CoolCat
Well-known member
mics, preamps, noise floors, thoughts...
spent some time running through the gear here this morning.
mainly recording a vocal, but acoustic guitar is next important. the rest is all DI...
Shure 545,565,58, 7b, KSM44...an a MXL V67G ..preamps...interface, Aphex 207 , ISA 430mk1
*also tried a 600ohm impedance LOWER-Z for the Shure 58,545,565...and liked it, subtle rounding off, a slight smoothness.
*ISA430 1200-1400 Z, Aphex is the 2k +Z and the interface 1200Z.
trying to find a "best" was the goal , I suppose.
anyway...goal was to really see which vocal mic worked for me, the best, before globbing on the eq and dynamics in mixing.
then which which preamp and is there a difference? the ISA430 was preamp only today to compare to the 207Aphex and UX8 interface.
first off noise floor , and for me the Interface preamps win and seem to be the quietest.....but.......
the gain is near maxed out, except for the LDC's. So we liked outboard gain and the fast knob tweaks.
The MXL V67G did really well but it has some handling noises and stray interference possibly, while the KSM 44 was silent but too sensitive and so the 15db pad on the mic used. The dynamics probably win in this small non-acoustic perfect home. I have dogs, they bark outside the LDC's pick that up easily.
Dynamics are nice and but prefer a outboard gain tool? it never ends. lol
the Aphex 207 is known and loved for its "shimmer" design, and its also disliked for its shimmer sound..lol
its an ok unit for $100-$150 and its ok built ( I did reviews of it and other 107 long time ago)
Anyway, it has a nice gain advantage over the interface, and it has a fast knob to turn without needing a mouse, and the output display can
help in not overdriving the interface line in. All the mics went through it well and it handled all the mics well. Its also a Dual Channel with Intrument DI inputs. Good parts used Neutrik plugs...(the plastic buttons stick, but I will resolve that with some sandpaper)
There was a crisp, shimmer to all the mics, especially noticed on the SM7b, the darkest mic of the bunch, and some clarity came like when using a Cloudlifter. So SM7b + 207Aphex is a nice combo out of the gates if this were a horse race.
then the group of mics were plugged into the ISA430...its been used on platinum records Ive read etc..etc... like all the mics, they have proven themselves on billboard, especially the SM7b for vocals and SM57 on guitars... but here in this room, this fun little adventure decision and thoughts
continued...as with the ISA line they have enough Gain to do any mic with ease. The sound is famous for "solid, neutral, no games"...
the mics all sounded as they are, in my thoughts. this preamp makes me listen more to hear what the mics sound like as designed.
thoughts at the end all of them can work once I glob on eq comps verbs. so whats the big deal?
the preamps kind of get me, the interface immediately is out because I need a volume knob during tracking and fast adjusting between parts and instruments and dont want to use a mouse. So then its the dual 207 or the mono- ISA430. Decision made!
Ive kind of had some troubles, recording myself and messing with headphones and adjusting eq's and comps and then later the playback has a not so good result. So recording clean, solid, no eq, no big comp gets me best results....I was a slow slow learner on this one.
So the $200 207 can do that, and its dual, with dual DI. The ISA 430 has the platinum record vibe, pro piece ( i got for $650 used on craigslist..some rack rash and its been used but 100% working). It has a DI which goes into transformers and seems a bit thicker for bass.
The vocal mics in clean mode, the ISA and 207 dont sound a huge amount of distance in sound.
The ISA has the channel strip stuff that would work well in a control room, behind the glass, adjusting the sound-source....but not with tracking headphones. Ive had a lot of preamps, tubes, transformers, colored, clean, discrete, IC, hybrid.....and like many I didnt hear some huge huge difference, in this room. The Mics have a larger impact if searching for sound vs preamps = no "magic dust" was found in any of them.
So lastly the thought is, "if I did a song with the MXL V67G into the 207pre will it sound horribly different than the KSM44 into the ISA430?"
My playing and singing wont. So then its all about CASH$$$..... in gear, added to the equation of "keep the best, sell the rest" or "are you affording the gear for other reasons than sound-of home recorded tracks?"
The ISA edges on the BASS/E-Guitar DI though. 430 is very similar to the ISA One and I like them, but still theres a "pro piece vibe" with those things, imo.
The KSM44 capsule is great but the V67G is great on me too. I dont need the multipatterns. The KSM44 took edge in noise, handling, idle and has 15db pad.
**all the MXL V67G shockmount and metal grill fits on the KSM44 btw.
But the MXL came with the nice shockmount, and metal popfilter so the noise an plosives isnt a problem.
The dynamics win with the noise pickup, less sensitive , smaller reach (my dogs barking isnt picked up with the 58,7b,545,565...which is really a big decision choice here. The LDC's have the high freq boost as expected, giving that sparkle, both really work well with the 207Aphex- Dual.
So SM7b and the ISA 430 with transformer DI channel strip is maybe my choice for now, however for the LDC, the V67G can hang with all the LDC's ive had and is so damn cheap it doesnt effect the accountant brain hard to beat that.
ok...thanks for the space to place... rock on HR gearheads!
spent some time running through the gear here this morning.
mainly recording a vocal, but acoustic guitar is next important. the rest is all DI...
