Members version 3.0 Posted January 12, 2007 Members Share Posted January 12, 2007 how do people usually go about this. im guessing for budget people buy those 8 channel adat strips but. as for the pros and semi pros...do they have a preamp for each mic? and are there some preamps made for certain instruments, such as kick or overheads? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted January 13, 2007 Members Share Posted January 13, 2007 I'm not sure what you are asking for. Just about any microphone (those oddball digital microphones aside) require a mic preamp. There are mic preamps that are better for some applications than others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members version 3.0 Posted January 13, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 13, 2007 uhhh. i dont know how to make this clearer. let me try and say it again in different words. how do the pros mic drums in terms of preamps. like do they go into a strip for all the mics. or do they have dedicated preamps for each source. like a snare preamp, kick preamp......etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alcohol Posted January 13, 2007 Members Share Posted January 13, 2007 uhhh. i dont know how to make this clearer. let me try and say it again in different words.how do the pros mic drums in terms of preamps. like do they go into a strip for all the mics. or do they have dedicated preamps for each source. like a snare preamp, kick preamp......etc. I think using a combination of outboard preamps and console preamps is the common practice these days. last year I used a studio to record a song that had been featured on the front page of Mix magazine. They did that method, with a lunchbox of API pres and their Trident 80B consoe. I have a couple of boutique pres that I use on the kick and snare and for all the other drums I use my console. There seems to be a trend to use combination of pres with summing boxes, like the Fulcrom or the Speck LiLo that suit this kind of flexibility. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted January 13, 2007 Share Posted January 13, 2007 It depends on the engineer, the studio, what's available... I've done stuff with just the console preamps - tons of times. I've also used a combination of board and outboard preamps - which is my "usual" approach. Other engineers - lots of them - prefer seperate preamps for everything. If I have my choice, it comes down to what's available, as I said a second ago... as well as the style of music... but usually, I like to mix it up a bit - Neve and neve-esque preamps for kick and snare, API's on toms, and something fairly fast, clean and neutral for the overheads (whaddayagot?)... but I'll get the job done with just the board if that's all that's available. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members where02190 Posted January 13, 2007 Members Share Posted January 13, 2007 My available pres of choice: TL Audio C-1 for kicks and OH.GML for room and snareWhatever for toms, I rarely use them anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted January 13, 2007 Members Share Posted January 13, 2007 You asked "do they have a preamp for each mic?" which is what threw me...gotcha now, thanks! You got a bunch of good answers - a lot of variety, with some using consoles, and others using a combination of various things. As I don't have a console (where would I be able to fit it? ), I use use the Neve Portico for kick and snare, Peavey VMP-2 for overheads, and FMR RNPs for everything else. I sometimes will mix these up a little, depending on what sound I am going for. Note that I'm not saying that these are the best for each application (not that this sucks or anything) - it's simply what I own!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ozraves Posted January 14, 2007 Members Share Posted January 14, 2007 I generally use my own version of Fletcher's three mic drum technique. I use an A Designs MP-2 on overheads as they put a nice image on things. I use a Millenia TD-1 on kick. Snare gets whatever is left which ranges from anything from a Great River NV series to the stock pres in the Digi 002. Are there preamps made for such things as kick and overheads? No. Preamps tend to be made for general application. However, certain engineers peg certain preamps for certain sources or certain types of mics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members version 3.0 Posted January 14, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 14, 2007 i see. i only own one outboard mic pre and it sucks; presonus tubrepre. im saving up for an rnp. but it just seems like buying mic pres is a whole trial and error approach, and you either have to take the risk and buy it or know someone who has it. plus nice mic pres can be verrry subtle. so its difficult for choosing. i guess later on the road i can be more picky, but for know ill just get a channel strip, as i dont have a console. that being said which one do you guys prefer? presonus digimax, focusrite octopre, mackie onyx, or any other 8 channel mic pre with adat for my 002r. id prefer under/around $1000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ozraves Posted January 14, 2007 Members Share Posted January 14, 2007 I have been scoping out the Yamaha MLA8. It looks promising. However, I've had the worst luck getting Yamaha to acknowledge my existence so I can review the unit. It looks like it might meet the needs of a lot of people. The only problem is you'll need a D-Sub to TRS snake. That'll be anywhere from $35 to $100 depending if you go with something cheap or want Canare, Belden or Mogami. I'd plan on budgeting about $650 for the pre and snake cable together. That's well within your budget. