Microphone preamps

[jl-austin]

I keep reading that microphone preamps make a huge difference.

I'm using a Clarett interface, and supposedly it has "upgraded" preamps. I just can't imagine I would hear any difference going to
an inexpensive preamp (like the warm audio stuff). There is no way in the world I and going to spend $2k+ for a Neve, I don't run a studio.

What do you guys think? Stick with the focurite preamps are buy warm audio inexpensive preamp?

 

[rokket2005]

I have the Warm 273 and also the TB12 and I like them, but use case is really the most important consideration here. A nice mic will make more of a difference and should be prioritized, but if you're happy with your mics by all means a pre might be worth looking at though the difference in overall sound is a small percent comparatively.

 

[crushingpetal]

My 2 cents: unless you're really pushing the mic pre it's only a 2% improvement. If you push the mic pre you can't go back, whereas if you run a plugin to simulate a pushed pre you can dial to taste.

I agree above that a mic might make a bigger difference, but then we need to talk about the room acoustics...

What are you recording (guitar, vocals, drums)?

 

[Grindspine]

The Clarett being upgraded is compared to the Scarlett series. The Scarlett preamps are perfectly functional, but the Clarett ones have lower overall noise (better signal to noise ratio) and higher headroom (less likely to clip while recording). The Air effect is a nice addition too; I particularly like that effect on female vocals.

For guitar purposes, higher signal before clipping is pretty important for direct recording.

I do have one separate mic pre, a Blue Robbie the Mic Preamp, which was a really clean tube-based pre that I primarily got to just heat up some of my dynamic mics, boost gain for maximum detail on my condenser mics, or change phase for my ribbon mic to utilize either side of the element. I don't use my separate mic pre often, but it is nice to have for when I feel like I choose the right microphone, but just need a little more of something to the final sound.

 

[Drew]

I keep reading that microphone preamps make a huge difference.

I'm using a Clarett interface, and supposedly it has "upgraded" preamps. I just can't imagine I would hear any difference going to
an inexpensive preamp (like the warm audio stuff). There is no way in the world I and going to spend $2k+ for a Neve, I don't run a studio.

What do you guys think? Stick with the focurite preamps are buy warm audio inexpensive preamp?

I've never used them, but the claretts are supposed to be at least fairly decent.

But, don't think of it as "quality." Instead, think color. Generally interface preamps are going to be pretty neutral, since they have to be able to handle a LOT of different sources well. There's a quality component here, but with a Clarett you're very likely over the threshold where you have to worry about that much. Rather, just like different pickups add their own color, or different amps add their own color... a decent preamp is going to impart its own "sound" on a recording, particularly some of the more explicitly "color" preamps like a Neve type design. This is also true when you start to look at preamps that you can push a little bit and start to impart their own slight saturation.

You can use plugins to model some of this stuff, and a good quality transparent preamp coupled with some really good channel strip sims is definitely a viable option... but, you can also just capture that sound at input, and a good preamp can add a surprising amount.

I mostly track electric guitars through a BAE Neve-style preamp, and acosutics through a CAPI API-style. They sound very different, both from each other, and from the very neutral preamps in my Apogee.

I also really enjoy recording and mixing and have invested pretty heavily in this stuff, and these are definitely the sort of preamps that 20 years from now I'll still be using, and just feeding them into a different interface and computer. And maybe that's another way to think about it here - buying quality preamps is both a good way to have one more way to change color in your recordings, but are something that you'll be able to use for decades to come, unlike most channel strip VSTs or modelers.

 

[jl-austin]

Right now I am happy with my mic. I have a Neumann 102. I love the clarity.

I know I should be concentrating on room acoustics...... Sigh.

 

[Drew]

Right now I am happy with my mic. I have a Neumann 102. I love the clarity.

I know I should be concentrating on room acoustics...... Sigh.

If you're using a large diaphragm condenser, thenI agree - your priority here should be, if not actually treating your room, figuring out where exactly the best postion is for capturing - with that mic I'm assumung - vocals and acoustic guitars, and spending some time experimenting recording all over your room to figure out where it sounds best. You'll get a lot of room ambience with that.

If you're tracking electrics, go out and grab a SM57 now.

 

[crankyrayhanky]

I used to have a ton of different preamps.
I am now done to just one- the UA LA 610. I could use my Clarrett preamp and be happy with many tracks, but I like the vibe of the UA. FWIW: I hated 57s until I got my first quality preamp, then I was like ohhhh, this is awesome!

 

[col]

Did the whole thing with the "its as good as the real thing" pres, Golden Age Audio etc. No they aren't. Great River ME1-NV got me the tone where I felt I wasn't hindered by the hardware.

 

[Briz]

I have the Clarett+ 8Pre and Warm Audio Tone Beast. I think both are are great preamps. They cover all aspects of what I need - cleans through screams. It was trial and error when pairing with the right mics. I mainly use a U87ai clone, a Mojave tube mic, and an SM7B with a cloudlifter.