preamps and recording
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Posted on Oct 17, 2009 11:29 pm
Engladdict
Member Since: Jun 19, 2009
Hello all, I've been looking into recording options and came across the PreSonus Firestudio and like it, and am planning on buying one, then while looking for mic preamps i saw the ART unit which is a preamp and interface. What's the profits of each? would it be better to run the firestudio and another preamp tor ecord or just use the ART unit?
any recording gear tips would be appreciated. Thanks a bunch
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CptTrippsCzar of Turd PolishMember
Since: Jun 20, 2006
Oct 18, 2009 04:07 am Could you be a little more specific on the ART unit? Which one are you looking at?
Also, the firestudio has 8 pre-amps built in as well.
Give us the lowdown on what you want to accomplish (full band setup, any synth work, acoustic solo act etc...) and how much your looking to spend.
cruxTypo SzarMember
Since: Jul 04, 2002
Oct 18, 2009 10:41 am Each preamp has its own "flavor" if u will and thus the more preamps u have the more variety of flavors ull have to choose from. There r no benefits per say on a technical basis but ultimately having more is just more, its liek having a lot of guitars or amp heads, u can pick and choose which ones fits wat ur doing best so if u have the cash go for it, but its not lke u will be "missing" an aspect of ur studio if u dont get the extra preamp
Oct 18, 2009 01:22 pm Ah, thanks crux, i can understand that. So the firestudio could do what i want fine, and so could the ART, it's all about certain attributes of the instruments through each preamp i suppose
cpttripps - i want to be able to record drums, guitar, bass, and do synth sample work and have all sound professional and warm, thus wanting tube preamps cuz i know how warm my tube amp head is, and want it to sound incredible.
I plan on running Logic btw
CptTrippsCzar of Turd PolishMember
Since: Jun 20, 2006
Oct 19, 2009 12:21 pm Tube guitars amps and tube pre-amps are a different beast. I'm not saying they are bad at all, but thinking they will sound better than a solid state pre is probably gonna let you down unless you go high end avalon or something simillar. Everything under my profile was recorded with using solid state pre's (not the greatest but far from lacking warmth), the only tube pre I had (ART) I sold just a couple months after purchase as it was far too noisy.
When buying sub $1000 interface with pre's, I would personally not let tubes affect my purchasing decision.
I would lean towards a nice 8 channel interface and maybe pick up an RNP for use on guitars, vox, bass etc...
Oct 19, 2009 03:59 pm Word to the tube.
Tubes (which used to be a necessary evil in almost all electronics) are little more than a marketing tactic at this point (except for certain high-end MFG's - Tube Tec, Manley, etc.).
"Cheap" and "tube" in the same sentence almost invariably leads to "crap" in the next. And the only "warmth" you get from tubes is the amazing amount of heat they throw at you. I avoid tube gear whenever possible no matter the manufacturer. There are a few pieces of tube gear out there that just have no equal in the transistor world (Manley's Variable Mu, which by definition relies on the tube circuitry, for example).
Quote:
When buying sub $1000 interface with pre's, I would personally not let tubes affect my purchasing decision.
I'd just plain steer clear of them in that price range. They're much more trouble than they're worth in most cases. I suppose GT's "Brick" is an exception (but it's not an exceptional preamp either) and I'm sure there are a few more pieces that are pretty cool. ART's Pro VLA, which is a simply fantastic compressor (if you can find a good one), is another exception. But you might go through 5 or 6 of them before you find one that's really on the spot.
And another exception (as noted) is tube guitar amplifiers. Most of those aren't a waste of cold-plate garbage just to have tubes in there. You're distorting a signal in a very "organic" way, instead of the very typical and linear fashion of a transistor.
Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Oct 20, 2009 09:55 pm I will second MM and Tripps on the staying away from the tube pre unless you have $5k to spend on one. I don't keep any tube pre's here and use solid state more often then not. I have access to plenty of old school gear outside of here. But many times find exactly what i need using good solid state gear.
Oct 21, 2009 09:46 am ???????
Oct 25, 2009 04:10 pm cool, thanks guys
