beginner advice please :)

[idrisguitar]

well i have had my studio for a while and am pretty used ot it,

however im not trying to get more serious. and feell like a newbie once more.

basically my current setup is bass and guitar into mixer and into sound card. and VSTs used for everything else.

now though i want to buy mics and record guitar and bass through amps i can figure that out myself.

many people talk about preamps. however i never really knew what the real benefit of them was....isn't it just really a specialised mixer for the instrument. i know thats not accurate and i was hoping you could explain more. what would the benefits be having a preamp for each input rather than putting them all straight into a big expensive mixer (mackie or something)

hope you can clear this confusion up. once i know about this then i think i will be happy to start upgrading the studio.

 

[rory]

I can't believe how many times I've heard: I have been recording for a while, I have a studio, I record bands, yadda yadda yadda followed by a basic (like are you serious?) question. I know that we've all been newbies, beginners, and the like, but come on.

What do you think a preamp does? Obviously its going to amplify something before something, right? We plug our source into it, whether it be a microphone, guitar, or whatever. The amplified signal then gets routed into our medium of choice, whether that be tape, soundcard, or A/D converter.

Why do I want a preamp? Well, if you have a mixer you have preamps. The benefit from a standalone unit, at least some of the better ones, is that they are generally of better quality and may possibly have more options. You want as many preamps as sources that you will be recording at once. If you only do acoustic guitar or electric guitar or whatever, if you only use one mic at one time, you can get a really nice one. However if you want to use more than one mic at once more than one channel will be necessary.

I hope that helps, but fuck me, man, go out and read some books. The recording engineer's handbook is a good one. It has pictures and descriptions of many widely used preamps, compressors, microphones, and mic tequniques for lots of different instruments.

Rory

 

[AGCurry]

A mixer does have preamps. It needs them to amplify the signal of microphones and instruments which have low output.

A microphone preamp amplifies signal so that it reaches "line level."

Where people get really passionate about preamps is in the sound that some, if not most, of them impart. You would think that most people would want a preamp which does not color the sound of the mic at all - IOW, 0% distortion. Not so. People spend a lot of money for preamps which, in fact, DO color the sound in a way perceived as pleasing.

Some computer recording interfaces do not have preamps; in those cases, you must supply your own. Which ones is up to you.

 

[idrisguitar]

i apologize rory.

but i was not lying. i was told by people online to get this and that, and a preamp never came up. and for a while i have just an instrument to mixer to sound car setup which worked fine.

so i wasn;t really interested in reading books when i had a setup i was happy with and which was producing results.

however now i am starting to realise my overall sound suffers and want to make sure now that know about all things.

thanks though for your advice.

once again i apologize.....and no i have not been having band in my studio or anything. this studio setup was just for me.

 

[rory]

No need to apologize, just take some initiative!

 

[idrisguitar]

yeah your right, it was a bit lazy, i could have just searched google.

this site just helped me so much when i started.

thanks for being cool even though im annoying

 

[TimOBrien]

Work's already been done for you. Read this:

http://www.tweakheadz.com/guide.htm

and here's more...

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=br_ss_h...e&keywords=Home+Recording&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go

 

[gordone]

I've been taking pictures for awhile and I really enjoy it. What is an f-stop? What does it mean to have a fast lens?

Actually, that's not that bad of a question, being that one can take decent pictures with a P&S set on Auto.

Sorry, thought I was in the Photography forum. Move on, there is nothing to see here

 

[idrisguitar]

i explained myself if you look above. and i was being honest.

i have been recording a while. just never looked at every angle, because what i had (that didn't involve preamps) was fine for me.

i realise i shouldn;t have been lazy and looked elsewhere for inof. but this is where i came before.

 

[Megaman]

I can't believe how many times I've heard: I have been recording for a while, I have a studio, I record bands, yadda yadda yadda followed by a basic (like are you serious?) question. I know that we've all been newbies, beginners, and the like, but come on.

What do you think a preamp does? Obviously its going to amplify something before something, right? We plug our source into it, whether it be a microphone, guitar, or whatever. The amplified signal then gets routed into our medium of choice, whether that be tape, soundcard, or A/D converter.

