preamp?

[guitarfrk99]

hey...im kinda new at recording. iv been doing it for about a year or so but am just starting to get seriouse about it. i will be recording one of my friends' demo cd in a couple weeks. she is an amazing female vocalist and i dont want to screw it up. iv been checking to make sure that i have all the neccesary equipment and one thing that im confused about is the preamp. now most of my recording so far has been instrumental so i havnt spent much time or money on vocal equipment. i kno the function of the preamp (to boost the mic level to line level)..so if i have an xlr input on my mixer do i still need one? and if so what does it actually do to the signal/sound? other than preamp, compressor/gate, effector (reverb/delay), and equalizer...is there anything else that i would need to get the best sound possible for vocals (mic obviously...i have a condenser). anything would help...thanx

 

[TripleJ]

Well if your mixing panel has 'gain' knobs on the XLR channels then it has microphone preamps built into it.

I'm not sure how good your mixer is - but chacnes are the preamp on your mixer won't be terribly decent.

You might want to invest in an outboard preamp if you have the money.

 

[blondeguild]

I'm in a similar situation. I'm gonna be trying to record basic demo tracks for my band in the upcoming weeks and months. I'm long-term borrowing a Yamaha AW16G Audio Workstation that has two balanced XLR inputs plus a bunch of 1/4" TRS jacks. I have an SM-57 and the band just bought an MXL 990 and 991 as a set because they were cheap at guitar center. Is an outboard preamp necessary for these?

 

[Garry Sharp]

guitarfrk - have you tried the mic into the mixer? (You are allowed to record yourself singing for this purpose ) If it's a condenser you will need phantom power, which most mixers have; Condensers need an electricity supply, this is sent up th emic cable when you turn on the phantom power. Best thing you can do before your recording gig is to experimetn with the mic, record your own voice into it at various gain settings, distances from teh mic etc; just get used to it. You'll have to get your female singer to be patient while you experiment with her voice, but the more homework you have done first, the more confident you'll feel and the more at ease you will put her.

Blondeguild - the pre's on the AW16G are far from brilliant, but it's a good plan to experiment with them for a while before sinking cash into anything else. A little trick to make your immediate playbacks to your bandmates sound better - select the stereo track, press the dynamics button and put a bit of compression on it; ratio about 2:1 and adjust the threshold till you see the left hand meter (the one that comes down from teh top on that page) dipping down a few decibels. Very crude and I might get flamed for it but it'll just be mildly flattering and make everybody feel better. IT doesn't affect the actual recording - just applies on playback.

 

[Ronan]

Yes, Generally an XLR input on a mixer is into a mic pre amp. Quality varies widely. The best things you can do on this recording is to keep things really simple. Use as few mics and few effects as possible. It will almost always sound better than trying to be too fancy with things. I have done many super complicated records, but its amazing how well the really simple recordings stand the test of time (even the ones I did before I knew what the helll I was doing)