Is a mic preamp worth it?

  • Thread starter Thread starter adriannav
  • Start date Start date
Supercreep said:
Talent/Room/Instruments/Microphones/Pres

Where do monitors and converters go? :)
Click to expand...

Funny, the order in which they occur I believe is:

Performer, instrument(or voice), room, Mic, preamp (inserts if any), A/D convertor(plug-ins if any),D/A convertor, monitor amp, monitor speakers, playback room, your ears.

What that has to do with anything I have no idea, but an awful lot can happen from point a to point b
 
PDP said:
Funny, the order in which they occur I believe is:

Performer, instrument(or voice), room, Mic, preamp (inserts if any), A/D convertor(plug-ins if any),D/A convertor, monitor amp, monitor speakers, playback room, your ears.
Click to expand...
with a good performer/singer you can get compelling recordings with even the most modest of gear.
 
Lt. Bob said:
with a good performer/singer you can get compelling recordings with even the most modest of gear.
Click to expand...

What made you think I was refering to the cost and quality of the gear ???...yes,,, you can own all those components for squat. I'm merely pointing out how many variables there are in the recording process. Even if you go cheap, your source has to go through all of those components. (with the exception of the inserts and plugins). or you can go direct and use headphones, but most recordings done that way are pretty bad.
 
PDP said:
Funny, the order in which they occur I believe is:

Performer, instrument(or voice), room, Mic, preamp (inserts if any), A/D convertor(plug-ins if any),D/A convertor, monitor amp, monitor speakers, playback room, your ears.

What that has to do with anything I have no idea, but an awful lot can happen from point a to point b
Click to expand...

Ethan has opened my eyes to the fact that most of those components dont make any difference. If I had to list them in order of how much they matter in affecting the sound it would be a different order.
 
PDP said:
....most of those components dont make any difference.
Click to expand...

Mmmmm....you really want to roll with that? ;)

One cheap/low-quality/weak link (to include players, instruments, gear, etc) in any signal chain, can bring the entire chain down to that level.
Multiple cheap/low-quality/weak links in a signal chain can only compound the problem, so that you don't really know where the problem is.
 
miroslav said:
Mmmmm....you really want to roll with that? ;)

One cheap/low-quality/weak link (to include players, instruments, gear, etc) in any signal chain, can bring the entire chain down to that level.
Multiple cheap/low-quality/weak links in a signal chain can only compound the problem, so that you don't really know where the problem is.
Click to expand...

Wait, where did you grab that quote from PDP? I think that is out of context, and actually I think he did not mean it in the way you are portraying it. I could be wrong... Anyway..

We all know that one fail in the chain can result in less than ideal recordings. Blah blah blah...
 
I'm just reading the text in the post..... :)

You have to admit that in this thread there has been a bit of the "gear don't matter" perspective tossed about...like that even the most inexpensive gear will get you everything you want, and therefore it's not that critical, yada, yada, yada....
...so I can see why PDP might be seeing it that way.

**********************************

Hey Jimmy,

As a side question, I saw you mention that you have the Vintech X73i.
Been wanting one of those for awhile now, partly for the "Neve-ish" pre, but also because of the on-board EQ.
So really, how do you like it, and what kind of mics/sources have you tossed at it?
 
miroslav said:
You have to admit that in this thread there has been a bit of the "gear don't matter" perspective tossed about...like that even the most inexpensive gear will get you everything you want, and therefore it's not that critical, yada, yada, yada....
...so I can see why PDP might be seeing it that way.
Click to expand...

Lol, you think?
 
miroslav said:
As a side question, I saw you mention that you have the Vintech X73i.
Been wanting one of those for awhile now, partly for the "Neve-ish" pre, but also because of the on-board EQ.
So really, how do you like it, and what kind of mics/sources have you tossed at it?
Click to expand...

Well, I must say that it has more gain than anyone could ever need. I love it with a SM7b. The 'HI's' eq is pristine in gentle amounts. Really brings out the good stuff in vocals that a condenser tends to give, without the havoc that a poor or noisy room creates. Not that I have a problem there anymore. Mid and low end frequency adjustments are quite bold. Clean as hell but I use them sparingly. The thing is built like a tank. Knobs are solid.

Other than that, I have used it with a 57 on snare, 421, 57, and MXL 144 on guitars. In all cases it has performed really well. Much color from the pre when wanted. Also quite clean at low gain levels.

The price is a bit high because of the external power supply ($225), but once you buy that you can run 3 other Vintech products from it. Speaking of which, you reminded me that it is time to buy another!

