Is a mic preamp worth it?

  • Thread starter Thread starter adriannav
  • Start date Start date
So, you never mentioned it? Your expecting me to communicate with maximum verbosity.
 
Let's get this thread back on track and talk about Mic Pres and White Strat's proposed test runs. Puh-leeeease. :)

Thanks ya'll.
 
Chili said:
Let's get this thread back on track and talk about Mic Pres and White Strat's proposed test runs. Puh-leeeease. :)

Thanks ya'll.
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That's a good idea, but I may have spoken too soon. I just found out that we're not making the vocal booth transition until early October--so I won't have the high-end pre for the test until then. I'll get busy writing a killer tune in the meantime.
 
Chili said:
Let's get this thread back on track and talk about Mic Pres and White Strat's proposed test runs. Puh-leeeease. :)

Thanks ya'll.
Click to expand...

OK.

So.....is a mic preamp worth it?


:D

It just may be that this thread has hit bottom....and is staring to dig. ;)
 
Bobbsy said:
It's all totally subjective so arguing about whether it's 2/3 or whatever is pointless.
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True, in the classic sense. But arguing usually happens because of differing subjective views. That's partly why they get so heated or are such fun.....
Bobbsy said:
However, I'd start by saying the most important part of any recording is the performance.
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Or performances.
Bobbsy said:
Nothing can be taken in isolation though. It's all part of a chain.
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That's my basic take too. Made all the more interesting because there are plenty of ways to skin the recording cat.

heatmiser said:
At least in my experience, the room itself is negligible in comparison with almost every other variable.

I've recorded in many different rooms over the years. In our current home in which I've been recording off an on for about 15 years or so, I alternate back and forth between a den and a garage, neither of which are treated. They are completely different sizes with completely different building materials, and the recordings done in each sound more or less the same.

If I swap out a different guitar - huge difference...same thing if I change mics, or simply adjust the tone knob on an amp or guitar. There are hundreds of different things I can do with EQ, effects, mic positioning, etc. that all have a greater impact on the recorded sound than the room I happen to be in. I just don't get it.

I'm talking about recording electric guitars through amps, acoustic guitars, vocals, acoustic drums...pretty much everything.
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I concur with this.
I remember a guy called Richard a few years back, leading us a merry dance of many pages by insisting that the room was everything. I'd never say it makes no difference but isn't the degree of 'room' in a recording to do with where your mics are in relation the sound source ? There are so many different configurations that could go into the final recording that I can't see how any one element can assume such gargantuan importance.
Of course, on the other hand, like with Gregorian monks chanting in cavenous spaces, you might have recordings where the room is deliberately set to have the major influence, other than the actual performance.

miroslav said:
As I said earlier...you tend to speak in half-sentences. I'm sure you understand what you are saying....but you might want to try adding a little more detail and complete thoughts to your posts....otherwise some of your posts are confusing, and maybe why you're getting flack.
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And we ain't talking Roberta !

mark1971a said:
No I blame you. There is more than enough text to find the context.
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And that's not true. Only you can provide the sense necessary to provide the context. If you won't or don't, many of us are too long in the tooth to go chasing arcane mysteries....

A text out of context is a pretext !

miroslav said:
It just may be that this thread has hit bottom....and is staring to dig.
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I think they call it 'fracking'. :D
 
I sold my mic pre and mic to afford a monster cable. What now? Yep, I have contributed one more shovel load to dig this thing to the relative antipode. End this madness. Do you need a mic pre?, yes if your interface does not have one (or more).
 
grimtraveller said:
True, in the classic sense. But arguing usually happens because of differing subjective views. That's partly why they get so heated or are such fun.....Or performances.That's my basic take too. Made all the more interesting because there are plenty of ways to skin the recording cat.

I concur with this.
I remember a guy called Richard a few years back, leading us a merry dance of many pages by insisting that the room was everything. I'd never say it makes no difference but isn't the degree of 'room' in a recording to do with where your mics are in relation the sound source ? There are so many different configurations that could go into the final recording that I can't see how any one element can assume such gargantuan importance.
Of course, on the other hand, like with Gregorian monks chanting in cavenous spaces, you might have recordings where the room is deliberately set to have the major influence, other than the actual performance.

And we ain't talking Roberta !


And that's not true. Only you can provide the sense necessary to provide the context. If you won't or don't, many of us are too long in the tooth to go chasing arcane mysteries....

A text out of context is a pretext !

I think they call it 'fracking'. :D
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good to see you again, my friend. :) Hope all is well for you.
 
Thread-Crap-Die.webp

...
 
I play keyboard in a 60s & 70s rock 'n roll band. In studio, I have a very high end electronic keyboard that I'm not about to take to the pubs we play at, so my road gear is an old, used (but decent) 88 key Privia. Well, the sound is OK through my 350w amp, but really not what we needed. I tried running the keyboard direct through the house mixer and PA system, but still just "meh". Then I realized I had an Avalon U5 PreAmp DI box at the studio and figured I might run the keys through the preamp, then into the house. WOW! What a difference. The preamp provided color and boost to the signal. You could even hear the keyboard over the loud, louder and loudest geetar players (who don't care if no one else can be heard). :rolleyes: Some folks in the pub crowd even asked where the new keyboard player came from! :p

Moral of the story...a preamp will improve the sound of mid-range spec'd equipment.
 
Er, but that's a very different thing from a microphone pre amp.

If you Casio is like any other I've had to connect up, it only has a headphone out, not proper line level sockets. If yours is like the norm, then your pre amp is simply impedance and level matching. Indeed, you shouldn't need or use an actual pre amp as a typical headphone socket is already capable of overloading even a line level input if you crank up the volume.

I'm glad you've found a combination you like (and, indeed, I always use a DI box when I have to connect to a headphone output on a keyboard) but your experience has little or nothing to do with microphone pre amps which actually have to supply 40 or 50dB of clean gain.
 
You could always experiment with a "cheap-but-OK" preamp like the $40 ART TubeMP and listen for the difference. I've used this one with great success on many instruments.
 
adriannav said:
I recently bought an Audio‑Technica AT2050 Condenser mic, and I like the overall sound so far. However with that being said, I recently heard another sample recorded using the same mic, and it was just a lot more clear, warm, and airy sounding. So I'm wondering how does someone with the exact same mic achieve such a superior sound?.
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If its not the mic. So what that leaves is the room, the interface/preamp, convertors, and the dynamics gear/plugs the other person used.
Most seem to agree the convertors is the smaller sound noticeable, so that leaves the room, the pre and the dynamic processing stuff...

Seems theres plenty of decent recordings on you tube with the FastTrack...so that would eliminate the unit itself.

So that leaves your 1) room and 2) your dynamic processing.

If you silence your room and deaden it best you can, go to a closet, or hallway whatever... you should get something decent, follow gain staging basic rules, and
then learn the Dynamics processing plug-ins in your DAW.

I would hold off if I were you on spending more on a preamp, until you know what your missing.
 
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