Pre-Amp Help

[zackformula]

Well, I guess its time I start looking at pre-amps. What I'm looking for is something with 2 channels under $500. (Right now I have a Mackie VLZ-Pro mixer.) I will be using the pre-amp with my AT4040 (vocals, acoustic, sometimes guitar amp). And my Shure 57 (guitar amp, sometimes vocals). I would also like to be able to use it for direct bass guitar, if possible.

I guess I should also ask, will I be getting that much of an upgrade from my Mackie pre's with something under $500? What about under $300?

Thanks everybody, this board has been a big help for me.

 

[PersonalJesus]

Everybody is going to reccommend you the RNP. Stands for Really Nice Preamp. It is a 2 channel preamp that is under $400 (on ebay) or $475 new, and will be the best bang for your buck in the under $500 mic pre market. And yes you will hear a difference between it and the Mackie pres. I was going to buy one, and the only reason I havent yet is because im still considering buying a $1000 single channel pre. But it is definently a good pre and has a good reputation as well. People have said it has a really good direct imput. You can hear its direct input at http://www.thelisteningsessions.com/session3.htm.

 

[eeldip]

depends on what you would consider a step up... you will be able to IMPROVE on your preamps in terms of linearity, frequency response, lack of distortion (or change of distortion to something more pleasing).

but when you say "step" i think that implies whether your end recordings will realize a marked improvement when you get the new preamp. i think you probably will hear one, but it really depends.

anyway there are standard recomendations for pres under $500, the RNP and the hamptone FET kit come to mind.

are you just doing vocals and guitar? and mostly yourself? you might actualize a greater improvement in your recordings by finding the RIGHT mic for your particular voice and guitar than by improving your preamps. the differences between preamps is pretty subtle compared to the differences between mics (which are ENORMOUS). for some apps you wont even be able to hear a difference between pres depending on what your monitoring situation is- whereas even on $5 headphones anyone can tell the difference between an sm57 and an AT4040.

actually, this brings me to another piece of advice i thow out all the time: i think the best way to improve your recordings after you have a nice selection of basic budget gear is to move to a nice monitoring set-up. that way you can actually start to train your ears and hear better. you learn what the weaknesses are in the signal chain. not so much guessing.

and, while i am being verbose, DONT RUSH to anything. there are plenty of great recordings out there made with the set-up you have now. dont waste your money trying to improve things as quickly as possible.

 

[zackformula]

thanks PersonalJesus,

eeldip, i do mostly vocals and guitar, some myself, some friends.
I'm starting to get into drums as well, I need to figure out whether to get another AT4040 or some small condensers like C4's for overheads. but thats beside the point.

I use cubase to record. I do like AT4040 the AT4040 on my voice and on acoustic. I've just heard that you need good pre-amps. But you're right, I won't rush into anything.

Can you clarify on "a nice monitoring set-up?" I have Roland monitors and I use Audio Technica headphones, which seem to be good, but then again I haven't used anything else. My ears do definitely need more training.

Thanks for the great advice, appreciate it.

 

[eeldip]

which rolands?

 

[zackformula]

Roland DS-50A. My headphones are ATH-D40fs

 

[eeldip]

never heard them, but i bet those are good enough for now. just remember to check your headphones- especially when dealing with the sub 70 hz zone which your monitors dont even touch.

do you have any friends with any mics they could loan you? this is a good way to check to see if you are "missing" something in the mic category.

also, you could do the same with preamps. but again, with preamps the differences are more subtle, they might not jump out at you till you do a couple songs from start to finish...

by the way, what kind of music do you like? what kind of productions do you like the sound of?

a more colored mic might be the ticket. lots of singer/guitarist guys like "that nick drake" sound. if you are one of those i would look to getting a cool colored dark mic before changing pres... if you like elliot smith you are in luck, as far as i know he got his sound from a 57 and a mackie!

also, how are your rooms you record in? my drum sounds improved a million times when i realized that my room sounded like shit and dealt with fixing the room and using more hypercardiods (which ignore the room sound more).

 

[zackformula]

well, I don't really know anybody that could loan me mics. that would be a good idea though. I like rock and punk music. Ever heard of Alkaline Trio? I like how their stuff sounds. I also experiment with hip hop and will be doing some metal/hard rock stuff in the future.

What would some examples of more colored mics be?

The rooms I record in right now are just bedrooms, one with carpet and one with wood floor. They sound ok for what I'm doing. I tried drums in the wood floor room (small rug under the drums) with my AT4040 as an overhead, 57 on snare and a crappy AT dynamic mic in the bass drum. It sounded alright, for my first try I guess. I need a good bass drum mic. What mics do you use for drums? What kind of stuff do you record?

Thanks again