Shure 545,565,58, 7b, KSM44...an a MXL V67G ..preamps...interface, Aphex 207 , ISA 430mk1
*also tried a 600ohm impedance LOWER-Z for the Shure 58,545,565...and liked it, subtle rounding off, a slight smoothness.
*ISA430 1200-1400 Z, Aphex is the 2k +Z and the interface 1200Z.
trying to find a "best" was the goal , I suppose.
anyway...goal was to really see which vocal mic worked for me, the best, before globbing on the eq and dynamics in mixing.
then which which preamp and is there a difference? the ISA430 was preamp only today to compare to the 207Aphex and UX8 interface.
first off noise floor , and for me the Interface preamps win and seem to be the quietest.....but.......
the gain is near maxed out, except for the LDC's. So we liked outboard gain and the fast knob tweaks.
The MXL V67G did really well but it has some handling noises and stray interference possibly, while the KSM 44 was silent but too sensitive and so the 15db pad on the mic used. The dynamics probably win in this small non-acoustic perfect home. I have dogs, they bark outside the LDC's pick that up easily.
Dynamics are nice and but prefer a outboard gain tool? it never ends. lol
the Aphex 207 is known and loved for its "shimmer" design, and its also disliked for its shimmer sound..lol
its an ok unit for $100-$150 and its ok built ( I did reviews of it and other 107 long time ago)
Anyway, it has a nice gain advantage over the interface, and it has a fast knob to turn without needing a mouse, and the output display can
help in not overdriving the interface line in. All the mics went through it well and it handled all the mics well. Its also a Dual Channel with Intrument DI inputs. Good parts used Neutrik plugs...(the plastic buttons stick, but I will resolve that with some sandpaper)
There was a crisp, shimmer to all the mics, especially noticed on the SM7b, the darkest mic of the bunch, and some clarity came like when using a Cloudlifter. So SM7b + 207Aphex is a nice combo out of the gates if this were a horse race.
then the group of mics were plugged into the ISA430...its been used on platinum records Ive read etc..etc... like all the mics, they have proven themselves on billboard, especially the SM7b for vocals and SM57 on guitars... but here in this room, this fun little adventure decision and thoughts
continued...as with the ISA line they have enough Gain to do any mic with ease. The sound is famous for "solid, neutral, no games"...
the mics all sounded as they are, in my thoughts. this preamp makes me listen more to hear what the mics sound like as designed.
thoughts at the end all of them can work once I glob on eq comps verbs. so whats the big deal?
the preamps kind of get me, the interface immediately is out because I need a volume knob during tracking and fast adjusting between parts and instruments and dont want to use a mouse. So then its the dual 207 or the mono- ISA430. Decision made!
Ive kind of had some troubles, recording myself and messing with headphones and adjusting eq's and comps and then later the playback has a not so good result. So recording clean, solid, no eq, no big comp gets me best results....I was a slow slow learner on this one.
So the $200 207 can do that, and its dual, with dual DI. The ISA 430 has the platinum record vibe, pro piece ( i got for $650 used on craigslist..some rack rash and its been used but 100% working). It has a DI which goes into transformers and seems a bit thicker for bass.
The vocal mics in clean mode, the ISA and 207 dont sound a huge amount of distance in sound.
The ISA has the channel strip stuff that would work well in a control room, behind the glass, adjusting the sound-source....but not with tracking headphones. Ive had a lot of preamps, tubes, transformers, colored, clean, discrete, IC, hybrid.....and like many I didnt hear some huge huge difference, in this room. The Mics have a larger impact if searching for sound vs preamps = no "magic dust" was found in any of them.
So lastly the thought is, "if I did a song with the MXL V67G into the 207pre will it sound horribly different than the KSM44 into the ISA430?"
My playing and singing wont. So then its all about CASH$$$..... in gear, added to the equation of "keep the best, sell the rest" or "are you affording the gear for other reasons than sound-of home recorded tracks?"
The ISA edges on the BASS/E-Guitar DI though. 430 is very similar to the ISA One and I like them, but still theres a "pro piece vibe" with those things, imo.
The KSM44 capsule is great but the V67G is great on me too. I dont need the multipatterns. The KSM44 took edge in noise, handling, idle and has 15db pad.
**all the MXL V67G shockmount and metal grill fits on the KSM44 btw.
But the MXL came with the nice shockmount, and metal popfilter so the noise an plosives isnt a problem.
The dynamics win with the noise pickup, less sensitive , smaller reach (my dogs barking isnt picked up with the 58,7b,545,565...which is really a big decision choice here. The LDC's have the high freq boost as expected, giving that sparkle, both really work well with the 207Aphex- Dual.
So SM7b and the ISA 430 with transformer DI channel strip is maybe my choice for now, however for the LDC, the V67G can hang with all the LDC's ive had and is so damn cheap it doesnt effect the accountant brain hard to beat that.
ok...thanks for the space to place... rock on HR gearheads!
