preamp with tube mic?

N

n8tron

New member
this might be a dumb question...

but do you generally pair a nice pre with a tube mic like the ntk for example? or does the tube take the place of the pre? in other words, the putting a pre on an ntk or t3 affect the tube in a negative way? Do you still need a pre with these mics?
 
You need some kind of preamplification between any mic and your recording system...a tube in the mic isn't a 'built in' pre...

If you're asking whether having a tube pre with a tube mic is neccesary, no it's not...different pres will give you various sounds using the same mic...find any mic and any pre that works for you and you'll be fine.

Jacob
 
No, the tube in the mic does not replace the pre. You will still need a preamp whether the mic is a tube mic or a solid state mic.
 
gotcha, thanks for the tips.

cause basically I'm going to get an rnp, and I've long debating which mic to get, come down to the ntk or nt2a, and I was wondering if the ntk plus rnp would be reduntant. Thanks!
 
How do you mean redundant? Any signal chain with a mic NEEDS preamplification of some kind...and a Preamp is usually the simplist. And just so you know, the RNP is not a tube pre...I'm still not clear on whether your question is whether or not you need a pre with a tube mic or if having a tube pre and a tube mic is neccesary.

Jacob
 
I was asking a fews things really... basically I wasn't sure if the tube that came with the ntk was a tube preamp, so i was wondering if you needed a pre with it, and I was also asking if, using a pre like the rnp have benefits with a tube mic like the ntk, rather than plugging straight into the interface pre.

I think I got the answers, but comparing different non-tube pres with tube mics seems and interesting topic.
 
I've read it's best not to use a tube pre with a tube mic, though I don't recall the reasoning behind that. So the RNP would be one way to go.....
 
MadAudio said:
I've read it's best not to use a tube pre with a tube mic,
Yeah, way too tubular. :D

Really, there's nothing inheirantly tubey about tube mics or pre's, and there are very crisp tube circuits, and very warm solid state circuits, and vice versa. It has more to do with circuit topology than tubes or FETs.
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There is no per se reason not to use a tube mic with a tube preamp. I have a small handful of tube mics (GT-44, GT MD1a, GT MD3, Gefell M582h) that work just fine with the few tube preamps I have (Peavey AMR VMP-2, Pendulum MDP-1, GT MP-1). Many tube preamps are pretty hi-fi unless you attenuate the output and really drive the input.

Having said that, of course a particular mic will sound different with different preamps. Some mics play better with some preamps than other preamps. Ideally, you would get to try a prospective mic or preamp with your existing gear before you commit to purchasing (or at least have return privileges).
 
pohaku said:
Having said that, of course a particular mic will sound different with different preamps. Some mics play better with some preamps than other preamps. Ideally, you would get to try a prospective mic or preamp with your existing gear before you commit to purchasing (or at least have return privileges).
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Totally agree, you can have a great mic with a great pre that makes a lousy combination.

Pohaku - I think that VMP-2 doesn't go with any of your mics, but lucky for you I'm willing to take it off your hands, even though it's a Peavy. :D

Man, everyone seems to be hanging onto those tight. I haven't seen any for sale since they stopped making them and everyone found out how good they were. How do you like yours?
 
Robert D said:
Totally agree, you can have a great mic with a great pre that makes a lousy combination.

Pohaku - I think that VMP-2 doesn't go with any of your mics, but lucky for you I'm willing to take it off your hands, even though it's a Peavy. :D

Man, everyone seems to be hanging onto those tight. I haven't seen any for sale since they stopped making them and everyone found out how good they were. How do you like yours?
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I like it alot. I replaced the 12AX7 Sovtek tubes with GT Mullards and the 12AT7 tube with a real Mullard and the sound smoothed out some. A bit less gain than with the Sovteks but smoother.

Actually, the price on these has come down since other reasonably priced tube preamps came on the market (Sebatron, the Brick). I've seen several recently go for @$600 instead of the $800-900 they used to command a couple years ago when they stopped making them. If I see another one pop up, I'll let you know. I have the matching VC/L-2 compressor as well, which is a nice opto-compressor. You really don't see too many of those around. They really are very nice units once you get over the Peavey badge on the pieces. It's a shame they DC'd them.
 
I would strongly recommend you go with the nt2a. While I haven't owned one, I have owned an NTK and always had a hell of a time getting the vocal to sit in a mix. Also, I don't the RNP has a low-frequency roll-off switch and the NT2a has one built-in. Yes, you can take care of that further down the track but the NTK has SO MUCH bass, you'll be wasting the bulk of your headroom on frequencies you're better off without.
 
biffhardon said:
I would strongly recommend you go with the nt2a. While I haven't owned one, I have owned an NTK and always had a hell of a time getting the vocal to sit in a mix. Also, I don't the RNP has a low-frequency roll-off switch and the NT2a has one built-in. Yes, you can take care of that further down the track but the NTK has SO MUCH bass, you'll be wasting the bulk of your headroom on frequencies you're better off without.
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The reason I was leaning toward an ntk was because, until now, I have never heard anything negative said about it. Especially on vocals.

I do though, have a low roll-off built into my audio interface, that would probably help any bass problems.
 
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