of passing thought...
I found that the warmth was sort of innacurate when I was using tape.....
I would have a drum machine and some keys recording to tape and it would end up having what I would call an "orange-warm" sound... (that probably makes no sense..)
I find that with Digital, I get back exactly what I put in..
I found that the warmth was sort of innacurate when I was using tape.....
I would have a drum machine and some keys recording to tape and it would end up having what I would call an "orange-warm" sound... (that probably makes no sense..)
I find that with Digital, I get back exactly what I put in..
postalblue
New member
i'd rather get crystal clear and cold digital than 'orange-warm'. i'm considering putting my money on a digital high end preamp instead of a tube one, because i really like the cleanliness of 24-bit digital recordings.
warmth is good, don't get me wrong, but clean and accurate digital is a lot cheaper than warm BUT clear analog.
warmth is good, don't get me wrong, but clean and accurate digital is a lot cheaper than warm BUT clear analog.
Teacher
New member
I've heard good things about the Fatso jr. retails for about 1500 supposedly one of the best front end digital warmers(thats what its made for) its a tube compressor...and people i'd like to think are reliable source says its sounds like 'harmonics'(that warm sound analog provides) instead of distortion(that gritty sound when a digital source tries to emulate tape)
for a cheaper plug in...i'd say Psp vintage warmer its 150 and supposedly does the same thing at a very high quality
for a cheaper plug in...i'd say Psp vintage warmer its 150 and supposedly does the same thing at a very high quality