US-122 with external mixer anyone? Low mic input issues

[guttapercha]

Hi,

I've noticed that I really have to crank the mic input gain using either a

1)MXL 990 condensor
or
2)SM57.

This would seem the fault of the 122 because when I demo'd the mics in the store with a really nice pro-tools setup (don't know what the control pad was) everything was louder and incidently - sounded better.

Is anyone using a small mixer before going into the 122? Does this yield better recordings?

Thanks,

JD

 

[scrubs]

I have used both the US-122 preamps and external preamps/mixer. I thought the pres in the 122 were usable, but not great. The unit seems to lack some headroom (clip indicators flash at relatively low gain), but I am able to get plenty of volume into my computer for recording. Remember that in digital recording, it is not as critical to record a super-hot signal. Also, dynamic mics, like the 57, typically require more gain than condensers. Make sure phantom power is on with your 990. Adding an external mixer or preamp will boost your signal, but the 122 will still clip at high input gain. That being said, I typically use external preamps now (DMP3 for acoustic guitars, VTB-1 for vocals and bass DI, mixer for drums).

Another consideration might be adding an outboard compressor, which will allow you to boost your signal some without clipping.

 

[guttapercha]

I actually traded in the 990 for the 57 because I thought the 990 sounded brassy and harsh. True that the gain needs to be higher with the 57, but specifically for acoustic guitar, it needs to be cranked up fully, even if I'm 6 inches away from the soundhole. Vocals don't seem to need as much gain.

So it sounds like an external mixer isn't really going to get me anything here. I was under the impression that you wanted to go as loud as possible without clipping in digital- that somehow the dynamic range was better the closer you got to 0db. Thanks for the tip!

JD