mackie pre vs. DMP3

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tillamook
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Tillamook

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My gear:

Rode NT3
SM57
Mackie 1202 vlz-pro
m-audio 24/96 -> nice computer ->Cakewalk HS2004xl

My ONLY concern here is recording acoustic guitar, steel and classical, strumming and fingerpicking.

My question:

Would getting a DMP3 be a good idea, or a waste of cash?. I'd like a little help getting a nice guitar sound, especially with the classical, which I always seem to end up eq'ing the hell out of during mixdown.



Pre-emptive strike:
Just to keep the thread from being too repetitive with previous threads, let's pretend I have mastered mic placement, have an acoustically perfect room, and astounding playing technique.

Bill
 
Tillamook said:
Pre-emptive strike:
Just to keep the thread from being too repetitive with previous threads, let's pretend I have mastered mic placement, have an acoustically perfect room, and astounding playing technique.

Bill
Click to expand...

with that and the equipment you have, you should be getting nice sounding tracks.......
 
you should post a very short clip of high bit rate mp3 with flat EQ.......that might give a clearer picture of the problem.....
 
Tillamook said:
Just to keep the thread from being too repetitive with previous threads, let's pretend I have mastered mic placement, have an acoustically perfect room, and astounding playing technique.
Click to expand...

If that's the case, then I doubt you would have had any need to start this post in the first place. My guess, then, would be that you would need to look at a mic with a more favorable frequency response, or a guitar/string combination that gives you the sound you're looking for without having to EQ the heck out of your tracks.

My initial thought is that you lied about your assumption of perfect mic placement, though. :D More often than not, having to EQ accoustic guitars too much is a sign that you should have worked the mic placement a little differently. Mic'ing an accoustic takes a lot of fiddling around; it can be tricky and deceptive.

The only way switching from one el-cheapo mic pre to another el-cheapo mic pre is going to help any is if it somehow causes you to point the mic differently. :D
 
Gidge and Chess:

Please note that I wrote "Let's PRETEND I have mastered........."

Pretend, as in I haven't fussed with mic placement all that much, my room acoustics probably suck, and, after 35 years, I still play like I'm wearing boxing gloves.

I won't be able to post a clip anytime soon, I've got to go out of town for a couple days, and besides, I'm pretty shy about exposing my crappy music to anyone besides Putty-Tat, my cat.


I appreciate your posts, I get the feeling that you both think that there would be a fairly minimal gain from throwing my $150 at a DMP3, compared with the improvement I would gain by spending a few more minutes (O.K. , hours, days, years...) working on mic placement.

Cheers,
Bill

P.S. Somehow I missed the last line of your post, Chessrock. Pretty funny, and point taken.
 
Last edited:
FWIW, If I played guitar :D, would consider selling the NT3,
then upgrading up to a something like either the SP C4 pair,
or an omni T.H.E. Microphone.

My understanding is that placement would be easier with the
omni pattern over the (unidirectional) NT3 also.

Chris
 
Tillamook said:
My gear:

Rode NT3
SM57
Mackie 1202 vlz-pro
m-audio 24/96 -> nice computer ->Cakewalk HS2004xl

My ONLY concern here is recording acoustic guitar, steel and classical, strumming and fingerpicking.

My question:

Would getting a DMP3 be a good idea, or a waste of cash?. I'd like a little help getting a nice guitar sound, especially with the classical, which I always seem to end up eq'ing the hell out of during mixdown.



Pre-emptive strike:
Just to keep the thread from being too repetitive with previous threads, let's pretend I have mastered mic placement, have an acoustically perfect room, and astounding playing technique.

Bill
Click to expand...
I'd get a Marshall MXL603S mic for recording your acoustic guitar first, it's a no-brainer... no EQ, just placement and record. After that, add a better preamp... and IMO, the DMP3 is nicer than the mackie preamps... but, not by much. IMO, all the $300 and less preamps are all about the same, give or take a little.
 
You're not going to waste anything getting a DMP3; it's worth every cent and you will find all kinds of uses for it.

The real question is whether you can get a sound you like with the VLZ preamps. My best guess, based on run of the mill Mackie preamps in my non-VLZ board, is that the DMP3 might give you a little more midrange, maybe a little less brittle high end, but mostly it gives you gobs of gain before getting squirrely. You may not need any of those things; the VLZ is a nice setup all by itself for this price point. I find the DMP really saves my butt with dynamic mics in a simple live rig, so you might find it wakes up the SM57 and takes it to the next level.
 
I have the DMP3 and a Mackie 1604 VLZ. I rarely use the Mackie anymore unless I need more than two channels. Under $300, you'll be hard pressed to find a stereo mic pre that is as good sounding as the DMP3, IMO.

Blessings, Terry
 
For me and acoustic guitar, the DMP3 and two MXL603s (or two MC012s) is the ticket--sounds better than my VC1Q. I haven't heard too many people rave about the NT-3 on guitar.

How about this. Sell the 1202VLZ ($300) and the NT-3 ($100), and use the $175 or so you'd spend on a DMP3 for a total of $575. Then buy an RNP ($475) and two GC MC012s ($100). That would be a nice acoustic guitar chain.

Later, you can but an RNC.
 
I don't care for the NT3 on acoustic guitar as much as I like the MXL603S's... and I like the MC-012 better than the NT3 on acoustic guitar... but, sometimes the NT3 can be the right ticket.
 
Thanks, everybody, for your suggestions. I'm going to stick with what I have for several more sessions and really concentrate on mic placement and gain staging until I feel I've squeezed as much as possible out my current gear. I worked on it a bit yesterday and made some progress, I'm pretty happy with the tracks. I didn't use the classical guitar, though. I got some improvement by using the sm57 at the 12th fret and the NT3 a few inches south of the soundhole, fairly close to the guitar and aimed almost up the guitar towards the neck.

I'll probably end up getting the DMP3 eventually, if for no other reason than to scratch the GAS itch and have some VU meters in my gear, and post my reaction.



tdukex: I'd love to have an RNP + RNC but I can't really justify the cost. Selling the 1202 isn't an option, I may have given the impression that all I do is record guitar, but I have midi gear and need the mixer.

Cheers,

Bill
 
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