Do i need an External Soundcard / Audio Interface ?

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alanhanvn

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I'm a newbie, so sorry if it's a stupid question :)

I have a Shure SM58 + Behringer Mic100 preamp , then i connect the preamp with my Macbook Pro through the Line-in input.

I record vocal with Logic Pro 8, unfortunately i have the noise "sssssssss" when i make the vocal volume as "loud" as the source - i mean the singer's vocal in the mp3 song - by compression/gain etc.

I just only "remove" the noise by reduce GAIN & OUTPUT on the preamp but the vocal volume is not enough to mix with the instrumental mp3.

Some says that i must buy an external soundcard/audio interface because the main reason why i have the noise "ssssssss" is the on-board soundcard of Macbook Pro :confused:

So my question is "Do i need an external soundcard to reduce the noise, or need the setup: mic > preamp > audio interface > laptop ???"

I'm confused :confused:

Thanks so much! :D
 
JasonJohnson said:
A Behringer Mic100 is a tubemicpre. Tube pres add warmth (which is why people buy them) but they also add 'hiss' (some, more than others).
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Nope.
Just plain nope.
Without even getting into the falsity of the myth that "tube pres add warmth," I'd bet everything I own that any equivalently priced mic pre - behringer or otherwise, toob or otherwise - is gonna end up giving you similar amounts of noise/lack of headroom. In fact, I'd bet anything in that general price range ($30 a channel) is gonna sound just about exactly the same.

I also guarantee you that a $1000-$2000 a channel tube pre won't have any of that hiss.

That's not how tubes work. It's how super cheap gear works.
 
The Cancers said:
That's not how tubes work. It's how super cheap gear works.
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^^^^^^

+1...

I was thinking, "Why is moresound saying something like that" then I realised it's just someone else with the same avatar...
 
Thanks for all replies! :)

So i decided to get a new Audio Interface which supports the good pre-amp on it ...

Could u guys recommend to me the nice budget Audio Interface - about $200 - $300 ? ^^
 
I have a Mic100 - it has a tube - it GLOWS but it doesn't do much in the real signal path. It's there to dial in - on top of the real signal - some tube based noise/dirt/grit/warmth/glamour/fabulousness.
It's a solid state pre with a cheap tube as an effect to be added to the signal like a guitar pedal I suppose.
Mind you it works well with 1 or 2 of my mics.
Even the Bluetube presonus I have is essentially the same thing though the pre is better generally.
Both are cheap.
Neither is a decent interface for recording. I use the breakout box for my PCI Recording soundcard.
 
suggestion

i use a presonus audiobox and i havent had any problems with it i just hook my mic to it or any instrument. and it just hooks up with a usb cord so there it is super easy to set up. they sell them at guitar center for $150 and it comes with studio one artist which cost $200 so u can always sell that to someone and make some of your money back on it or use it as back up.
 
Thanks all!

I've search on google, and s.o said that i should change the "original tube" of Mic100 with another tube - such as Tungsol or Philips 12X7 - because the original tube is very cheap so it makes noise!

Should i change the tube? and which one is good for a preamp?
 
changing the tube on that particular device is unlikely to improve signal in anything other then an 'emperor's new clothes' sort of way, i.e. once someone makes an effort you choose to believe that you hear improvement

that particular box is a not particularly 'good' solid state pre, with a 'starved' voltage tube added primarily for eye candy and some distortion . . . that distortion may or may be what one wants but with that box it will tend to translate as noise

swapping tubes and then not being able to provide voltage for which tube was designed to function might change character of noise, but again it is a crap shoot as to whether that change is what you want (particularly in anything of specific and isolated circumstance)

there are better mic pres out there that while they will cost more then $100 will, typically, improve the signal response in the general case . . . the 'grail' of mic pres is 'straight wire + gain' . . . theoretically once you are there in the general case, then for individual specific circumstance you can modify the noise and distortion with which you want to modify the signal
 
i have a mic100 that i use on my guitar before if i wanted some gritty gain...its pretty noisy and I wouldnt use it for vocals for sure...I use it to make things sound bad not good

you'd be better with the clean pre on a budget mixer in truth or get an audio interface that takes a mic and just bin the mic100 :o
 
Thanks Oretez & Kcearl !

I'll get a new Audio Interface ... and M-audio Fast Track Pro is my goal ... ^^
 
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