CoolCat
Well-known member
Saturday. Not really in recording mood I grabbed a SM58 and wanted to sanity check my Interface Preamp to this $2500 vintage ISA430.
My room is a upstairs bedroom closet, maybe more like a VO room than a studio. The other room has drums and amps etc...but its not used much these days. So in short a typical drywall room with doors closed.
The SM58 is great at less room noise. Into the Interface IC preamps, near max, gain, it was "the standard". UX8- 8channel interface.
Then into the ISA430, it was near identical, clean, the 430 is a dual transformer, $2500 mono preamp has been used on Platinum records Ive read.
No big difference.
Then the KSM44, ~$1000 into the Interface. Big difference is it really picks up the downstairs! and sounds from my stomach? lol Didnt need max gain on the interface amp, the room noise floor much higher than the duller/ 1.8mv/pa SM58. KSM 28mv/pa sensitivity spec.
The KSM44 into the ISA 430, not a huge difference if any, to my ears...again preamp only no-eq, no comp.
The noise, of my house, was weird, it made the downstairs ceiling fan seem like it was in my room upstairs! And I know the noises here well.
I turn off the downstairs ceiling fan if recording quiet stuff seriously.
The KSM44 was in cardiod only, and I did two runs with the 15db pad on and off, the 15db pad dulls it down and basically brings the output down.
Grabbed the SM7B for the last run, into the Interface preamp , again on max gain, it was similar to the 58 and quiet noise floor.
And contrary to some who say "if you turn the gain up it equals the KSM44...." thats not true. When I turned the gain up on the SM7b it was still a much much quieter noise floor of the room noises, the ceiling fan for example was just NOT picked up as much.
SM7b into the $2500 vintage cool preamp wasnt much difference to my ears. I was doing clean and not overdriving or anything...clean,..SM7b + ISA430 preamp.
Now the ISA preamp gain knob wasnt even sweating, not even close to max. The ISA gain is like having a 747 Airplane engine of Gain, compared to my Interface preamp Gain being a bicycle....but the sounds Im doing, the Interface works as good for a hobby HR demo-song whatever now and then use.
In the end, the SM7b works here, reduces home noises, sounds as good as the SM58 but has a built in distance to avoid amateur mic positioning of the mouth/voice.... the SM58 would be in distinguishable if used in a songrecording. imo. Then again after eq, comp,verbs, all mics can kind of get to a same average.
For the preamp, I like having some room for gain and knobs that feel real, not plastic. Having had the pleasure of a bunch of preamps through here, the ISA is a favorite, but preamp only mode the ISA430 isnt much different than a ISA One at all, even with the 430 dual carnhill famous pumpkin transformers etc.... so yes on an Outboard Preamp, but a "many preamps do about the same thing and sound about the same" imo.
and toss in the Neutrik mic cable vs a no name, and the Neutrik fits better and seems better built.
some say its all a joke but its not from what I have. The no name is ok, no problems, no sound difference, just loose a bit and cheaper to the feel.
I have super cheap cables that I will be cutting off the cheap ends and replacing, they are so bad the connectors crackle, pop...and some of the set have a bad diameter and wont even fit. I do like the colored cables though, so maybe some DIY XLR jacks to order......
a SM7B and a Cloudlifter is cool, but a unit like a ISA One type preamp is still my fav. The ISA430 is kind of overkill for me too (i paid $650) but I dont find the Channel Strip works easily for me as I dont have the Control Room isolation thing and dont care to "reamp" the vocal, I can use plugins ITB.
SM7b kicks ass in a noisy room....very impressive! I dont need a flopping popshield in my face, I get consistent lips to foam, its tank built...sounds like a SM58..lol KSM44 probably built for professionals in much better studio rooms.
Interface preamp to $2500 preamp, not much sound difference, but a ton more gain on the latter...but I wouldnt pay $2500 for any preamp.
oh well! Saturday morning..... any Mic and Preamp combo favorites? please post... Im curious and its good coffee time reading!
