how does the preamp fit into my setup?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ryanwoollerton
  • Start date Start date
R

ryanwoollerton

New member
Hi there,

Looking to buy a decent preamp. Now then i produce dance music and they only reason i want a preamp is to plug a mic into and record vocals, so i guess im looking for just a single channel pre with phantom power (2 channel at most). I have done some research but are there many quality single channel pres? i keep hearing a lot about the golden age pre 73, but i would be willing to spend more to increase the quality of my recordings even more.

At the moment my setup is simple - computer --> m audio fast track pro interface --> monitors.

So where does my preamp fit into that setup?

help would be greatly appreciated!
 
what is it about the preamps on the fast track pro that you don't like. Maybe if you can describe the shortcoming you are trying to overcome you'll get more useful suggestions about what would be a good step up.
 
thanks for fast reply!

When recording with the fast track pro, you almost have to turn the gain up to max to only just hear the voice and then it sometimes sounds like its distorting!

I have done some research on this also and it seems to be a very common problem when recording vocals with this particular interface!

I guess im looking for something that might add a bit of warmth and colour to the sound.....
 
Front End Audio said:
Are you unsatisfied with the preamps in your M-Audio interface, or do you just want a really high-quality pre instead? There are countless preamps to choose from, but they vary quite a bit in price. What is your budget?

Regarding hooking up your preamp, you will just have to connect the preamp's output to the line input of your Fast Track Pro.

I hope this helps,
Damian
Click to expand...


Yea unsatisfied with the m audio pres and want something better for better vocal recordings. My budget would be around $500USD (Im from NZ :-))

Ahh that seems fairly easy to connect it up!

Thanks heaps!
 
ryanwoollerton said:
When recording with the fast track pro, you almost have to turn the gain up to max to only just hear the voice and then it sometimes sounds like its distorting!
Click to expand...
just to make sure... you did turn on phantom power, didn't you?
 
ryanwoollerton said:
you almost have to turn the gain up to max to only just hear the voice
Click to expand...
You mean through headphones while tracking? If so... before you buy an external preamp, make sure it's not simply a monitoring level problem, as opposed to the mic gain level.
and then it sometimes sounds like its distorting!
Click to expand...
Are you using the mic with good mic technique? close to mic when vocal is quieter, farther from mic when vocal's louder?

You might not really need a new pre. But if you do, the RNP is very good, also the DMP3, which is less.
 
XLR said:
You mean through headphones while tracking? If so... before you buy an external preamp, make sure it's not simply a monitoring level problem, as opposed to the mic gain level.
Are you using the mic with good mic technique? close to mic when vocal is quieter, farther from mic when vocal's louder?

You might not really need a new pre. But if you do, the RNP is very good, also the DMP3, which is less.
Click to expand...

Yep the singer has excellent technique!

hmmm not too sure i know the correct way to get all the levels right when recording vocals?

What does it involve? how do i set all the levels of everything correctly?
 
ryanwoollerton said:
hmmm not too sure i know the correct way to get all the levels right when recording vocals?

What does it involve? how do i set all the levels of everything correctly?
Click to expand...
Spend a couple hours searching HR for "gain staging" and "input level". Smart to get to know that subject well before spending a dime on more gear.
 
I too have heard good things about the pre 73. I don't have any firsthand experience with it though. I use a DMP3 and really like it. It definitely doesn't add warmth or color though pretty transparent plenty of clean gain. The RNP is another that I have heard good things about again no personal experience with it though. The RNP will probably be my next preamp purchase FWIW.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top