leib10
Well-known member
Yep! What is that?
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
I hear ya... had/have the exact same issue. Keep hearing about preamps but i don't think those will make as drastic a difference considering most units now come with decent preamps. What did work for me was this, turn that fucker of an amp UP. You have to. Most of us home hobbiest turn the master volume up to what, 9 pm on a good day? Put on some headphones or create a make shift isolation closet and treat it. Turn the amp up to 11+ pm. Feel some air on your legs.If not, you get a thin raspy preamp based sound. That is really the key. Ya gotta turn it up. That said, I am interested in those fatheads... what do you liek and not like about them? Any clips of your setup?
JTyson
Well-known member
Trust me, when you get a really good mic-pre, you wont believe your using the same micsKapo_Polenton":2bx1hg5q said:
I could not believe the difference it made at any volume you choose, but yes, louder is usually better, to a point
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
JTyson what did you start with and what did you go to? I was thinking of trying a golden age MArkII pre.. at the end of the day, most of us also don't have 1k+ to spend on preamps 
crankyrayhanky
Well-known member
The louder you play, the less gain you need on the preamp, so CRANK iT
I bet that GAP would do the trick
I bet that GAP would do the trick
Audioholic
New member
I don't think the 57 is the best mic for guitar cab by itself but it is a mic that actually can capture distortion pretty well. I went through a hate 57 phase because of the hype but have come to use it more blended. Most of the time it does capture drive p,easing without being to fizzy or non defined. Have liked it best at the dust cap meets cone. I have always struggled with getting that recorded sound like u hear In the room. Which is where a ribbon mic might help, or any mic that u can back off the cab just a bit so as to let the sou d I Tera t in the roo. Just a tad. But not to much. I like the heil pr 30 and 40. They have a very big sweet spot and less directionally picky
maddnotez
Banned
Well-known member
Might have to try one as a room Michael. We have a decent ribbon. So find the best sounding spot in room and place ribbon there?
JTyson
Well-known member
I started out with a Digidesign 002 Rack, the pre's and converters both suck, I thought they were not half bad until I got my paws on a Universal Audio LA610 mic-pre, I was STUNNED at the difference. All the sudden I could get tones I had heard my whole life with a 57/421 combo. I thought 57's by themselves sounded like ass till I got the 610. Seems like once you cross the 1100.00 threshold, a whole new world opens up. The biggest problem is a lot of them only run 1 mic.. You get one great mic-pre, and you'll find very quickley you need at least 6 of themKapo_Polenton":1yxe478k said:JTyson what did you start with and what did you go to? I was thinking of trying a golden age MArkII pre.. at the end of the day, most of us also don't have 1k+ to spend on preamps
or at least 2I still have some others to get, an API 512 is on my short list, I dont think you can make them sound bad. It sucks that really good pre's are so costly, but it was worth every penny to me. One good side is, they work on whatever you happen to be recording, guitars, vocals, bass- whatever, they just work much better than the same rig without them. I had several sub-300.00 pres, and some were actually pretty good until I heard that one
I'm a believer
Having said that, everyone you talk to will have their own take on this, but for me, hearing was believing.
Ventura
Well-known member
This alone would be worth the price of admission. Seriously.renegade5150":27s10c9o said:
And hey, imagine the groupie scene after the show
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
I started out with a Digidesign 002 Rack, the pre's and converters both suck, I thought they were not half bad until I got my paws on a Universal Audio LA610 mic-pre, I was STUNNED at the difference. All the sudden I could get tones I had heard my whole life with a 57/421 combo. I thought 57's by themselves sounded like ass till I got the 610. Seems like once you cross the 1100.00 threshold, a whole new world opens up. The biggest problem is a lot of them only run 1 mic.. You get one great mic-pre, and you'll find very quickley you need at least 6 of them
I still have some others to get, an API 512 is on my short list, I dont think you can make them sound bad. It sucks that really good pre's are so costly, but it was worth every penny to me. One good side is, they work on whatever you happen to be recording, guitars, vocals, bass- whatever, they just work much better than the same rig without them. I had several sub-300.00 pres, and some were actually pretty good until I heard that one
I'm a believer
Having said that, everyone you talk to will have their own take on this, but for me, hearing was believing.
You are tempting me!!! I have been meaning to rent some preamps (if i can) and seeing if i hear the diff myself..
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
I started out with a Digidesign 002 Rack, the pre's and converters both suck, I thought they were not half bad until I got my paws on a Universal Audio LA610 mic-pre, I was STUNNED at the difference. All the sudden I could get tones I had heard my whole life with a 57/421 combo. I thought 57's by themselves sounded like ass till I got the 610. Seems like once you cross the 1100.00 threshold, a whole new world opens up. The biggest problem is a lot of them only run 1 mic.. You get one great mic-pre, and you'll find very quickley you need at least 6 of them
I still have some others to get, an API 512 is on my short list, I dont think you can make them sound bad. It sucks that really good pre's are so costly, but it was worth every penny to me. One good side is, they work on whatever you happen to be recording, guitars, vocals, bass- whatever, they just work much better than the same rig without them. I had several sub-300.00 pres, and some were actually pretty good until I heard that one
I'm a believer
Having said that, everyone you talk to will have their own take on this, but for me, hearing was believing.