I use it as my 'sweet channel' for everything. I would give it a personal improvement rating of 10% above the preamps in my UR824's. Probably 20% over the ones I had in the Tascam US 1800.

I am guessing there is at least $500 worth of parts in it. lol
 
Greg_L said:
This type of cork-sniffery belongs at gearslutz.
Click to expand...

True that. At Gearslutz, the "high end" is defined as "the expensive stuff". I think that some of the "high end" sponsors over there are only too happy to keep it that way.
 
PRHunt said:
True that. At Gearslutz, the "high end" is defined as "the expensive stuff". I think that some of the "high end" sponsors over there are only too happy to keep it that way.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I only venture there when I am completely bored. Plus Soundtoys gives out free samples of upcoming gear now and again there. I love the Little Micro Shift (pitch mod) and Little Radiator (1566A sim) plugs. Free if you have Ilok. Well, they were when they first introduced them.
 
jimmys69 said:
Well, I must say that it has more gain than anyone could ever need. I love it with a SM7b. The 'HI's' eq is pristine in gentle amounts. Really brings out the good stuff in vocals that a condenser tends to give, without the havoc that a poor or noisy room creates. Not that I have a problem there anymore. Mid and low end frequency adjustments are quite bold. Clean as hell but I use them sparingly. The thing is built like a tank. Knobs are solid.

Other than that, I have used it with a 57 on snare, 421, 57, and MXL 144 on guitars. In all cases it has performed really well. Much color from the pre when wanted. Also quite clean at low gain levels.

The price is a bit high because of the external power supply ($225), but once you buy that you can run 3 other Vintech products from it. Speaking of which, you reminded me that it is time to buy another!

I use it as my 'sweet channel' for everything. I would give it a personal improvement rating of 10% above the preamps in my UR824's. Probably 20% over the ones I had in the Tascam US 1800.

I am guessing there is at least $500 worth of parts in it. lol
Click to expand...

Well you know what they say...it's that last 10-20% of audio quality that costs the most. :D

I like that it has extra high clean gain....that comes in handy with ribbon mics.
What kind of "color" does it have...how would you describe it?
I would love to try it out with my big Cascade C77 ribbon mic and also my ADK TT tube mic.

It may very well be my next preamp purchase. I'm not hurting for pres, but that's one I've wanted for awhile.

Heck Jimmy, we have to do what we can, and I'm certainly willing to do my part, and buy some more of that high-end gear so those manufacturers don't go out of business...
....now with all these $50 state-of-the-art pres that are going to be flooding the market. ;)
 
PDP said:
What made you think I was refering to the cost and quality of the gear ???...yes,,, you can own all those components for squat. I'm merely pointing out how many variables there are in the recording process. Even if you go cheap, your source has to go through all of those components. (with the exception of the inserts and plugins). or you can go direct and use headphones, but most recordings done that way are pretty bad.
Click to expand...
what made you think I was criticizing you or your post in some way?
I didn't refer to gear whatsoever nor did I in any way allude to your thoughts concerning the value of price versus gear.
I simply said that with a good performer/singer you can get a compelling recording with modest equipment.
That's my opinion ...... I've seen it too many times up to an including horrible recordings that still became important songs.
Do you disagree with that?
And whether you do or not why do you seem to take offense at me saying that since I made no comment about you at all so I fail to see what could have been misinterpreted as an insult.
I simply took the first two items on your list and said that those two were the most important which is just how you listed them.
 
Lt. Bob said:
I simply said that with a good performer/singer you can get a compelling recording with modest equipment.
Click to expand...

I think that's a fair statement.
A great vocalist with a signature sound will still carry most of that regardless of the equipment.

Better equipment can just add that extra 10-20% of "polish" to something that's already good....but it won't lift a shitty source out of the toilet! :D
 
Lt. Bob said:
what made you think I was criticizing you or your post in some way?
I didn't refer to gear whatsoever nor did I in any way allude to your thoughts concerning the value of price versus gear.
I simply said that with a good performer/singer you can get a compelling recording with modest equipment.
That's my opinion ...... I've seen it too many times up to an including horrible recordings that still became important songs.
Do you disagree with that?
And whether you do or not why do you seem to take offense at me saying that since I made no comment about you at all so I fail to see what could have been misinterpreted as an insult.
I simply took the first two items on your list and said that those two were the most important which is just how you listed them.
Click to expand...

Inferiority complex, lol, sorry.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top