nanocomp better than art tube mic pre?

trdn1

New member
ok this is long, but the gist of it is, when i put my art tube mic pre b/t my shure sm-58 and my pc i get a very low signal/noise ratio, but when i replace it with my nanocomp - even though i'm not compressing anything, I get a nice clean sound when i record.

here's the art mic pre set up: shure sm-58, mic cable into mic pre, 1/4" cable out of mic pre into 1/8" adapter, into mic in on pc.

nanocomp: shure, mic cable into 1/4" adapter into nanocomp, out with 1/4" cable into 1/8" adapter into pc.

even when i mess with all the controls on the mic pre, i can't get a clean signal. before i had this equipment, i simply used a distortion stomp box (without the distortion clicked on) b/t the mic and pc. after reading about how a tube mic pre, or any mic pre for that matter, is a must-have, i went out and got the $99 version. now i am questioning the reason for its very existence. please help me believe that i didn't just throw away $100 on this mic pre. thanks.

- oh yeah, and i've even tried different inputs - line and mic...
 
Sounds like the soundcard on the PC might be bad or the mic pre is a lemmon.BTW what type of soundcard are you using on your PC? :eek:
 
You have to have a mic pre. My guess about your problem is that your gain staging is all wrong. You are probably overloading the input on the computer when you use the preamp, but when you use the compressor, you aren't amplifying the mic signal (even though you should be), and then it is not clipping the input. Once you add the preamp into the mix, then you have it set too high, and it is distorting the input. BTW, you really do need a better soundcard, this could be a large reason why you aren't getting a clear sound as well.
 
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