Question about using mic preamps

  • Thread starter Thread starter Orpheus
  • Start date Start date
im going mic to pre to recorder.
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...you're not routing the pre to the mic input of the recorder are you??? you need to route the line outputs of your pre to the line inputs of the recorder.
My knobs have a "detent" not an indent, and it's not a visible marking, it's a feeling that you get when you turn the knob.
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yeah, mine have no indent. they are smooth all the way. how are your trims marked? if they are the same as mine, then mine are probably in the middle too.
But for those tracks that demand special treatment - maybe its a vocal, maybe it's a sensitive acoustic guitar part - they use an outboard pre chosen for its special sonic detail. The output of this pre goes directly into the recording source to preserve its unique nature.
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oh okay.... then so be it. i'll try to rethink the wiring here in the future.

when you say during "tracking"--what exactly do you mean?--do they record during tracking? (heh he... catching up on my terms here.)
 
not to bud in, but thats the point i am at. mic to pre amp direct to recorder. now should i use the trim as control or lower it and use my pre amp for control? just seeking opinions.
 
...you're not routing the pre to the mic input of the recorder are you??? you need to route the line outputs of your pre to the line inputs of the recorder.


so i should use the line side of my trim knob when coming from my pre amp?
 
well, you're supposed to have it at unity--which apparently is defined by these folks as the point where your recorder neither multiplies nor divides signal.

actually............. that was what i really wanted to know at the very beginning of this thread. .....i don't know where unity is on my 32x8! there's no indent... the manual doesn't say nothing either. and the markings only show min and max.
 
so i should use the line side of my trim knob when coming from my pre amp?
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i don't think it's exactly a question of where your trim knob should be. you said you were getting noticeable distortion no matter the position right?--even at low volumes? that would indicate an overload somewhere. if you were plugging a line level signal into the mic input on your recorder, that's exactly what would happen.

so.... are you plugging your pre into the line-level inputs or the mic-level inputs? sometimes there's a toggle on the back of the recorder that selects line or mic level too. make sure it's on line level input!
 
so on my trim knob, extreme left says line and extreme right says mic, so i need to keep the knob at 12 oclock, i guess and just use my external pre as control, right?
 
sorry orph, im a little behind on responding.
i only have 1/4 inch ins so i figured it would depend on how i use the trim, guitar i would turn more towards line, mic more towards mic, right?
 
Sorry for the confusion, tracking means recording, probably a holdover from the old analog days.
 
Jaeden

If you have to do it this way, and don't have an insert as I suggested earlier, your trim needs to go hard left to LINE, and drive the gain from your preamp - you're still going through the onboard pre and it will still degrade your signal, but depending upon what you're recording this may or may not be an issue for you.

Cheers
 
jaeden said:
...you're not routing the pre to the mic input of the recorder are you??? you need to route the line outputs of your pre to the line inputs of the recorder.


so i should use the line side of my trim knob when coming from my pre amp?
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Yes Jaeden. Mic>>>>Blue Tube>>>recorder input...make sure you're using a XLR to TRS cable so you can take advantage of the balanced signal.....set the recorder input to LINE. Turn the Trim on the recorder channel all the way to the left (off - or at least as far down as it'll go). Use the Gain and/or Drive on the Blue Tube to set the recording input level to the track using your meter. Record. You don't have to worry much about degrading the signal out of the Blue Tube. Just hook up and go.
 
Orpheus said:
but i just think that the mixer should be the whole "brain" of the system. i mean, there's no need to buy a mixer if you don't need it for routing/monitoring.
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Ii find it hard to believe that big million dollar studios don't still route their preamps through the main mixing board. if it's a pro tools studio, i can understand. but those with SSL's or something.... they bought a zillion dollar board for a reason.
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well, i've never worked in a pro studio before. but i still really doubt that big studios wire their pres directly when using a large format console. there's just no reason for a console then.
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They own those million dollar mixing consoles..........to mix on. You're only thinking of the recording process. :)

Some tracks are recorded through the console, especially when recording a whole bunch of tracks at once where there aren't enough outboard pre's to cover all the mics. But the important tracks, the non rythem section overdub tracks almost never see the inside of a console on their way to tape, or disk, or whatever.
You can, of course, do whatever you want to do. We just wanted to make you aware that for the sake of avoiding a few seconds of patching, you are forsaking quality in your recordings, and defeating the purpose of spending your money on high quality external pre's.
regards, RD
 
i don't have a motu 828, but why don't you set your outputs on the motu and send them into the mixer to monitor? pre straight into recorder? no patching, no hassle.
 
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