Mic Pre amp

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ashulman

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I just got the Zoom 1044 digital recorder and am using a Shure SM58 mic for vocals plugged directly into the machine. However I'm concerned that I'm getting too much hiss because the level needs to be high if I want to maintain a 6-10 inch distance from the mic when singing. Do I need a mic pre-amp, a different vocal mic or both?
 
You really should use a condenser mic for vocals.. And a pre is a good idea as well.
 
Forgive the stupid question but I am new to the technical details. What is it about a condenser that makes it better for vocals? Also, I assume that the pre is to boost the signal or is it something else?
 
ashulman said:
Forgive the stupid question but I am new to the technical details. What is it about a condenser that makes it better for vocals? Also, I assume that the pre is to boost the signal or is it something else?
Click to expand...

Condensers are not necessarily "better", just "usually better in most situations...."

The sensitivity of a condenser is greater than that of a dynamic, so it has a different sound. Most vocals on the radio are sung thru condensers. However, a 58 should be fine.

Yes, a pre boosts the mic output to line level, which is the voltage level your recorder wants to see. Dynamic mics put out tiny little signals, so a nice clean preamp will bring it up to a usable level. You can set the preamp so you'll get a nice strong mic signal while your recorder's fader is at 0. The result will be less hiss and better overall sound.
 
For most voices, you want to stay around 5 or 6 inches away from a
SM58, unless you want the bass boost by "eating" the mike.

On a "budget" mic pre or mixer, condensers usually will sound better than
a dynamic microphone for vocals. Not the fault of the dynamic microphone,
rather the pre. Plenty of hits have been recorded with your microphone-
except they're going into a higher quality signal chain.

Chris
 
I'm trying to decide what to get next, the pre or the condenser. It sounds like a pre will be a necessity in any event and so maybe that should be first. Incidentally, the Zoom recorder says it has a mic pre as one of its effects (along with compression, etc) but there is not a whole lot of direction on how to use it and I imagine the quality is not great.
 
I think the most affordable mic pre that can offer "pro" level results
is the Studio Projects VTB-1. If you can wait around 6 weeks or so from
now, it's expected that the price will drop down to approximately $130.
Then your SM58 would have a new lease on life, assuming you can tell
it sounds pretty good on your voice already. :)

Chris
 
So a mic pre is in question,like a Tube Pre?I heard they doesnt do diddly squat unless you need distrtion on the vocals.As far as sounding warm,will just a mic preamp just do instead of a "tube" mic preamp?
 
I'm trying to decide what to get next, the pre or the condenser. It sounds like a pre will be a necessity in any event and so maybe that should be first.
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Upgrading your mic will almost always be a much more noticeable improvement than upgrading your mic preamp (And don't say "Well I don't have a mic preamp to upgrade from." The XLR connection into your zoom is a mic preamp.) I would definitely recommend upgrading your mic first, then upgrading your preamp.
 
So a mic pre is in question,like a Tube Pre?I heard they doesnt do diddly squat unless you need distrtion on the vocals.As far as sounding warm,will just a mic preamp just do instead of a "tube" mic preamp?
Click to expand...
Warm vocals... hmm, can you describe what you mean by warm? From what I can tell, when people say warm they mean a lower, less crisp high end. If this is all you need get a nice solid state pre (DMP3, RNP) and you EQ until they begin to sound "warm." Cheap tupe pres are not really tube in the same sense that solid state pres are solid state. In other words, the tube is not really used to amplify the signal. It is just placed in the signal path to add a distortion that, at times, is pleasing, and at other times, is not. It's not until you get into the 1,000 per channel or so units that real tube pres are decent.
 
ambi said:
would the VTB1 be noticably better than the DMP3?
Click to expand...
Not to my ears...

DMP-3=Mariah
VTB-1=Christina :D

VTB-1 sounds kinda dirrty.... :p
 
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