Question about pre-amps

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drumminsnowman

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I recently bought a DMP-3 preamp, because it has gotten such rave reviews. I heard that pre-amps make a signal seem more transparent, and less distorted, when they are a good pre-amp. I was wondering if this is true? I record my guitar direct through a v-amp2, and i was wondering if the pre-amp would make the guitar sound more transparent?

Im actually really asking, what is it that makes this DMP3 so great/what do pre-amps do for a recorded signal?

Thanks aloottt!!!
 
It's interesting logic, but, I'm afraid you got it all wrong.

Actually, the job of a transparent mic pre like the DMP-3 is simply to get out of the way of what's coming out of the mic.

So taking the idea of "transparency" at it's root meaning ... something "transparent" should make something that sounds like shit -- ala a V-amp -- sound shitty ... the way it normally does, in it's natural state.

Hmm. Okay. Of course, we're not even taking in to consideration the fact that the DMP-3 is a mic preamp, designed for use with microphones, and not with something that takes a direct signal ... like the Behringer V-amp. So I have no freakin' clue why we're even having this discussion ... but I figured maybe I could lend a hand anyway.
 
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drumminsnowman said:
I recently bought a DMP-3 preamp, because it has gotten such rave reviews. I heard that pre-amps make a signal seem more transparent, and less distorted, when they are a good pre-amp. I was wondering if this is true? I record my guitar direct through a v-amp2, and i was wondering if the pre-amp would make the guitar sound more transparent?

Im actually really asking, what is it that makes this DMP3 so great/what do pre-amps do for a recorded signal?

Thanks aloottt!!!
Click to expand...

The best that the DMP3 can do is transmit what's actually there, no more, no less. It doesn't remove anything to make a muddy signal more transparent. Transparency in this case means having clean glass that doesn't warp or fog the view. If the view is of a smoggy cityscape then the glass will allow you to see that smog beautifully. A filter might remove some of the smog, but that is anything but transparent.

If you go from the V-Amp into the DMP3, then the signal will likely sound just like the V-Amp. In general, you shouldn't "notice" a preamp, except in that it's not noticeable! It may boost the original signal, but unless desired, it shouldn't change the character of the original signal. It should be "transparent".
 
im also curious about this...if you're not even supposed to notice a preamp is there, why are there so many choices and personal preferences of pres....like what makes a high-end pre better?
 
hey thanks for the quick replies...
But now i wanna know what y2jeriko was asking...
If you dont notice the pre-amp, what makes some better than others?

Annnddd... so the general consensus would be to record via the DMP3 and an amp, rather than a v-amp?
 
I've never used a v-amp but if it is anything like a Pod, the only way to make it have a more 'transparent sound is to really back off on the gain and layer different sounds on top of each other.


As far as y2jerik0's question, some preamps are transparent and others are meant to color the sound. It is up to you to decide what color, if any, you want to put on the sound. That is why there are all those choices.
 
drumminsnowman said:
hey thanks for the quick replies...
But now i wanna know what y2jeriko was asking...
If you dont notice the pre-amp, what makes some better than others?

Annnddd... so the general consensus would be to record via the DMP3 and an amp, rather than a v-amp?
Click to expand...

Some would say that much more expensive preamps are even more transparent than the DMP3. Or they might say that if these preamps do add something to the signal, it's a pleasing addition ("warmth", "air"). These differences however are often very subtle.

Keep in mind, just recording one item into one channel may not be as revealing as 10 channels mixed all together using the same preamp. Just recording one guitar, a lot of people would not be able to tell the difference between a $150.00 DMP3 and a $1,500. Avalon... But there are those who do this for a living every day who can hear a difference, and especially so when they need to have 24 or 36 tracks of transparency.

From my limited understanding, the V-Amp is a processor that deliberately "flavors" the sound of your guitar. The DMP3 will more likely give you a simple, clean signal, without "spicing" up the sound. Whether you want that or not is another matter!
 
y2jerik0 said:
im also curious about this...if you're not even supposed to notice a preamp is there, why are there so many choices and personal preferences of pres....like what makes a high-end pre better?
Click to expand...


You're assuming that the goal of every mic pre is not to be noticed.

For some it is, and for others it isn't.

If the goal is to be noticed, then it better bring something to the table that you enjoy hearing.

If the goal is not to be noticed, then it better get the heck out of the way.

What makes a high end pre better is simply the degree to which it is noticed, but in a way that positively affects the audio ... or to the degree in which it gets the heck out of the way. Kind of like the old phrase: "If you don't have something nice to say, then don't say anything at all."

Pretend you're a mic pre. If you're very obvious and noticeable, then you'd better be flattering and polite. Otherwise, shut the hell up. :D And the standard to which you will be judged will be based solely on the degree of competency to which you perform either of the two (afore-mentioned) functions.

If I, Chessrock, were a mic pre ... I would most likely be a really cheap, bad mic pre. I say this because I'm not particularly quiet and transparent in the things I say ... and to make matters worse, the things I say aren't particularly nice or polite either.
 
A neve 1073 is ANYTHING but transparent, same with a 1081, or any neve pre for that matter. Same goes for API, or manley, or mackie, or sytek.

Great mic pre's leave the original gesture, musical gesture, intact. Any piece of gear will be an interpretation of that gesture. Anything. Any mcrophone, without a mic pre, is nothing. Any mic pre, without a microphone: again, nothing. Together, along with the most important part of the chain, YOU.... A recording is made.

The way that the recording sounds is 75 to 98% you. "gear limitations" are usually just "operator limitations" showing themselves in a very obvious, and unflattering presentation of the source.

Work on making something sound really good with what you have, and when you outgrow it (i.e you can really hear the limitations yourself, and you have a good idea as to what "better" would mean for YOU), THEN go mic pre shopping. Nobody buys size 12 sneakers in kindergarten and hopes to outplay Derek Jeter...

This stuff takes time, and regardless o what the ad's say, there really is NO substitute for experience. the more you record. Record anything! yourself, your pals, the wind, you screaming, pots and pans.... whatever... You will gain information about what makes a good noise and how to capture it.

Recording ONE thing is worth talking about it for a lifetime... even more!

Hit the red button a LOT, and these things become self apparent. I started recording long before the interweb existed, and I was splicing my sisters voice together with a little two track machine.... rearranging her words to say "I SMELL" and stuff like that.... The simplest little funny stupid stuff became REALLY valuable to me as a professional engineer. I can edit tape like crazy because I made my little sister read somehing like "I think that Poop smells like joel." I made that into "i smell like poop" and laughed for hours, not even thinking that I would be doing that very thing for money 15-20-25 years later!!!!
 
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