is a pre-amp necessary on all my mics? ex. kick mic and snare mic

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77766613

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or also on my condensers? the recorder that i use has phantom power, but should i put a pre-amp on my condensers too? and should i put one on my kick and snare mic also? i have absolutely no proper euducation on recording, but i learn fast, i just need to know a few simple do and donts, and doesnt matters, i know the main thing in a recording is the talent of the musician. thats not a problem at all here. its just the recording. any help please?
 
All microphones need some type of preamp. Whether by your interface, a mixer, or an outboard preamp. Basically anything with a mic input and a gain knob.
 
If you're managing to get sound from the mics into your recording software, then they are already going through pre-amps.
Condensers need phantom power which is usually supplied at the mic amp (but some have their own separate power supply), but don't need a second mic-amp.
All microphones need to be amplified to be recorded, because if you think about it the amount of electrical signal being generated actually in the mic by the movement of the diaphragm is tiny, so this has to be ramped up to a level suitable for recording.

Wherever it is that you're plugging your mics into, sitting just behind the connection is the mic amp with a gain pot sticking out from it somewhere. (this knob may not be physically next to the connection but it is close 'electrically')
 
What everyone has already said: If you hear the mic, then it went through a pre-amp.

But, if I'm allowed to assume, I'm assuming you mean "Should I put all my mics through an external pre-amp". The answer to that is: Not necessarily. You can if you want to, but there's no reason to buy a pre-amp for each mic just for the sake of it. You can get great recordings just plugging your mic directly into whatever you're recording into.
 
I think the question you may be trying to ask is "do I need a nice ass preamp for everything?" I would say yes, just because why not!? But you can get away with using the ones that come in your console or interface

Nice ass preamp...ballpark $3k (Something like a Neve 1063)



Good Enough Preamp... around $300 (RNP or ART MPA Gold)
 
Do you need a "nice ass preamp" if you're just starting out learning about recording? Probably not, nice mics would make more sense.

I think basically the short answer is No, you don't need to worry about pre-amps at least for the moment so long as you're getting level through to your recording software.
Instead concentrate your efforts on experimenting with mic positioning, mic choice and learning about mixing, dynamics, eq and balancing etc.
But most of all, spend as much time as you can listening. Listen to records you know and ones you don't, focus on how the snare sounds for example, or how much backing vocals there are and where they are. What kind of reverb if any has been put on the lead vocals. You get the idea I'm sure.
 
77766613 said:
or also on my condensers? the recorder that i use has phantom power, but should i put a pre-amp on my condensers too? and should i put one on my kick and snare mic also? i have absolutely no proper euducation on recording, but i learn fast, i just need to know a few simple do and donts, and doesnt matters, i know the main thing in a recording is the talent of the musician. thats not a problem at all here. its just the recording. any help please?
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The phantom power is necessary on just the condensors. If you also use it on the dynamic mics it should be ok but it is unnecessary
 
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