Compare pre-amps

[Blor007]

Hi,

I just tested 2 pre-amps and I don't hear the difference but I sure as hell feel the difference in my wallet.

Here is a fragment of an :
Snare-> Shure SM57 -> Sountracs Solo 16 -> Staudiocard c-port
Snare-> Shure SM57 -> Gyraf G9 -> Staudiocard c-port

I'm not a drummer so don't comment on the playing please

Fragment

I only hear a slight difference in ''hiss'' in the 18 k range but nothing that contributes or decreases the colour or image of the sound.

Am I deaf?
For the fun of it I aint going to tell wich is wich but there is a 1 second interval between the 2 takes.

ANY help/tips/comments/remarks/suggestions would be VERY helpfull !

Thx in advance

 

[chessrock]

I think the snare sounds dead and lifeless to begin with, so it's too difficult to really evaluate. The second half sounded better, for what it's worth.

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[Minion]

A snare drum isn"t the Best Instrument to test the sound of a Preamp as a snare basicly only puts out one tone and sound which isn"t a very good basis to compare Preamps.....

You should Mic up a Guitar amp or Sing with the Pre at High Gain and then see which sounds cleaner as Most all preamps will sound good with the Gain at 3 or 4 but when the Gain is at 8 or 10 then the Low quality preamps will usually put out a Lot more Noise and Distortion, a Good Quality Pre should be clean with a Gain from 1 up to 10 or at least from 1 up to clipping.....


Cheers

PS: the soundtraks Pre"s are actually not that Bad, they are much better than Behringers pre"s but that isn"t saying very much....

 

[recordingpro]

when's last time you changed the head. sounds like crap

 

[Blor007]

Well it IS a very old head.

I will be posting some guitar samples in a week or 2 with a fresh set of strings.
I'm really interested in the different qualitys of pre-amps.

I also really appreciate the feedback, now I know you can't compare these things on a shitty drum !!

I'm a guitarist and a great guitar with a bad amp sounds worse than a crappy guitar on a great amp. So I tought this might be the case with the pre-amps but I'm clearly dead-wrong


The best way to learn is to ask

 

[Robert D]

The best instrument to test a preamp out on is the instrument you really care about sounding good.

(My thought for the day.......Hey, it's Monday, gimmee a break )

 

[ermghoti]

I'm a guitarist and a great guitar with a bad amp sounds worse than a crappy guitar on a great amp. So I tought this might be the case with the pre-amps but I'm clearly dead-wrong


The best way to learn is to ask

But what's the difference between a bad guitar with a crappy amp recorded with an expensive preamp, and a bad guitar with a crappy amp recorded through a cheap preamp?

 

[RAK]

A snare drum isn"t the Best Instrument to test the sound of a Preamp as a snare basicly only puts out one tone and sound which isn"t a very good basis to compare Preamps.....

I didn't listen to this particular clip, but drums have plenty of overtones. Not sure I agree with you that a snare only puts out one tone.

 

[tubejay]

For me, the best test would be a vocal. Especially with a G9, the difference should be obvious.

 

[chessrock]

Drums are a great test in so many different ways. They test the limits of any equipment's transient response, headroom, as well as their handling accross an entire frequency spectrum from the kick all the way to the hi-hat. Probably not ideal for testing self-noise, but most modern equipment is so quiet, that it doesn't tend to be an issue in most circumstances anyway. But if you need to test that variable, an accoustic guitar is ideal.

So between a drum overhead and an accoustic guitar, you'd cover most of your bases.

An electric guitar would be about the least taxing on any type of audio equipment, to be honest with you. The distortion and self-noise with most any amp would far overshadow the comparatively miniscule self noise and distortion levels inherent within any mic pre, provided that mic pre wasn't broken. Secondly, the amount of transients and dynamic range involved with most styles of electric guitar is always going to be severely limited compared with other instruments or voices. Not to mention the frequency response of even the best guitar amps will be laughable compared to anything else in the signal chain, amplifying an instrument that occupies a small band of frequencies to begin with.

It's just not a difficult challenge for any modern half-way decent mic pre that will pass audio and provide gain of some sort. Although I suppose a very loud amp would be a good test for headroom, but that's about the only thing I can think of right now. But yea, for any of you guys who think a guitar amp is going to be a good test for a mic pre ... I just want to know what you're smoking. Not to be an ass or anything, but where are you getting this? ? ?


.

 

[chessrock]

But what's the difference between a bad guitar with a crappy amp recorded with an expensive preamp, and a bad guitar with a crappy amp recorded through a cheap preamp?

What's the difference between a lump of shit served with a fine Cognac versus a lump of shit served with a cheap bottle of Merlot?

.

 

[robin watson]

First take has more presence to it, albeit slight. Nothing that a smidgen of EQ wouldn't even out, I imagine.

 

[robin watson]

What's the difference between a lump of shit served with a fine Cognac versus a lump of shit served with a cheap bottle of Merlot?

.

The same as the difference between an armpit thermometer and an anal thermometer - the taste.

 

[chessrock]

Maybe if you shit out of your armpit.

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