Why do I want a preamp? Well, if you have a mixer you have preamps. The benefit from a standalone unit, at least some of the better ones, is that they are generally of better quality and may possibly have more options. You want as many preamps as sources that you will be recording at once. If you only do acoustic guitar or electric guitar or whatever, if you only use one mic at one time, you can get a really nice one. However if you want to use more than one mic at once more than one channel will be necessary.

I hope that helps, but fuck me, man, go out and read some books. The recording engineer's handbook is a good one. It has pictures and descriptions of many widely used preamps, compressors, microphones, and mic tequniques for lots of different instruments.

Rory

It's true some questions and/or scenarios get tiresome but come on dude, some people learn differently. Even if he had a book about preamps, some poeple just don't get it unless it's spelled out a certain way. Help forums always have the same questions asked over and over but don't let the internet get you upset for having to read it over and over

Basically, no reason to chew someone out for any type of question

 

[rory]

It's true some questions and/or scenarios get tiresome but come on dude, some people learn differently. Even if he had a book about preamps, some poeple just don't get it unless it's spelled out a certain way. Help forums always have the same questions asked over and over but don't let the internet get you upset for having to read it over and over

Basically, no reason to chew someone out for any type of question

God...

First of all, I was letting him off easily. I pointed out the fact that this question has been asked many, MANY times and there are multiple resources that he could've checked and DIDN'T. Also, I answered the question.

Secondly, this thread is old news. Welcome to the part of the party when everyone is leaving. I don't think he took any disrespect on my part, nor did I mean any.

Thanks. Have a nice day.

Rory

 

[idrisguitar]

God...

First of all, I was letting him off easily. I pointed out the fact that this question has been asked many, MANY times and there are multiple resources that he could've checked and DIDN'T. Also, I answered the question.

Secondly, this thread is old news. Welcome to the part of the party when everyone is leaving. I don't think he took any disrespect on my part, nor did I mean any.

Thanks. Have a nice day.

Rory

no i didn;t and was grateful for your answer.

 

[F_cksia]

I really like your attitude idrisguitar, you´re gonna have a great time on the board! You pointed out you have already got a mixer. So I suppose the preamps are also present right? Or is it a DJ-like only-line-level-thing?

 

[cecerre]

I too have been recording for years, but never found a sitch which required an outboard pre. That all changed recently as I dumped some money into some 'real' recording equipment, at least compared to the little MD8 I was using. As already pointed out a pre amp has its uses and like any piece of equipment in the recording/live sound market can be used and abused to produce whatever effect, sound, vibe, feel, etc your looking for. Quite honestly you'd be hard pressed to actually be able to listen to a good mix and point out an instrument or vocal that could have benefited from some dedicated pre as opposed to using the on board pres. Im sure the self acclaimed pros out there can do *cough* but for us home recording hacks and our client counter-parts if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Some uses..Line driver. Using a pre in the room with a mic will reduce the long run from mic to your board where the phantom power and on board pre will have to work a little harder to jack up a signal weakened by its long trip. (Also decreasing your signal to noise ratio (SNR)) if you place a pre in the room, or close by, you can reduce the run from mic to pre substantially and achieve higher SNR ratio. The longer run back to your board will then be much 'hotter' based on how much you jack up the signal at the pre b4 you send it down line. I use this alot in my drum room where up to 3 condensor mics may be in use at any one time.
Global Warming. Bet you didnt know the pres contributed to global warming? Well, not that global warming but the sound or tone of a given mic. Certain pres have on board compression, eq and can include tubes for added 'flavor'. (When a pre essentially takes the place of the functions of the channel, it becomes known as a 'channel strip') Anyway, warming the sound via all these neat toys can help shape and redefine the tone, texture, etc of the source being recorded.
Clean up. If you have a real cheap board the on board pres may produce some hum or hiss when pushed. You can clean up and/or eliminate the issue by using an outboard pre. Why replace the whole board when you can upgrade out of the box for far less.
These are just a few very basic uses. Maybe some others will post with some of their abuses/uses!

Peace.