Preamp comparisons?

S

solaris1982

New member
I was trying to put together a gear list, and have zero cash for outboard gear. My interface choices are down to the PreSonus Firebox and Mackie Satellite.

I've used both interfaces for instrument recording, but haven't had a chance to record vocals yet. Does anyone have any input on which is better as a vocal preamp? I've heard good things about the Onyx preamps in the mackie unit. While I haven't heard anything bad about the Presonus preamps, I haven't heard anything good either.

The Mackie unit is $100 cheaper, and I know I can't do midi or SPDIF with it, but don't really need to at the moment, so it's really a question of "which mic preamps are more transparent" until I have money for outboard gear.

Any help?
 
hey akron - i was just down there recording last weekend.

i'd think either would suit you fine and may even use the same components/circuits. is one better than the other? eh. in the range it's like anything else...you'll get opinions.

general advice to using cheaper preamps on vocals is to watch the mid/high end where it can get scratchy/brittle. either use a mellow mic like the sm7 and/or position the mic so the top is mellowed if ya need it. (eg- sing into it at an angle.) this goes for nicer "clean" preamps as well tho.

good luck.

Mike
 
Thanks for the tip. I'll probably end up going with the Mackie then. I really don't need all the inputs on the Firebox. I might end up needing the MIDI at some point, but I'm sure I can find a dedicated unit for that for less than the $100 extra it would cost.

BTW...where were you recording?
 
I agree with bigtoe. I'd be pretty surprised if there was an appreciable difference between the two.

Just go by the features you need and if that's a close call just go for the cheapest.

As for scratchiness/brittleness, you'll get the best out of cheap gear (mic pres and A-D converters in particular) if you don't try and get too much out of them. Track at quiet levels (like peaking at -12db quiet), you can always add a bit of volume later (or you could be really radical and have dynamic range in your recordings :D)!
 
Kevin Deschwazi said:
As for scratchiness/brittleness, you'll get the best out of cheap gear (mic pres and A-D converters in particular) if you don't try and get too much out of them. Track at quiet levels (like peaking at -12db quiet), you can always add a bit of volume later (or you could be really radical and have dynamic range in your recordings :D)!
Click to expand...

I was just going to type the same thing. Entry level preamps tend to sound much worse when they're pushed hard...that's a big part of the difference between those and the expensive stuff.

Frank
 
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