good pre with dynamic

  • Thread starter Thread starter stupidfatnugly
  • Start date Start date
S

stupidfatnugly

New member
as I read, everyone is saying you need a good pre with a dynamic mic such as the sm7 - which I'm considering. what are my options with protools?

right now I just have the mbox2, which people have told me is a decent pre

but do I need a better one for this use?

It looks like people like the m-audio dmp3 which is only $150. Would that help the sound of the sm7 vs. just using my mbox2?
 
...if my information is correct, the Mbox 2 has only 50dB of available gain output...that's about 10-15dB short of what you'll need to make the best of an SM7...in that case, the DMP-3 would be an improvement...;)
 
I'm pretty sure it's 50db, too, which isn't enough to use in a pure analog environment.

Do you have a SM7(b)? If not, it's a good thing to get. It's definitely not the only mic I use, but it's great at what it does. As you've read, it has lower output than even some other dynamics (certainly lower than the SM57 or SM57).

If you're like me in a home project studio with a computer software based DAW, my opinion is that the most important aspect of the preamp is that it's *quiet* and doesn't add much noise. If my recorded tracks are not loud enough in my software, I use digital gain to bring them up to where I want them, and that's usually fine for me. But there's the rub - if the preamp was too noisy, it may not have been obvious in the quiet track, but bringing the whole thing up also brings up the noise level -- and this is even more true using compression, which generally wants to raise the gain of the less loud parts of the track (i.e. the noise) and lower the gain of the louder parts (i.e. the signal, at least part of it).

I guess my recommendation would be to try the SM7b out with your interface prior to getting a preamp -- it's sure to be too quiet upon first listen, but then boost it (or compress) in software and see if the noise is acceptable (and the sound is good) -- if not, then get a separate pre :)

edit: and my obligatory personal *fail* story was with an ART Digital MPA, which is perfectly quiet and suitable in my opinion, but I had put in some noisy tubes. I liked the sound with high output mics, but when I tracked with my SM7b, and then later raised the levels, this hiss was deafening :o
 
Last edited:
specsfor mbox2:
Analog Inputs — 2 Separate source selection and gain control per channel
Mic: XLR with 48V phantom power
Mic preamp: >120 db EIN @ > 50 dB gain
Line: 1/4"
DI: 1/4"
Maximum Input: 8.7 V RMS (balanced), or +21 dBu

so you guys are right.

my problem is that my room is small (7'x11') and so my condenser(baby bottle) picks up too much of it when I step back from the mic. Therefore, I can't sing very loud without getting a tinny sound which I hate.

If you were to try to fix this issue would you:
1) put up more treatment(absorption panels of which I have 9 - 2'x4'x4'' panels up now)
2) get a reflection filter
or 3) go the sm7 route?(which would be the most expensive option).

I don't own an sm7 as of now and I've been singing the loud parts through an sm57 - which sounds alright but it's not really the tool for the job. Or so I've read.
 
stupidfatnugly said:
specsfor mbox2:
Analog Inputs — 2 Separate source selection and gain control per channel
Mic: XLR with 48V phantom power
Mic preamp: >120 db EIN @ > 50 dB gain
Line: 1/4"
DI: 1/4"
Maximum Input: 8.7 V RMS (balanced), or +21 dBu

so you guys are right.

my problem is that my room is small (7'x11') and so my condenser(baby bottle) picks up too much of it when I step back from the mic. Therefore, I can't sing very loud without getting a tinny sound which I hate.

If you were to try to fix this issue would you:
1) put up more treatment(absorption panels of which I have 9 - 2'x4'x4'' panels up now)
2) get a reflection filter
or 3) go the sm7 route?(which would be the most expensive option).

I don't own an sm7 as of now and I've been singing the loud parts through an sm57 - which sounds alright but it's not really the tool for the job. Or so I've read.
Click to expand...

Well you can build your own reflextion filter by putting 2 panels in a v shape around the mic. Works wonders for a untreated studio. Also the DMP3 will work great for your mic. What budget do you have in mind for a preamp?
 
I haven't even begun to look at preamps. I'm heavily researching mics right now.

Obi, I can just put 2 of the 244's together and it's the same as that SE Reflection Filter?

hey I can't figure your site out. can i use your samples somehow with reason?
 
stupidfatnugly said:
I haven't even begun to look at preamps. I'm heavily researching mics right now.

Obi, I can just put 2 of the 244's together and it's the same as that SE Reflection Filter?

hey I can't figure your site out. can i use your samples somehow with reason?
Click to expand...

Yes. Even in the DIY section here you can build one for fairly cheap. I have even seen moving blankets used with great success. You can find those materials along with some clips at harbor frieght on state st and 3600 ish south. And yes my samples are all wav's and can be used in reason. The downloads are down and will be back up this weekend.
 
but I can't hang them on the walls and go sing in the corner, right?

it has to be off the walls?

do you have a clap like the one used in Mariah Carey's song "Fantasy" or Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack"?
I love that sound. I think it's a clap and kick at the same time.

never mind on the dmp3. I just read that the cheapest pre I would consider is the fmr rnp
 
stupidfatnugly said:
but I can't hang them on the walls and go sing in the corner, right?

it has to be off the walls?

do you have a clap like the one used in Mariah Carey's song "Fantasy" or Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack"?
I love that sound. I think it's a clap and kick at the same time.

never mind on the dmp3. I just read that the cheapest pre I would consider is the fmr rnp
Click to expand...

I'll have to check my library for some of those claps. And the RNP is nice but from what I have heard the new BLA Auteur is nicer.
 
with that relection filter you put it in the middle of your room with a cloud over your head and you should sound the best you can in that room, right?

if I did that and turned my baby bottle way down, ya think i'd get the sound i'd like with yelling?
 
are you saying no to standing in the middle of the room with cloud and make-shift reflection filter?

or no to yelling with a condenser?
 
Standing like that is fine but yelling into the condensor may get you a distorted sound. I stand in the middle of the room in a "box" it really is a 3 way self supporting way we have that is just a wood frame with rockwool for the actual middle of the wall behind the singer with 2 bass traps in a v shape behind the mic.
 
stupidfatnugly said:
Obi, I can just put 2 of the 244's together and it's the same as that SE Reflection Filter?
Click to expand...

It would have an effect close to that, yes. Standing in the middle of the room and singing without it might sound just as good, just different.

Frank
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top