VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

BALKY · Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 9:09 pm Post subject: preamp or not?

Hi to all! Smile

Before I got my Presonus studio live 16.4.2 mixer, I had a preamp blue tube, i think... it is also by presonus.

I've been using my mic rode nt2000 connected directly to the board's preamp... the question that's been popping in my head every now and then: "Should throw that preamp in the chain and use it?"

Extra device in the chain = extra noise... correct if I am wrong.
OR perhaps I missing out on a better sound?

http://media.soundonsound.com/sos/jun05/images/bluetubeheader.l.jpg this is the preamp I have.

What do you, dear colleagues, think? Wink

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Bish · Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 9:20 pm Post subject:

I bounced back and forth for a while. I initially used a Rane MS-1 and then a dbx286a. When I purchased my Apogee Duet, I used the preamps... however, my system is now configured via a Mackie 1202 VLZ3 mixer and I use the preamps in that and the Apogee only as an interface (preamps bypassed). I've switched back and forth a number of times, but to be honest, the Mackie preamps do a fine job and I have no desire to "upgrade".

I'm using a CAD e100s and a Sennheiser MKH416... the only thing I haven't tried yet is the 416 via the dbx... but to be honest, I don't have a problem that needs fixing, so I'll probably just leave it all connected via the Mackie.
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BALKY · Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 9:34 pm Post subject:

Thanks, Peter!

I am thinking the same... I mean, this preamp has some coloring going: TUBE sort of thing... but I can add any types of distortions within DAW... nowadays there are so many plug-ins for that.

Too bad that preamp has turned into a dust collector... though, I have many things around that do the same LOL ... one more, one less...

What I really want to do is to experiemnt with different mics... but I only have one :( Not that I am not happy with my Rode... just curious what if another mic will add some new colors to my voice? never know eh?

Smile

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Pavel Kuklin
(Russian native vo artist)
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Greeting: https://vimeo.com/216249549
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VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/channels/russianvoice
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Frank F · Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2014 10:52 pm Post subject:

Preamps (external) offer versatility. Now that is stated, here is the facts as you know them.

Depending upon the manufacturer, a built-in preamp can be good or not so good. However, that is all they will be - GOOD or not so good.

Some mixer pre's offer some very fine quality - others not so much. Built-in pre's offer stability in a "one size fits all" box. This is why many great engineers can tell when the audio was/is recorded on ProTools/Digidesign products. The reason: everything sounds like it has the same color and character.

I use Maag Audio's PreQ4 with Airband in a lunchbox. I now have several of these babies and I call them my "secret weapon". The PreQ4/EQ2 can be light and airy, solid and bright, or grungy and full - all at the same time.

I have used and use other pre's including Focusrite Red, Avalon's, Great River, and many, many other preamps. Each preamp has it's own personality and is used to create a specific sound with a specific set of equipment (mic, preamp, sound card, software, instrument, artist, etc.).

For most people in voiceover, a high end pre (translate to: expensive) is like buying a Ferrari to drive to the grocery store. What is needed for VO is a preamp with the four C's - Color, Cut, Character, and Clarity. How much of either of the C's is for you and your clients to determine.

If a built-in preamp works for you, your equipment, and clients then by all means use it. If you need a little edge or a preamp which matches your microphone, voice, and soundcard - do the research and find the right preamp for your needs and your clients.

Frank F
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Foog · Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 12:11 am Post subject:

I've been eyeballing a Mackie board for a while now, both because it would let me do a proper phone patch with playback (albeit through a Skype number) and because my understanding is that the preamp on my Mbox mini is, well... crapulent. However, the preamp in said crapulent interface cannot be bypassed no way, no how. So if I get a mixer, I may as well get one that can bypass the Mbox entirely.

Has anyone had any experience with using one of the Mackies with USB (like the PRoFX8) or firewire (Onyx820i) as an interface? Good? Bad? Indifferent? Is the upgrade to firewire and the allegedly better Onyx preamps worth the extra few hundred bucks?

(OH God! I haven't even started building my new booth/room walls and already I'm getting the GAS again!)

Bish · Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 6:46 am Post subject:

This is another issue that often comes up... avoiding stacking the mixer and interface preamps by bypassing the ones in the interface. The conventional wisdom is to set them around the null gain point and keep your fingers crossed. Hmmmm.

I'm using the Mackie 1202-VLZ3 and get all the patching options I need. The good thing with the Apogee Duet is that you can set it to a true bypass mode. When you set the input to +4dBu you can literally hear a pair of relays switching and providing a non-preamped path.

I've played with someone's 820i, and to be honest, found the Firewire implementation a little counter-intuitive and not fun to work with (it did work). I'm sure all would have been fine if I'd spent some more time with it, but as a new purchase... I'd be reluctant to invest in any new Firewire device.

I wouldn't say that the Onyx preamps are much different from the VLZ3 ones... and now there's the VLZ4, I wouldn't say that the Onyx820i is a particularly good deal.

If it were me, I'd look at the 1202-VLZ4. The 802 would work, but for the extra $70 I think the 1202 is in another class (connection flexibility and construction). Getting a simple interface (no preamp) is more problematic than it sounds... However, George Whittam has mentioned the humble $30 Behringer UCA-222 as something that does a stellar job of this one simple task.
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Smoke me a kipper... I'll be back for breakfast.
I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls... I will not feed the trolls.

BALKY · Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 7:47 am Post subject:

My board is studio Live - it is a 16 channel firewire board

I like it a lot, but with my shitty luck (always) it's been at repairs twice already.
I bought it when it just came out. remember being on waiting list for several months...

but this board allows me to connect everything... phone patch, skype patch, source connect etc...

Got source connect, call me crazy for throwing so much money in the air, but really wanted to have it in my arsenal. So far never got a chance to really use it.
Only echo tests...
_________________
Best,
Pavel Kuklin
(Russian native vo artist)
*****
Greeting: https://vimeo.com/216249549
Source-Connect: voservices
VIDEO: https://vimeo.com/channels/russianvoice
AUDIO: http://audio.russianvoice4u.com

Jason Huggins · Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 11:17 am Post subject:

I also use the Mackie (1402-VLZ) built-in preamps. They seem more open sounding than the dbx286a that I was using, and there are 6 of them on the 1402, so if one dies I have backups Smile

I've wanted to get an external pre, but no one has complained about my audio. Some engineers will turn their nose up, but at the end of the day I've still got a workhorse that I can rely on.

Lee Gordon · Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 11:44 am Post subject:

Based upon some positive comments in this forum, I bought a Mackie 1202-VLZ Pro and it works just swell.
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georgethetech · Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 12:16 pm Post subject:

If it sounds good, it is good.
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Jason Huggins · Posted: Fri Aug 22, 2014 12:28 pm Post subject:

I think I've heard that somewhere before Inoccent

Lance Blair · M&M Joined: 03 Jun 2007 Posts: 2279 Location: Atlanta

I'm a recovering Gear-itis victim, and I'm using a Mackie 402VLZ4 now as my pre. Have a nice mic and well-treated room and it's all you need.

The VLZ3 pres have a wider more open 3-D sound an more sheen.
The VLZ4 pres are more focused and have more low end. I like them both equally but the newer VLZ4 suits me better.

I mean, what did I first record on when I started? A Mackie board.
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ccpetersen · Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 1:38 pm Post subject:

Hmmmm... my finger is itching to check out B&H or Sweetwater....
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