Mic or Preamp first?

[StevenLindsey]

Lord willing, I am about to upgrade some equipment. I want to get one very good mic and one very good preamp. Since I have to purchase in stages, I would like to know this: Which will give me the more drastic improvement to my recordings ( into my old Korg D8 ), the mic or the pre? I want to make the most improvement with the first purchase. I am currently recording mic'd inputs using an MXL603 and a Behringer B2 through the pres on a powered Soundcraft mixer. I record electric guitar, bass and synth through a Blue Tube and then through the mixer. I am looking at either the NTK or a Shure KSM44. And then maybe a GraceDesign 101 or the new Toft that's coming out soon or maybe the 4-channel Sytek. What do you think? Thanks for any replies. Have a good weekend everybody.

 

[eeldip]

no easy answer here. but let me go out on a limb.

i would expand your mic collection first. and not even by buying an expensive mic. you have a big hole in your mic collection in that you have no dynamics, which are very important for recording guitar and bass and even vocals.. i would say if you record a lot of guitar and bass get.. (in chinese menu style)

0. EV 635A ($40-$50 anywhere)

1. sm57 ($40 - $79)

2. choice of sennheiser md421, beyer m201, senn md441, beyer m88, EV re20, shure sm7. ($150-$300)

3. option: if you feel rich- a beyer m260 or m160 ($175 - $350)

 

[darrin_h2000]

You have a couple of decent starter mics there, for the D8 I reccomend a decent 2 channel, I bet that a RNP would be ample for this, then get an SM57 right after that.

I had the D8 once and really liked it alot, did alot of really good stuff with just a bluetube. and a C1, SM57.

 

[chessparov]

FWIW, I'd like to eventually get one of the Toft units.
Then I'll probably keep my VTB-1/RNC combination for live stuff.

If everything goes as planned, those will be a killer value IMO.

Chris

 

[dudleys100]

I agree, I would like to find out more about the Toft stuff. As far as your question I would say definatly mics. I was in your place a month ago and still kind of am. I got 5 different pre's, and 5 mics. I can tell a difference in all the pre's but it is not near as big a difference as the mics. I can listen to all the pre's and tell a difference but I can't always tell which is which. With the mics I can tell excactly which mic is which. In other words the biggest difference is in your mics IMO. I have the C-1, Blue Dragonfly, and the NTK. The C-1 is good but I haven't found anything yet that either the NTK or the Dragonfly didn't do better. The Dragonfly and NTK are very different but are both great and both compliment each other. I have one guy that sounds bad in the NTK and great in the Dragonfly. Today the Dragonfly lost out to the NTK with a funk style singer. And it sounds GREAT on him. Also those Soundcraft pre's are supposed to be nice. I have heard them compared to the Soundtracs which I have. The Soundtracs I have has so far beat out the VTB-1, the Meek MQ3, ART dual MP, and the UA-5 by Edirol hands down IMO.

 

[chessparov]

Typically you'll notice more of difference with pre's on dynamic microphones,
including ribbons, rather than condensers.

Chris

 

[ambi]

As far as i've read on this board the mic will give you a huge difference, and the pre only a little bit.
But i guess as chess said it's different with dynamics.
I would get an awesome mic before i got an awesome pre. But then again putting an awesome mic with a shit pre is kind of counter productive. But it will make a bigger difference.

 

[chessrock]

As far as i've read on this board the mic will give you a huge difference, and the pre only a little bit.

Absolutely . . . no question about it.

 

[Richard Monroe]

The Toft pre looks like it will be very nice (ATC-2 in particular). I'd probably grab a B.L.U.E. Dragonfly and wait for the ATC-2.-Richie

 

[StevenLindsey]

Thanks everybody. I kind of thought it might be the mic. Well, I'm well on the way - saving up for that puppy. I'll be completely out of debt for the first time in about 20 years this summer if all goes well. My wife is going to hate me. What do you think? Will the ksm44 be more versatile than the NTK? I'm sure that it will but I hear such great things about the NTK that I almost can't resist even though it only has one pattern and probably a tube that will burn out in 2 months. I want one good, QUIET mic. I think with that I can get by from now on. I appreciate the replys!

 

[chessrock]

Will the ksm44 be more versatile than the NTK?

You'd probably find that to be the case.

 

[chessparov]

If I was considering the NTK, I'd be sure to try the Studio Projects T3
which is a multi-pattern. Either one is supposed to be well made.

Chris

 

[StevenLindsey]

The Dragonfly seems to be a very nice mic but it doesn't come too highly recommended for acoustic guitar, which is one of my main applications. My vocals don't actually deserve that good a mic. The NTK has a lot of good reviews in the area of acoustic guitar recording. Oh, and btw, I have a pair of ECM8000s, two sm57s, an sm58 and a buzzy old Peavy mic. I should have mentioned them before asking for recommendations, but my question was mostly related to my main vocal and acoustic guitar mics. I use the B2 and the 603 ( sometimes with the piezo ) for stereo guitar recording and the B2 for vocals. Getting some nice results, but... The 8000s and 57s are permanently stuck on the drums. I'm thinking the new mic with the 603 should give me a nice improvement on the acoustic. The B2 seems to be a bit shallow on vocals, but not too bad. I just need a step up. The NTK, I think, may flatter vocals a bit; the ksm44 is more realistic to the source.(?) And yeah that Toft stuff LOOKS very nice. Waiting for the reviews. I think I've learned by now not to buy because of looks, but it's tempting sometimes, isn't it? Blue stuff seems to make me want it more than black or silver stuff; blue is cool and soothing. I'm sure that color is considered a great deal in marketing strategy as well as are the style of knobs, meters, etc. I sometimes even think that we perceive that something sounds better than it actually does simply because of how it LOOKS. The brain is a strange instrument. <slap> <stops rambling>

 

[dudleys100]

I have had some GREAT results using the 603 and the NTK. And I feel it is very versatile. I have heard good about the KSM 44 though. Good luck.