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members version 3.0 Posted January 15, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 15, 2007 im checking it out right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 I have been scoping out the Yamaha MLA8. It looks promising. However, I've had the worst luck getting Yamaha to acknowledge my existence so I can review the unit. It looks like it might meet the needs of a lot of people. The only problem is you'll need a D-Sub to TRS snake. That'll be anywhere from $35 to $100 depending if you go with something cheap or want Canare, Belden or Mogami. I'd plan on budgeting about $650 for the pre and snake cable together. That's well within your budget. I'm not positive, but I believe the MLA8 uses the same preamps, or similar preamps, to the two in the Yamaha i88X - and I really like those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members where02190 Posted January 15, 2007 Members Share Posted January 15, 2007 i see. i only own one outboard mic pre and it sucks; presonus tubrepre. im saving up for an rnp. but it just seems like buying mic pres is a whole trial and error approach, and you either have to take the risk and buy it or know someone who has it. plus nice mic pres can be verrry subtle. so its difficult for choosing. i guess later on the road i can be more picky, but for know ill just get a channel strip, as i dont have a console. that being said which one do you guys prefer?presonus digimax, focusrite octopre, mackie onyx, or any other 8 channel mic pre with adat for my 002r. id prefer under/around $1000. A pair of RNP's is a good investment, and that gives you 8 pres right there, 4 on the 002, 4 from the RNP's into the 5-8 line inputs. More than enough for drums. The presonus digimax and focusrite octopre are excellent choices. My vote would be for the Focusrite personally. The mackie onyx except the 400F and 800R are however is not compatible, they connect via FW only, the 002 is lightpipe or spdif only. the Onyx pres are pretty nice as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mono boy Posted January 15, 2007 Members Share Posted January 15, 2007 A pair of RNP's is a good investment, and that gives you 8 pres right there, 4 on the 002, 4 from the RNP's into the 5-8 line inputs. More than enough for drums. yes. everybody with a RNP raves. can't go wrong there. I went with a 4 channel sytek MPX-4A, which is fresh-and-so-clean on drums. at less then 200 dollars a channel it remains a top value in modern class A pres. well worth a look./jonny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Matt Hepworth Posted January 17, 2007 Members Share Posted January 17, 2007 I've had a Mackie Onyx 800R for a while. Finally used it on a serious session - drums and guitar. WOW! Nice pres for the $1k! The converters are good, too! I prefer them to my RME converters. As to the question at hand, it's very common to see API, particularly 312's and Brent Averill 312's on drums. Most people, however, prefer a bit cleaner preamps for the overheads, but the API's get used a lot for overheads as well. Typically, you want a preamp that will respond well to transients. API will not let you down, although expect to pay $600 plus per channel. I use a Joe Meek VC6Q for kick (it seems to have a REALLY deep bottom), A Designs P1 for snare, now the Mackie Onyx for hat, Onyx or dbx 586 for overheads, and my super colored, noisy, vintage Yamaha console pres for toms (or Onyx!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted January 18, 2007 Members Share Posted January 18, 2007 yes. everybody with a RNP raves. can't go wrong there. I went with a 4 channel sytek MPX-4A, which is fresh-and-so-clean on drums. at less then 200 dollars a channel it remains a top value in modern class A pres. well worth a look. /jonny I've never heard the Syteks, but a lot of people seem to have high regards for it at its price point. RNPs are amazing, especially for the money. ~~~~~~~~ Are a lot of people using different mic preamps for different parts of the drum kit? I don't use the same mic preamps for the whole kit, but that's because I can't!!! I have two RNPs (four mic preamps in total), a Peavey VMP-2, and a Neve Portico, so I don't have enough mic preamps of one kind for the drum kit. Well, okay, I have a Mackie mixer somewhere around as well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted January 18, 2007 Share Posted January 18, 2007 RNP's also work very well on drums - I especially like them on both overhead and room microphones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted January 18, 2007 Share Posted January 18, 2007 As to the question at hand, it's very common to see API, particularly 312's and Brent Averill 312's on