Mic preamp?

adru · Post by **adru** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:32 pm

i've had my e-mu 0404 usb interface for a little over a week-its really nice,i'm doing some official sound sepperating and mixing for the first time on my beats and with the midi its mad simple & actually pretty enjoyable...i'm ordering a rode NT1-A mic in a couple days-it seems to be one of the best if not the best mics in my price range (its $230 or so)-it won a 2004 best mic award and is the quietest large diaphragm condensor in existance,so thats good enough for me..and it has some characterisics i like....

my question is if i should get a sepperate mic preamp to run into the interface,or would the interface ones be good enough?-the emu has mic preamps but i dont really know how good the quality is-they're called "high z class a's" or something..keep in mind i need a vocal sound thats comprable to your average indie/underground hip hop/rock.i'll also have no more than 200 for a pre...if someone could help me out it would be dope-& if anyone thinks i could make a better mic choice let me know-also-and this is a dumb question,i'm sure-but you can put a condensor and shockmount on a simple standard upright mic stand right?i'm turning a closet into a "booth" and dont think i'll have room for all that telescoping tripod boom shit...thanks a lot...1

HxC · Post by **HxC** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 5:50 pm

Not sure of the emu specs, but you are going to need Phantom power (+48 volts of juice for a condensor mic). If there is no phantom power switch on your interface you will need something that provides it & a mic pre is that. Hi-Z is 'line level' which won't work for any mic. Mics need to be 'brought up' to Hi-Z.

You don't even have to go all out. Something like this Rane would do the job inexpensively & excellently:
http://www.rane.com/ms1b.html

Don't forget to get a 'spit screen' half for sound half for keeping spit out of the grill of your nice new mic-

And for condensors you definitely want a tripod stand instead of a "heavy round plate" style stand. They're very sensitive tripods wobble less. One more thing- if you have a closet to use as a vox booth- try doing a 'partial' booth- meaning put the mic in there but don't close up the vocalist. If you can't fit a tripod in there that means it's too small for rockin'. I've done the closet thing nuff times & always do tests & bottom line is vocals sound better with a little 'air' getting pushed through- sealing someone up in a closet can make the vocal sound small & cramped. you want to cancel any reflections & having 3 out of 4 sides around the mic 'blocked' works well- every setup is different though.
peesh

HxC · Post by **HxC** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 10:11 pm

If this is the joint you're going to need an external mic pre:
http://www.emu.com/products/product.asp?product=10447

Try the Rane, or people say good things about this one:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ ... c=3SOSWXXA

I like to put a little compression on the way in when I record rappers.
This one is a decent preamp/compressor for da price:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/286A/
careful with that built in de-esser!

I got my eyes on this one (gear lust) some day...
http://www.safesoundaudio.co.uk/p1.html

Goodluck

adru · Post by **adru** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 5:24 am

thanks hxc,i really appreciate the thorough response..what you said about the closet is good to know-for some reason i thought actually standing in the closet would be better accoustically-but yea i can definitely put a tripod in the closet and stand in front of it.as far as my interface-the one you linked isnt the one i have- its the 0404 usb 2.0-and it actually does have phantom power-i've been told a quality interface should be good enough to run a decent mic straight into,i just want to be positive..and i've read some mixed reviews about the pre amps in the e-mu...you sem to know what you're talking about,if you could maybe take a quick look at the interface i got (just type e-mu 0404 usb 2.0 into ebay or musicians friend or something) i'd appreciate it a whole lot-i definitely got a little dough for a pre amp if neccesarry,so i just wanna be sure..of course i'd rather spend 200 bucks on records

...oh,and the rode comes with a free pop filter screen thing..would i still need a wind screen (the foam ball thing,lol)to put on the actual mic?thanks a lot man,& good looking on the links..stay up

HxC · Post by **HxC** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 7:42 am

My bad I was looking @ the wrong 1.
Yeah that Emu is fine. Nothing you'd get for <200 will be noticeably better.
Free pop/spit screen- nice. No foam balls on that type of mic-
Hook it up & concentrate on technique!
hXc

adru · Post by **adru** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 5:37 pm

word..now thats what i wanted to hear,lol...thanks again,peace

lotspoop · Post by **lotspoop** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 2:32 pm

I used to have the same interface. I only sold it because I got one with more inputs.

This was the review that sold me on it.

http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/pro ... 4-usb.html

Basically it has the nicest preamps for that price range. The only thing is the gain knob is a little sensitive. When you get one new they come with a bunch of cool software.

adru · Post by **adru** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 9:33 pm

yea i got it new a few weeks ago,got a real good deal too-just $165--i installed all the software but couldnt open the cubase cause it said it needed a serial number which is nowhere to be found..its the second timei've had problems with a cubase program-the other one wont allow me to use most of the features,i dont know...but the interface is mad dope,i'm glad i came across it..i just wasnt sure how good those pres were,even though i've already read that same review at least 3 times,lol...peace

Platypus Beird · Post by **Platypus Beird** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 2:15 am

you should really consider giving me 200 for gas to come record you Dru, instead of buying that NT1a which is too silibant anywayz... I just got a new mic preamp that sounds amazing, even better than my Aurora we recorded Life Check with, a new API eq, the same compressor and mic but with that little Apogee Duet should be siiiick....

i know you want your own gear though, i'm just saying

Nicknw · Post by **Nicknw** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 3:33 pm

Studio Projects B1 > Rode NT1a, and it's cheaper too. M Audio DMP3 is a pretty decent pre for the price, with plenty of gain too.

adru · Post by **adru** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 5:53 pm

well shit kids,i ordered the mic last thursday and it came in the mail today...mike i'd love to record on that stuff,but you gotta be realistic,we most likely couldnt knock out a whole album in a couple days.plus i want to record a lot more than just that,theres all kinds of shit i wanna experiment with and being able to record myself is a neccessity at this point.woulda been nice to know about that other mic last week..but still i'm not too worried,from all the reviews i've seen i dont really have any doubts that it'll do a good enough job.we'll see though i guess.

Platypus Beird · Post by **Platypus Beird** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 12:06 am

that's cool man, I'm just thinking out loud...