Selecting a Mic Pre

For discussion about setting up your studio and advice on the gear and equipment within it.
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Re: Selecting a Mic Pre

By Prah_860_ Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:39 pm
damn...Shipping will kill me I'm sure

:lol: :lol:
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Re: Selecting a Mic Pre

By b.read Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:47 pm
scoobylol wrote:I know dude, I've been so very tempted of late but I got a bargain Drawmer on ebay a few months back so I've opted not to.

At least not until they do a full channel strip like I said earlier. I was leaning towards the EQ they released until I noticed it can only be used as an insert if you buy the compressor first... so I was like errrr nah you're alright bruv.



Ah...I gotcha. Which Drawmer did you get?
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Re: Selecting a Mic Pre

By scoobylol Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:58 pm
It's a very humble LX20. But it's stereo or dual mono, and it has an input for sidechaining! It's soft-knee so you can't really go wrong with it at all, and unlike my previous budget compressor (ART tube jobby) I actually find the compression a lot more to my taste sound-wise.

It has a little expander/gate which is pretty useful as I tend to run it on a send/return from my Mackie mixer which can sometimes get a bit noisy.

Hmm what else... it's pretty old, from 1986 I think, so it's older than me haha. It was a bargain at £50, and when I emailed Drawmer they sent me a PDF manual in about 3 minutes, very impressed!

In conclusion a great little all-rounder and it makes the coolest noise when you turn it off. I might sample it one day.
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Re: Selecting a Mic Pre

By b.read Wed Dec 07, 2011 6:59 pm
Damn...I'm impressed- would not have thought they'd be so helpful on a product of that age.


If only some other company would take note! :? COUGH COUGH


:lol:
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digi 002 specs

By Lampdog Wed Dec 07, 2011 7:35 pm
Digi 002....

provides the following input and output capacity:

• 8 analog audio inputs (4 with mic preamps)
with A/D converters supporting up to 24-bit,
96 kHz audio
• 48V phantom power on mic preamps, switchable
in channel pairs




You already have 4 mic pre's on your audio interface.
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Re: digi 002 specs

By jonestown massacre Fri Dec 09, 2011 1:38 pm
Lampdog wrote:Digi 002....

provides the following input and output capacity:

• 8 analog audio inputs (4 with mic preamps)
with A/D converters supporting up to 24-bit,
96 kHz audio
• 48V phantom power on mic preamps, switchable
in channel pairs




You already have 4 shitty mic pre's on your audio interface.


fixed, lol. If you have a 002, why not check Black Lion Audio?
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Re: Selecting a Mic Pre

By cozy Fri Dec 09, 2011 1:57 pm
If you are up to spending around $1000, you can't go wrong with a Great River ME-1NV (single channel).
http://www.mercenary.com/greatrivmp1.html

If you are in the $500 range, I like the Black Lion Audio Auteur. It's a great sounding little box, and it's a 2 channel mic pre.

http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... ps-sellers

I own a GR MP-2NV which is the exact same as the ME-1NV, but has 2 channels and I own the BLA as well. I think they both are great sounding mic pres. I actually am selling the BLA right now for $375 though. If you are interested PM me.
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Re: Selecting a Mic Pre

By Lampdog Fri Dec 09, 2011 3:59 pm
b.read wrote:.....easy for **** to spend other peoples money.

or almost something to that effect.
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Re: digi 002 specs

By Prah_860_ Fri Dec 09, 2011 5:05 pm
jonestown massacre wrote:
Lampdog wrote:Digi 002....

provides the following input and output capacity:

• 8 analog audio inputs (4 with mic preamps)
with A/D converters supporting up to 24-bit,
96 kHz audio
• 48V phantom power on mic preamps, switchable
in channel pairs




You already have 4 shitty mic pre's on your audio interface.


fixed, lol. If you have a 002, why not check Black Lion Audio?


they don't mod the 002 consoles anymore....just the racks
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Re: Selecting a Mic Pre

By Ill-Green Sat Dec 10, 2011 12:02 am
Do you really need comp and eq on a mic-pre? Just saying because you can get all that on your DAW. I like it simple so any analog mic-pre will do as long its got gain.
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Re: digi 002 specs

By Lampdog Sat Dec 10, 2011 12:49 am
jonestown massacre wrote:4 shitty mic pre's

Shitty is subjective and a personal opinion.

It is a mic pre nonetheless and I'm pretty sure it can get the job done seeing that it is implemented on a decent enough audio interface.

The problem Prah and I spoke of might be as I've said in a previous thread, the lack of a proper vocal booth, and I myself don't always go along with proper studio requirements, Prah stated that he doesn't always either. Soundproofing & proper room/booth treatments go a long way in recording vocals we all know this. Prah is probably seeing the result of not having proper shit just like me, why me, because I don't do vocals and don't care for a vocally proper studio.

Ill Green is right in my opinion, it can be processed alot more and to taste in a daw. So to save money, Prah should look into getting the mic input recorded into a more clean and backgournd noise free environment if he choose to go that route. In a noisy environment an extra mic pre won't matter.
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Re: Selecting a Mic Pre

By jonestown massacre Sat Dec 10, 2011 2:57 am
^^^Agreed

"I'd much rather record the best drummer on shitty equipment than record a shitty drummer on the best equipment"

The gear only takes it so far, the space you are recording in and the skill of the artist dictate the quality of the track.
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Re: Selecting a Mic Pre

By cozy Sat Dec 10, 2011 3:25 am
I agree with the Digi pre's being garbage. On an album I recorded I recorded vocals on the Digi 002 first, then a few months into the project I copped the GR. Night and day difference between the 2.

The Digi 002 doesn't have the upper frequency response that the GR or even the BLA Auteur has. I really suggest purchasing a standalone mic pre.

If you think about it, buying a Digi brand new costs around $1500(?) or so. Digidesign/Avid has to split the cost of production between all of the components in the interface, whereas a standalone mic pre does one thing and one thing only. Amplifies your microphone.

As far as not having an expensive mic to run through a mic pre, I make really great recordings with a Shure SM7b running through the GR. I personally think the attitude of "gear only takes it so far" is not really true (no dis JM). I say why let your gear be the weakest link? You may have a shit drummer for the session, but your next session may have a great drummer.

This is my opinion based on my experiences recording over the last few years. I still say a dedicated microphone preamp is a must have.
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Re: Selecting a Mic Pre

By Lampdog Sat Dec 10, 2011 4:01 am
I can respect a reason why you think it's shitty, cool enough.
Just saying stuff and not even a brief what is what why it's bad leads to argue in an open minded view. I understand now.
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