Why should we use a preamp!!?

[Strungout_dave]

hey ya'll.
Why should we use a preamp before recording.. what exact effect does it have on the recorded material.. suggest me a good dual preamp.. which is widely used.. how about Fat man studio preamps are they good..!
Thanx for the help!
Hope theres no manual for this one ;-)
chow

 

[raindogred]

if you are using a powered condenser(commonly used with video recording/film) then you don't need a preamp. Or if you are just using a computer mic into a sound blaster then you don't need one.
You DO need a preamp to boost the signal from most dynamic mics, to an acceptable level suitable for recording. And if you are using a condenser mic then you mostly need a preamp with 48v phantom power option just to get the thing to work.

Preamps by the way can be stand alone (like the fatman) or they can be included in a mixer or on your sound/usb/firewire box

what sort of mic are you planning to use and what are you using as the recording device??

I think fatmans are pretty good-they used to be pretty expensive-I think they got a compressor built in as well. not used them myself though.
cheers

 

[zuke]

To add to that: a good preamp will have some form of compression to aid in keeping the signal hot yet not murdering the headroom. Others have the additional advatage of being tube or valve(Brits) which also adds the warmth to the signal.

A good mixer, Mackie 1604 VLZ Pro, will have very good preamps and 16 of them for a decent budget and that can come in handy when tracking loads of vocals.

 

[Strungout_dave]

cool!!

am planning on recording some voice with a Behringer B2 pro.hop u guys have heared of this one.. it wasnt too expensive condensor mic so i went in for that.though its quite good according to my standards ;-) . i have a Behringer Fx pro 2222 mixer. from where i plan to record into my PC using nuendo 2. this is basically my setup right now . (A very humble beginning) so am not too sure if i should really go in for Fat man studio pre amp. though i've heared a couple of recodings done thru that which sounded really good..

its quite expensive still.. it costs around 30 k indian money (BTW am from india) hey what abut the new Preamp from MIDI MAN? its cheaper though.. but i dont know if it works a good as A fat man studio!!
Cheers

 

[Blue Bear Sound]

To add to that: a good preamp will have some form of compression to aid in keeping the signal hot yet not murdering the headroom.

Have to disagree with you on that....... pretty much all of the good outboard pres DON'T have any other bells and whistles on them (Great River, GML, John Hardy, Manley, etc....) They do only one thing and they do it well -- if you want compression in the signal chain then you route the pre to a compressor!

 

[Chibi Nappa]

Have to disagree with you on that....... pretty much all of the good outboard pres DON'T have any other bells and whistles on them (Great River, GML, John Hardy, Manley, etc....) They do only one thing and they do it well -- if you want compression in the signal chain then you route the pre to a compressor!

Yup. My Great River has one coarse gain knob, one fine gain knob, and four buttons (phantom power, phase, loading, and impeadence) and that's it. Pretty bare bones, damn good sounding.

 

[HangDawg]

if you are using a powered condenser(commonly used with video recording/film) then you don't need a preamp. Or if you are just using a computer mic into a sound blaster then you don't need one.
You DO need a preamp to boost the signal from most dynamic mics, to an acceptable level suitable for recording. And if you are using a condenser mic then you mostly need a preamp with 48v phantom power option just to get the thing to work.

Preamps by the way can be stand alone (like the fatman) or they can be included in a mixer or on your sound/usb/firewire box

what sort of mic are you planning to use and what are you using as the recording device??

I think fatmans are pretty good-they used to be pretty expensive-I think they got a compressor built in as well. not used them myself though.
cheers

That fatman is not a preamp. It's a tube compressor.

 

[Track Rat]

That fatman is not a preamp. It's a tube compressor.

That's not right. A Fatman Radius 5 is a tube mic preamp with a onboard compressor.

 

[wimat]

The Fat man is either discontinued or really close to it.

 

[chessrock]

a good preamp will have some form of compression . . .

Others have the additional advatage of being tube or valve(Brits) which also adds the warmth to the signal.

and it gets better . . .

A good mixer, Mackie 1604 VLZ Pro, will have very good preamps

Man, I love this forum.

 

[fldrummer]

Man...If those "Mackie 1604 VLZ Pro" pre's sound great what do neve 1081 pres sound like?

 

[StevenLindsey]

You need a preamp to boost the mic level to line level so that a recorder can get a useful sound out of it. You need a preamp for a dynamic mic. You need a preamp with phantom power for a condenser mic ( like the B2 ) or the mic won't put out any sound. (Unless it's battery powered.) You generally need a better (hotter) preamp for a dynamic mic than for a condenser mic. I've never heard much good about the Fat Man. If you can get M-Audio stuff there, listen to the DMP3 two channel. The FMR Audio RNP is a "good" two channel amp. A Soundcraft M4 mixer will get you 4 pretty "good" preamps and some decent eq also...with S/PDIF output.

Just don't be trying to record without a preamp. You'll probably be very disappointed.

 

[gordone]

Well my Great River just has a gain knob and 3 switches! (per channel)
It's the MP2, and it's great sounding too (as long as the thing in front of the microphone is great sounding!)

Yup. My Great River has one coarse gain knob, one fine gain knob, and four buttons (phantom power, phase, loading, and impeadence) and that's it. Pretty bare bones, damn good sounding.

 

[darnold]

Yah my Hardy has no compression. Gain nob with phantom power switch, polarity switch, and gain boost button.

I guess if it had a tube or valve in it it would have a teeny bit of natural compression if thats what you wonna call it. But it wont do much in aiding of keeping levels consistent.


Come on guys, you gotta give a little credit to the Mackie 1604 VLZ Pro. They arnt amazing throw me in awe preamps but now that you can pick one of these up for what $400? Thats not a bad price for a versatile, 16 channel workhorse mixer.

But yah, the comment about them being very good might be a little extreme.

Danny

 

[Chibi Nappa]

Still....I've made some good recordings on my Mackie VLZ preamps. You're not "doomed" if that's all you have.

 

[Richard Monroe]

Damn, I guess I'm going to have to toss out this Avalon! No tubes, no compressor, no EQ. Yes sir! I'm gonna buy me a Mackie!-Richie