My room is a upstairs bedroom closet, maybe more like a VO room than a studio. The other room has drums and amps etc...but its not used much these days. So in short a typical drywall room with doors closed.
The SM58 is great at less room noise. Into the Interface IC preamps, near max, gain, it was "the standard". UX8- 8channel interface.
Then into the ISA430, it was near identical, clean, the 430 is a dual transformer, $2500 mono preamp has been used on Platinum records Ive read.
No big difference.
Then the KSM44, ~$1000 into the Interface. Big difference is it really picks up the downstairs! and sounds from my stomach? lol Didnt need max gain on the interface amp, the room noise floor much higher than the duller/ 1.8mv/pa SM58. KSM 28mv/pa sensitivity spec.
The KSM44 into the ISA 430, not a huge difference if any, to my ears...again preamp only no-eq, no comp.
The noise, of my house, was weird, it made the downstairs ceiling fan seem like it was in my room upstairs! And I know the noises here well.
I turn off the downstairs ceiling fan if recording quiet stuff seriously.
The KSM44 was in cardiod only, and I did two runs with the 15db pad on and off, the 15db pad dulls it down and basically brings the output down.
Grabbed the SM7B for the last run, into the Interface preamp , again on max gain, it was similar to the 58 and quiet noise floor.
And contrary to some who say "if you turn the gain up it equals the KSM44...." thats not true. When I turned the gain up on the SM7b it was still a much much quieter noise floor of the room noises, the ceiling fan for example was just NOT picked up as much.
SM7b into the $2500 vintage cool preamp wasnt much difference to my ears. I was doing clean and not overdriving or anything...clean,..SM7b + ISA430 preamp.
Now the ISA preamp gain knob wasnt even sweating, not even close to max. The ISA gain is like having a 747 Airplane engine of Gain, compared to my Interface preamp Gain being a bicycle....but the sounds Im doing, the Interface works as good for a hobby HR demo-song whatever now and then use.
In the end, the SM7b works here, reduces home noises, sounds as good as the SM58 but has a built in distance to avoid amateur mic positioning of the mouth/voice.... the SM58 would be in distinguishable if used in a songrecording. imo. Then again after eq, comp,verbs, all mics can kind of get to a same average.
For the preamp, I like having some room for gain and knobs that feel real, not plastic. Having had the pleasure of a bunch of preamps through here, the ISA is a favorite, but preamp only mode the ISA430 isnt much different than a ISA One at all, even with the 430 dual carnhill famous pumpkin transformers etc.... so yes on an Outboard Preamp, but a "many preamps do about the same thing and sound about the same" imo.
and toss in the Neutrik mic cable vs a no name, and the Neutrik fits better and seems better built.
some say its all a joke but its not from what I have. The no name is ok, no problems, no sound difference, just loose a bit and cheaper to the feel.
I have super cheap cables that I will be cutting off the cheap ends and replacing, they are so bad the connectors crackle, pop...and some of the set have a bad diameter and wont even fit. I do like the colored cables though, so maybe some DIY XLR jacks to order......
a SM7B and a Cloudlifter is cool, but a unit like a ISA One type preamp is still my fav. The ISA430 is kind of overkill for me too (i paid $650) but I dont find the Channel Strip works easily for me as I dont have the Control Room isolation thing and dont care to "reamp" the vocal, I can use plugins ITB.
SM7b kicks ass in a noisy room....very impressive! I dont need a flopping popshield in my face, I get consistent lips to foam, its tank built...sounds like a SM58..lol KSM44 probably built for professionals in much better studio rooms.
Interface preamp to $2500 preamp, not much sound difference, but a ton more gain on the latter...but I wouldnt pay $2500 for any preamp.
oh well! Saturday morning..... any Mic and Preamp combo favorites? please post... Im curious and its good coffee time reading!