drums. Most people, however, prefer a bit cleaner preamps for the overheads, but the API's get used a lot for overheads as well. Typically, you want a preamp that will respond well to transients. API will not let you down, although expect to pay $600 plus per channel. An API 3124 is on my "it will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine" list for this year. I use a Joe Meek VC6Q for kick (it seems to have a REALLY deep bottom), I've tried to use a VC3Q and a MQ3 on kick, but was never that happy with it... it always sounds like it's on the edge of overloading to me, even with proper gain staging. You're not having any overload problems with yours? A Designs P1 for snare, now the Mackie Onyx for hat, Onyx or dbx 586 for overheads, and my super colored, noisy, vintage Yamaha console pres for toms (or Onyx!). Gotta try the A Designs one of these days - I keep hearing good things about those. How do you like it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Wireline Posted January 18, 2007 Members Share Posted January 18, 2007 Yes...the ADesigns 500 cards are perfect for 90% of the drum sounds I've needed to record...a pair of P1 as overheads, an EM Silver on kick, and (this is cool...) a 57 into a cranked open REDDI DI for snare... For jazz stuff, things get moved around a bit, as I still use the EM SIlver on kick, but more of a FOK thing, with one P1 on the snare (brushes) and the other P1 as an overhead with a jurrasic erc ribbon. Now that we have a Pacifica, things do get changed around a bit...the Pacifica opens up a whole new dimension we haven't fully exploited yet. I've also used within the past year the API 3124, as well as the internal pres in a rebuilt Ramsa console...not to mention a TFPro P10, a Buzz MA2.2tx, even the erstwhile Focusrite Ocropres...and - they ALL sounded good. Its a matter of personal taste, and how good the drums/drummer are you are recording Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members version 3.0 Posted January 18, 2007 Author Members Share Posted January 18, 2007 i guess for now ill just pick up a pair of rnp's. cant go wrong with those. then maybe later on, when i have more money and a better ear, ill start picking out specific preamps. how do the syteks compare with the rnp's though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphajerk Posted January 18, 2007 Members Share Posted January 18, 2007 id rather have 2x pacificas than one api3124. of course i have a 3124 and no pacificas next pres i get will be as many pacificas as i can afford. i did NOT want to give back the pacificas back!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mattrw89 Posted January 20, 2007 Members Share Posted January 20, 2007 I'm also curious in how the Sytek's sound versus the RNP? I'm wondering if I should save $100 by going Sytek versus 2x RNPs. The only problem with that is that it will take more time to get one. (money takes time, in this case). I also need an ADAT strip for my 002... I really like the Digimax FS right now... Any comments? Should I go with an RNP first, then get an ADAT strip in terms of overall recording "greatness"? Right now I have to use a behringer Xenyx 4 channel board to get 4 more preamps on my Digi 002 and its killing me. Thanks,Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Matt Hepworth Posted January 23, 2007 Members Share Posted January 23, 2007 I've tried to use a VC3Q and a MQ3 on kick, but was never that happy with it... it always sounds like it's on the edge of overloading to me, even with proper gain staging. You're not having any overload problems with yours? No overloading sound - I really dig that thing on kick and guitars. Gotta try the A Designs one of these days - I keep hearing good things about those. How do you like it? The P1 can be a desert island pre, IMO. It's not a huge bottom pre, just smooth and very upfront - vox and snare love it! It takes a tiny bit to get used to because you keep thinking it will be harsh because of the clarity and forward sound, but it just doesn't. Smooth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Matt Hepworth Posted January 23, 2007 Members Share Posted January 23, 2007 I'm also curious in how the Sytek's sound versus the RNP? I'm wondering if I should save $100 by going Sytek versus 2x RNPs. The only problem with that is that it will take more time to get one. (money takes time, in this case). I also need an ADAT strip for my 002... I really like the Digimax FS right now... Any comments? Should I go with an RNP first, then get an ADAT strip in terms of overall recording "greatness"? Right now I have to use a behringer Xenyx 4 channel board to get 4 more preamps on my Digi 002 and its killing me.Thanks,Matt Hi Matt, you should give the Onyx 800R a serious look. It's got nice, clean pres and you get the ADAT out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mattrw89 Posted January 23, 2007 Members Share Posted January 23, 2007 Are you saying that you would go for the 800R in my situation rather than get 4 more nice preamps (I already have the channels with other cheap mixers)? Are the Onyx preamps really THAT clean? Thanks!Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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