[psychogentoo]

Hello All,

I'm starting to setup a home recording rig and I'm in need of some suggestions. Right now, I have the POD xt going to my M-Box with the outputs going to a X-Can V3 and then onto my monitors. I've been using a Shure SM57 to mic up my amp in the past.

When I try using the SM57 with the M-Box for acoustic and vocal work, there isn't enough gain with the current config.

Would a mic preamp solve the gain issue? If so, which one (hopefully under $100) would work well? If not, which mic would you recommend for vocals and acoustic work?

thanks

 

[rickcr42]

Quote:

Would a mic preamp solve the gain issue?

yes


Quote:

If so, which one (hopefully under $100) would work well? If not, which mic would you recommend for vocals and acoustic work?

that is where it gets tricky.

first off trying for a general purpose 'everything" vocal/instrument mic is a real tough call.For acoustic instruments you want dead nuetral usually but for vocals not and even to the point of having several stages for a desired vocal effect "in house" and ready to go to match the artists style/strengths/weak points.

throw in the price limitation,a C-note,and it gets worse.

high gain,good input overload spec and low noise do not go hand in hand with "inexpensive" usually so you need to tighten up the requirments maybe to

1-solid state only.no tube pre will be quiet enough at the price
2-unless you plan on using it later to mic guitar cabinets or the kick drum high overload (and with it a GOOD overload harmonic) not high on the priority list
3-all else being equal you want a "clean" preamp so that right there saves loot by being direct input rather than transformer input and means likely the ADI SSM or TI INA Series preamp chips as the "heart" of the deign
4-dynamic mic means you do not need a phantom supply included,also a cost savings


Check this puppy out :

http://www.rane.com/ms1b.html

will run you about $125 "street",is very clean until you overload it and yes,it has the +48 volts phantom supply built in but when you build up to that condenser mic for acoustic instrument recording you will appreciate it being there

If you know which end of a soldering iron gets hot then this can not be beat with a stick :

http://www.paia.com/phantom.htm

Both are nothing fancy straight microphone gain stages that will get the job done at a reasonable price.any pads or filter/eq can be added later externally or in the case of the eq,even in software

rickamundo

 

[psychogentoo]

Wow thanks Rick. I'm going to go check out the Rane preamp.

yeah right now my budget is around $100 for this...I just bought a JEM 7V to replace my Satriani model, Pod xt to replace the Boss GT5 and K701 so my play fund is running low.

When I started on the head-fi journey, the initial budget for my headphone rig was $500 but I blew that budget a long time ago...I'm thinking I'm going to have to re-evaluate my recording rig this year...

 

[rickcr42]

Quote:

When I started on the head-fi journey, the initial budget for my headphone rig was $500 but I blew that budget a long time ago

pretty much goes with the territory.

Find head-fi,gain an interest then spend WAY more than planned when you asked that first simple "what are the best......"

A pretty good read,also Rane from maybe the best all in in library on pro gear in the universe the Rane Pro Notes library :


http://www.rane.com/note148.html

Take it all with a grain of salt though man.The equipment is no where close to as important as technique and even the best of it can be used wrong which means sound bad while many highly respected recording engineers began life with a couple of Shure mics and Shure microphone mixer in a basement setup.

In fact Paul McCartney did his first solo album Ram totally in house on a four track open reel deck ( not home studio,actually in his house !) and played every instrument which he synced and overdubbed

(

 

[psychogentoo]

thanks for the link. my brain hurts now from reading. ty

 

[viper32]

Or you could just get one of these and call it a day. LOL
http://www.gracedesign.com/products/m802/m802.htm

No seriously, the other guy is right on with what you need at that price. Like he said tallent is the key.

 

[psychogentoo]

thanks for the suggestion Viper.

so how much talent could I buy for $100?