Suggested number of preamps?

[elenore19]

So I'm looking into getting some preamps for my home studio. I'm wondering, should preamps be used for every channel? or only for certain things, like guitars and such? Any help would be awesome. I'm thinking about getting preamps for all of the channels on my mixer...which is only 8..but yeah.

While I'm on the VERY common topic of preamps...anyone ever use this one?

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ART-DMPA-Pro-2-Channel-Mic-Pre-with-Digital-Outs?sku=180629

and then this one...

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/prod...SA428-Pre-Pack-4Channel-Mic-Preamp?sku=188214

Any comments would be awesome.

 

[jdier]

You mixer likely already has preamps in it.

You would add preamps to give yourself some different sound options.

Regarding the units you mentioned, do a search on the site for reviews. You will find plenty.

You might want to post the make and model of your mixer along with your mic collection.

I would hazzard a guess that you could have a more immediate impact by adding different types of microphones.

 

[elenore19]

You mixer likely already has preamps in it.

You would add preamps to give yourself some different sound options.

Regarding the units you mentioned, do a search on the site for reviews. You will find plenty.

You might want to post the make and model of your mixer along with your mic collection.

I would hazzard a guess that you could have a more immediate impact by adding different types of microphones.

Alright thanks. I've researched a bunch, and I use some nice microphones. I've read around the internet and have found almost every site I go to, it says to increase your quality in sound the most, buy some nice preamps. My mixer preamps are pretty crappy in my opinion. So yeah. I'll search around this site though...thanks!

-Elliot

 

[daav]

Alright thanks. I've researched a bunch, and I use some nice microphones. I've read around the internet and have found almost every site I go to, it says to increase your quality in sound the most, buy some nice preamps. My mixer preamps are pretty crappy in my opinion. So yeah. I'll search around this site though...thanks!

-Elliot

As mentioned, a decent mixers preamps are probabaly going to compare to most budget preamps,l channel for channel. The ones you link i are pretty different. One is about $200/channel and would probably not blow you away int he quality of the pres vs your mixer for the money. The other one is more like $400.channel and seems to advertise a lot of bells and whistles like AD converters and such.

Now ask yourself this: Do you want a clean preamp or a colored preamp? Clean will be about clarity and caturing just what is in the room and colored will add a degree of tone to the recording- hoefully good. Tube pres are generally going to be colored.

If you really want to get a great pre to match a great mic, check the mic, and get something to match channel for channel. For instance, ribbons and some dynamics liket he SM7 need more clean gain than many LDCs, so if your ribbon is a favorite you might want tomake sure you get a pre suited to puttting out a good amount of signal. Vocals might be more suited to colored pre than guitar cabs, etc. As a rule if you are trying to get a great signal chain going, i would focus on a channel or two at a time invest that way, rather than trying to do it for 8 channels at <$500 a channel.

Daav

 

[elenore19]

As mentioned, a decent mixers preamps are probabaly going to compare to most budget preamps,l channel for channel. The ones you link i are pretty different. One is about $200/channel and would probably not blow you away int he quality of the pres vs your mixer for the money. The other one is more like $400.channel and seems to advertise a lot of bells and whistles like AD converters and such.

Now ask yourself this: Do you want a clean preamp or a colored preamp? Clean will be about clarity and caturing just what is in the room and colored will add a degree of tone to the recording- hoefully good. Tube pres are generally going to be colored.

If you really want to get a great pre to match a great mic, check the mic, and get something to match channel for channel. For instance, ribbons and some dynamics liket he SM7 need more clean gain than many LDCs, so if your ribbon is a favorite you might want tomake sure you get a pre suited to puttting out a good amount of signal. Vocals might be more suited to colored pre than guitar cabs, etc. As a rule if you are trying to get a great signal chain going, i would focus on a channel or two at a time invest that way, rather than trying to do it for 8 channels at <$500 a channel.

Daav

Thanks for the help. I think I get what you're saying.

-Elliot

Thanks

 

[XLR]

Based on my own experience I'd spend as much as I possibly could on ONE channel of really great preamplification. Clean or colored, depending on your needs. Later add a second channel to match when you have the $.

 

[elenore19]

Based on my own experience I'd spend as much as I possibly could on ONE channel of really great preamplification. Clean or colored, depending on your needs. Later add a second channel to match when you have the $.

That sounds really expensive... and a lot of preamps come in 2 channel or 4 channel.

but yeah. Besides that, I have a question that I forgot to ask in my last post.

How do you know if a preamp is colored or clean?


Thanks!

Elliot

 

[XLR]

How do you know if a preamp is colored or clean?

By recording with them. Or if you prefer, by reading descriptions of first hand experience done by people whom you have some assurance know what they're talking about. That gets tricky.

 

[daav]

How many tracks do you find yoruself recording at a time?

I got all fired up to have 8 tracks ready and only hit 4 at at time when i am recording drums so far, so i scaled back my preamp needs and used the $ to focus on other things.

I agree with the investment in 1-2 channels of nice preamp and using them over and over again.

I bet you would be a good candidate for a "lunchbox system".
These are systems where you buy a power supply and a case or rack thing and then you can buy individual cards with fairly high end gear on it. So say you get a box with room for 8 pieces, you can buy various pres and eqs and such that use circuits similar to the most expensive stuff on the market. Tends to be a bit cheaper because once youget he basic system, additional channels are much cheaper.
daav

 

[jdier]

That sounds really expensive... and a lot of preamps come in 2 channel or 4 channel.

but yeah. Besides that, I have a question that I forgot to ask in my last post.

How do you know if a preamp is colored or clean?


Thanks!

Elliot

Last thing I want to do is be a prick or come off as rude, but it seems that you are trying to solve a problem that you do not have or do not understand.

I started saving a lot of money and making better recordings the moment I said "What I have right now is good enough." I always kept in the back of my head that there were a lot of killer records done in the 30's and 40's with 1/100th the quality gear I had in my house, so I needed to get to work.

After getting some things done and playing them for people and having some stuff mastered I was able to identify SPECIFIC problems with my records. Some of them were due to me (too much compression, over EQ) and some, very few mind you, were due to equipment short comings.

Take it one step at a time. One thing I will say about preamps in general is that I have been somewhat UNDERWHELMED with the difference they make. I believe I can hear it, but I do not think any of my preamps are what makes recording #6 better than recording #5.

Now, I feel differently about mics. There is where I have felt my money has been best spent.

Just my $0.02.

 

[XLR]

How do you know if a preamp is colored or clean?

Wanted to add to what I said before... you can know which are colored and which are clean by just verbal descriptions... it's more the actual nature of the sound you have to hear for yourself. "Colored" can mean a lot of things.