preamp question

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joedirt

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Does a preamp change the sound or does it just boost the signal. The reason I ask is beacause I dont have one. I've been running mics through an old tascam 414 mk11 to boost the vocal signal. Will a preamp help with my audio quality? Is there a plugin that would sound like a preamp that I could use after I've tracked? (by the way, my recording levels are fine) I'm just wondering if a preamp is a must have.
 
Joe,

> Does a preamp change the sound or does it just boost the signal. <

A preamp should never do anything but boost the signal. If it has a "sound" then it is not doing its job properly, in my opinion.

--Ethan
 
Yes, Alot of Pre's have there own sound, which is why some people buy them.... I have a friend who swears by Joe Meek... Won't use anything else....

There are also Transparent Pres..... which are nice, cause you get to hear what the mic's really sound like....

I like having a few pre's with their own sound personally... When you get someone in the studio it's nice to have a choice of which one des the most justice on the vocalists voice....

Of course an outboard Pre will help your sound... Within reason... Like if you already have a mackie VLZ board and your thinking of spending $200 on an outboard pre, say like the tiny "ART" tube pre... I would say your better off sticking with your board...

But if your using a soundcard for pre's, your probably better off with anything else....

Im not sure about the plug ins.... If there are pre modelling plug ins.. I would be skeptical...... That would be like have a fiberglass Lamborghini on a Fiero Chassis rather than the Real Lamborghini.....

Bad analogy.. But, you know what I mean....

In your case, with a Tascam potastudio.. I would say YES, you are well served to go out and buy a pre in your price range.... I have one of them portastudio's for writing ideas down and the pres aren't very good...

Hope this helps.

Joe
 
BTW, the Joemeek preamp itself is really clean. If you use it without the compressor, you're not going to hear it coloring the sound at all. It's the nature of the photo-optical compressor that colors the sound.
 
Some pre's will add their own "color" examples - Neve, API, UA, and some are considered "transparent" examples - Buzz Audio, Grace, Martech. The coloring or transparency can be good or bad, depending upon what you need the pre to do. Classical music would, in most cases I would think, be recorded with transparent pre's, while rock music might get more by adding color via the pre's. I'm no expert, but this is what I have learned so far.

www.meriphew.com
 
for me a pre-amp's purpose is to accurately reproduce in electronic form an amplified view of the sound of the real world. the better the pre-amp accomplishes that goal, the better it is for me.
 
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