Mic Preamp for newbie

[metoo0716]

Hi, I am a guitar player. I have a small home studio and have had great success writing tracks using sonor and recording guitar tracks. I have recently gotten into writing complete songs. My issue is, I can't sing real well. I mean I am musically talented and so my notes are ok, but it sounds weak or thin. That is my issue but I am wondering what the role of a MIC Preamp does? I see a lot of preamps are also EQ and compressors.

 

[Teacher]

Look into a better Vox mic first

 

[apl]

To record vocals well, you need a good soundcard and a good condenser microphone, and a good room.

What are you using now?

 

[Warhead]

Sounds like your money would be better spent on singing lessons? I only say this because you say you cannot sing well. A preamp isn't a good next step in my opinion.

War

 

[Funky_]

I agree with Warhead.

If you get a good mic and a good pre-amp then you will be picking up a higher quality signal.

Now if your voice isn't good then you will just basicly be enhancing the ungoodness of your voice.

One thing I learned after buying new equipment was that the better the quality the better the performance must be because it's a lot easyer to hear mistakes in a good quality setup then a bad one.

 

[hasbeen]

Not singing well doesn't have to be a bad thing. Think about it. How many bands or artists that we like or love have stellar singing voices? I've heard countless artists who did not like their own voices, but that did not stop them. Jimi hendrix was one of them, not to mention Clapton. How are your songwriting skills? Give your self a break, and write and record. Don't hold back or consider your voice a handicap. You will be defeating you drive to follow your muse and live your passion.

 

[tdukex]

In order to record decent tracks via a microphone, you need a decent mic, decent preamp, and decent sound card (if you don't have these already). IMO if you can't already sing well, you probably never will, and singing lessons won't help much. Instead, spend your money on decent gear, find someone who can sing, and record them using your decent gear.

 

[DJL]

Hi, I am a guitar player. I have a small home studio and have had great success writing tracks using sonor and recording guitar tracks. I have recently gotten into writing complete songs. My issue is, I can't sing real well. I mean I am musically talented and so my notes are ok, but it sounds weak or thin. That is my issue but I am wondering what the role of a MIC Preamp does? I see a lot of preamps are also EQ and compressors.

The roll of the preamp is mostly for boosting mic signal levels up to a useable line level... also sometimes for adding color and etc too. The M-Audio DMP-3 preamp and RNC compressor combo is a good newbie entry level channel strip.

 

[noisedude]

Or for the very cheapest - get a little Yamaha MG10/2 mixer and learn a little about routing and EQ in the process.

 

[Big Kenny]

Side bar
"Jimi hendrix was one of them, not to mention Clapton. " quoted by hasbeen.
What are you talking about, those guys sang/sing great!

 

[scarboro78]

Hey what do you guys think about gettin the 'Focusrite P6 TrakMaster Microphone Preamp, Compressor, and Equalizer' (300 bucks) or the 'Focusrite Platinum Penta Compressor/Limiter Microphone Preamp' (400 bucks).. Instead of paying 350 Bucks for the RNC & DMP3??

 

[hasbeen]

Side bar
"Jimi hendrix was one of them, not to mention Clapton. " quoted by hasbeen.
What are you talking about, those guys sang/sing great!

Exactly my point! Both have stated in interviews that they did not like the sound of their own voices...

 

[dayvel]

I don't think you should just start throwing a truckload of money at stuff. I'd pick up a Rane MS-1b mic pre and a Shure sm58 or sm57 (or both.) This is gear you'll still be able to use after you move up to something better. In any case, you'll be able sell the mics on eBay for almost as much as you paid for them.
Instead of getting outboard EQ's and compressors, use plugins. You can get plenty of cheap or free ones on the net. You'll be able to improve your vocals quite a bit with these simple and cheap tools. Once you've learned how to use them, you'll have a much better idea of what to get when and if you decide to get hardware units. Or you could just shell out for better plugs.

 

[crazydoc]

Hi, I am a guitar player. I have a small home studio and have had great success writing tracks using sonor and recording guitar tracks. I have recently gotten into writing complete songs. My issue is, I can't sing real well. I mean I am musically talented and so my notes are ok, but it sounds weak or thin. That is my issue but I am wondering what the role of a MIC Preamp does? I see a lot of preamps are also EQ and compressors.

What are you using now? We can't very well advise you without knowing. Do you have nothing, and need to start from scratch, or do you use something that you are dissatisfied with? Do you have a mic, a mixer (I assume you don't have a stand-alone preamp, since you are asking what one is), a soundcard? If so, what are they?

 

[Big Kenny]

sorry sorry sorry

Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Kenny
Side bar
"Jimi hendrix was one of them, not to mention Clapton. " quoted by hasbeen.
What are you talking about, those guys sang/sing great!



Exactly my point! Both have stated in interviews that they did not like the sound of their own voices...

misread your post, sorry mea culpa

 

[Treeline]

If your gear is doing an ok job with everything except your voice, you need to work on your voice next. More gear won't make up for lack of control, and voice lessons are about control. They're not intended to make you an opera star - they're intended to help you develop an ability to do what you want to do. And they make a hell of a difference.

I took voice lessons for a few years and after 30 years singing baritone, learned almost immediately that my strongest voice is in the mid to high tenor range - perhaps countertenor. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I was told that. It changed everything - anything started looking possible.

Lessons nearly doubled my range, stopped the pain with the high notes, gave me control, all that stuff. I'm using what I learned every time I sing a note. After I get that internalized, it'll be more lessons.

Take the $300 preamp money and put it into a semester of weekly lessons. It'll pay you back right from the start.

 

[Strave]

I totally disagree. I feel I can make most people sound decent as long as they have no problem with pitch, which is trainable. Work within the range which sounds decent for yourself. Don't sing high if it doesn't sound good. That will come with time. Start out singing between a Low G and E before your break. Gain some control and then work some more. As for not being able to improve, that's total BS. Gather a group of 10 singers and ask them if they improved over the course of their life. I guarantee you at least 5 will say they improved tremendously.

For equipment, get yourself a cheap behringer utlra tube pre, make sure your soundcard input doesn't interfere with your sound, and get a behringer B1. You should be able to find both for a total of 140 shipped and taxed and you're ready to work.

have fun man,
Brian

 

[metoo0716]

Thank you for your response but I think you guys are missing the point of my question. I am not foolish enough to think there is a tool or piece of equipment to make my singing better. Electronics can make a good thing sound great, but not a bad thing sound great. If you can't play the guitar, buying a 3000.00 PRS will not make you sound better. Instead, my question is more to understand what is the role of a Mic Preamp. I have a large room for recording, with a mackie board. I have a Pintech drum kit and my guitars all run through the mixer to the PC for recording. I do have a singer come over for some of the vocal work. The mic I am using is a XM8500 Behringer straight into the the board. Effects are added later, not inline during the recording.

 

[MadAudio]

OH! Well, a mic pre amplifies the tiny mic signal to a usable level. Your mixer has mic pres built in. Outboard mic pres range in cost and quality. Some color the sound, others don't. Some have added features like eq and compression.

 

[Flatpicker]

The pres in your Mackie are just fine for now. However, you must get a better mic. Do a search on something like "The best mic under $..." or "The best mic for...", etc... and read all you can.