M-Audio Pre Usb with Rode NT1A??

[10101]

Hello folks, this is my first post here so take it easy on me

I just recently purchased some equipment for a basic pc based home studio set up. More specifically, I am using the following equipment:

Microphone: AT2020 Condenser Mic
Sound Card: M-Audio Mobile Pre Usb
Software: Cubase SX 3


As you can tell my budget was limited. I am recording primarily Vocals and Acoustic Guitar and I am satisfied with the sound quality I am getting but not "blown away". There's a bit more hiss than I would like in my recordings. I am now looking to make an upgrade to a Rode NT1A mic since I've seen some great reviews on it. My question is whether the upgrade to the Rode mic will actually improve sound quality or will it be pretty much the same because I am using a relatively inexpensive sound card. Would you guys suggest that I upgrade my Sound Card instead? I realize upgrading both is ideal but its not feasible at the moment. Which upgrade will give me a better sound quality improvement on my recordings?

Thanks.

 

[MadTiger3000]

Hello folks, this is my first post here so take it easy on me

I just recently purchased some equipment for a basic pc based home studio set up. More specifically, I am using the following equipment:

Microphone: AT2020 Condenser Mic
Sound Card: M-Audio Mobile Pre Usb
Software: Cubase SX 3


As you can tell my budget was limited. I am recording primarily Vocals and Acoustic Guitar and I am satisfied with the sound quality I am getting but not "blown away". There's a bit more hiss than I would like in my recordings. I am now looking to make an upgrade to a Rode NT1A mic since I've seen some great reviews on it. My question is whether the upgrade to the Rode mic will actually improve sound quality or will it be pretty much the same because I am using a relatively inexpensive sound card. Would you guys suggest that I upgrade my Sound Card instead? I realize upgrading both is ideal but its not feasible at the moment. Which upgrade will give me a better sound quality improvement on my recordings?

Thanks.

From recent posts about this particular card, it looks like you will gain the most benefit from upgrading it instead of the mic.

 

[10101]

From recent posts about this particular card, it looks like you will gain the most benefit from upgrading it instead of the mic.

thanks for the suggestion. do you have a particular card in mind that you can suggest. I purchased the Mobile Pre for $158.00(CAN) and I would prefer to stay in that ball park price range. But I would assume that for me to achieve noticable improvements I would probably have to spend around $400-$500?

 

[RandyW]

You did not state whether you have a laptop or a desktop.

If you have a desktop with a PCI slot you might want to try a Delta 1010lt.
They seem your basic low cost card around these parts. They have lots of in and outs and you can use multiple cards.

I've never had any problems with either of mine and I use several AT mics:
AT2020, AT4040's, as well as several other brands.

You can get them at MF and get a free mic with it for $200

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/MAudio-Delta-1010-LT-PCI-Digital-Audio-System?sku=701376

If you do have a laptop then something like this might be your ticket.

http://www.presonus.com/firebox.html

 

[TragikRemix]

check out some used stuff if you're on a budget too. ebay is golden in the land of poor ass musicians such as myself.

 

[mrface2112]

i had the mobilepre for about 2 weeks. bought it used and turned around and sold it again.

the preamps were fine for a unit of that price--clean but a little grainy.

my complaints were twofold. one, that it was only 16bit. the second was that the drivers kept crashing my Dell laptop, and m-audio's techs were of no help. i'm a systems engineer and analyze BSOD dump files as my day job, so the poor 18 year old kids that m-audio hires to work their support line and their "uninstall and reinstall" troubleshooting skills were no match for me. ;-)

i also had the presonus firebox for about a week. i also found its preamps "fine", but nothing to write home about. the drivers were solid. the complaints i had with that unit were that the headphone amp didn't have enough gain for "live concert taping" use, and that the firewire cable in the back of the firebox was really "loose" and anytime you adjusted the gain, you ran the risk of dropping samples. poor design, IMO. i took it back.

in the end, i've since bought an apogee minime.....so i'm done searching for now. i just wish the minime could be bus powered.....


cheers,
wade

 

[10101]

Thanks for the help folks, I apologize for forgetting to mention that I am currently using a PC for my recording, although I do have a more than capable laptop that I may start using due to the increasingly loud computer fan in the PC.

The 1010 seem like a feasible purchase but it doesn't seem to be phantom powered.

Thanks

 

[scrubs]

Thanks for the help folks, I apologize for forgetting to mention that I am currently using a PC for my recording, although I do have a more than capable laptop that I may start using due to the increasingly loud computer fan in the PC.

The 1010 seem like a feasible purchase but it doesn't seem to be phantom powered.

Thanks

I think they were possibly suggesting getting a PCI soundcard for your desktop and a separate (external) microphone preamp -- although the Delta 1010lt does have 2 non-phantom-powered preamps, so you could use them with an external phantom power supply. The combo units (like the mobilepre) are certainly usable and convenient (especially for mobile/laptop recording setups), there is often some compromise in quality by combining all those components (mic preamps, A/D/A converters, headphone amp, etc.). The M-Audio Delta cards are pretty solid and not very expensive. If you're not recording a whole band, I'd suggest the Delta 44. They are $150 US, new, and can be found for around $100 used on e-bay. Couple that with a budget external preamp (M-Audio DMP3, Studio Projects VTB-1, Rane MS-1B, etc.), and you'd have a decent enough recording chain for tracking vocals and acoustic guitar.

I own the original Rode NT1 and have never liked it on my acoustic guitar, although it does a decent job on male vocals that need a little "shine." It would not be my first choice for your application. Perhaps the Audio Technica 4040 or ADK Hamburg/Vienna.

 

[bilco]

I have not heard the AT 2020, but I have a Rode NT1a. It is okay, extremely quiet and it has more lows and highs than my SM57 and 58. It is not warm sounding though, which I am looking for. I'll probably keep mine, but I'm not all that satisfied with it. I'd say keep saving for a better mic after you upgrade your soundcard first.

Just to keep from completely slamming Rode, there are successful high $ engineers here in Austin that really like the NTK.

bilco

 

[10101]

I think they were possibly suggesting getting a PCI soundcard for your desktop and a separate (external) microphone preamp -- although the Delta 1010lt does have 2 non-phantom-powered preamps, so you could use them with an external phantom power supply. The combo units (like the mobilepre) are certainly usable and convenient (especially for mobile/laptop recording setups), there is often some compromise in quality by combining all those components (mic preamps, A/D/A converters, headphone amp, etc.). The M-Audio Delta cards are pretty solid and not very expensive. If you're not recording a whole band, I'd suggest the Delta 44. They are $150 US, new, and can be found for around $100 used on e-bay. Couple that with a budget external preamp (M-Audio DMP3, Studio Projects VTB-1, Rane MS-1B, etc.), and you'd have a decent enough recording chain for tracking vocals and acoustic guitar.

Thanks, I looked into the Studio Projects VTB-1 and it seems like a great buy. Its got great reviews on zzounds so far as well. As far as the sound card goes, I was thinking about maybe the MAudio Audiophile 2496, the reviews are pretty good and it seems to have everything that I need at the moment. It was also a recommended starter pci sound card on tweakheadz.com. Any comments on the 2496?