You are tempting me!!! I have been meaning to rent some preamps (if i can) and seeing if i hear the diff myself..
xXDaveyJonesXx
Active member
Kapo_Polenton":3d6qwmf4 said:
Woah, hold on..
Where can you rent preamps?
Jordon
New member
I HATE THE SM57!!
Ok, that being said, I have yet to get a better tone than using 2 SM57's or a combo of a 57 with something else....Well other than a really good ribbon mic.
For heavy tones:
1 57 3 inches from the grill cloth, dead center with the dust cap, on-axis.
1 57 3 inches from the grill cloth, pointed to where the dust cap meets the cone, on-axis.
-or-
1 57 3 inches from the grill cloth, dead center with the dust cap, on-axis.
1 57 3 inches from the grill cloth, pointed to where the dust cap meets the cone, 45 degrees off-axis.
-or-
1 57 3 inches from the grill cloth, dead center with the dust cap, on-axis.
1 Sennheiser 421 3 inches from the grill cloth, pointed to where the dust cap meets the cone, on-axis.
-or-
1 57 3 inches from the grill cloth, dead center with the dust cap, on-axis.
1 AKG414 3 inches from the grill cloth, pointed to where the dust cap meets the cone, on-axis.
Feel free to play with the distance from the cab. Also, the preamp matters quite a bit to make sure you have proper impedance matches with the mics.
Also, the FatHead II's are really nice ribbons for the money.
Ok, that being said, I have yet to get a better tone than using 2 SM57's or a combo of a 57 with something else....Well other than a really good ribbon mic.
For heavy tones:
1 57 3 inches from the grill cloth, dead center with the dust cap, on-axis.
1 57 3 inches from the grill cloth, pointed to where the dust cap meets the cone, on-axis.
-or-
1 57 3 inches from the grill cloth, dead center with the dust cap, on-axis.
1 57 3 inches from the grill cloth, pointed to where the dust cap meets the cone, 45 degrees off-axis.
-or-
1 57 3 inches from the grill cloth, dead center with the dust cap, on-axis.
1 Sennheiser 421 3 inches from the grill cloth, pointed to where the dust cap meets the cone, on-axis.
-or-
1 57 3 inches from the grill cloth, dead center with the dust cap, on-axis.
1 AKG414 3 inches from the grill cloth, pointed to where the dust cap meets the cone, on-axis.
Feel free to play with the distance from the cab. Also, the preamp matters quite a bit to make sure you have proper impedance matches with the mics.
Also, the FatHead II's are really nice ribbons for the money.
JTyson
Well-known member
I would spend all the time comparing them I could, there is a ton of them out there and they all know the buzz words you want to hear in their descriptions of how they affect your sound. Competition is forcing most of them to come down at least a little, and there are lots of new ones that may be bridging the price barrier, I dont get to compare stuff unless its something that happens to be in a nearby studio that some friends of mine own.Kapo_Polenton":3sn7zu17 said:I started out with a Digidesign 002 Rack, the pre's and converters both suck, I thought they were not half bad until I got my paws on a Universal Audio LA610 mic-pre, I was STUNNED at the difference. All the sudden I could get tones I had heard my whole life with a 57/421 combo. I thought 57's by themselves sounded like ass till I got the 610. Seems like once you cross the 1100.00 threshold, a whole new world opens up. The biggest problem is a lot of them only run 1 mic.. You get one great mic-pre, and you'll find very quickley you need at least 6 of them
I still have some others to get, an API 512 is on my short list, I dont think you can make them sound bad. It sucks that really good pre's are so costly, but it was worth every penny to me. One good side is, they work on whatever you happen to be recording, guitars, vocals, bass- whatever, they just work much better than the same rig without them. I had several sub-300.00 pres, and some were actually pretty good until I heard that one
I'm a believer
Having said that, everyone you talk to will have their own take on this, but for me, hearing was believing.
You are tempting me!!! I have been meaning to rent some preamps (if i can) and seeing if i hear the diff myself..
Recording can be a black hole if you just randomly start picking things on websites
I hate that
Greazygeo
Well-known member
So what mic pres you guys like?
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
Ok maybe I have gotten ahead of myself.. I thought because you can rent amps and rent mics, that logically you should be able to rent preamps. That said, it is a very specific niche thing of sorts so you probably can't rent anything other than what comes on board a mixer. I will ask around though..
xXDaveyJonesXx
Active member
Kapo_Polenton":11at35qk said:
Man I hope so, that'd be shweet!!
Audioholic
New member
You can rent preamps and other audio gear. There are a few places that do
xXDaveyJonesXx
Active member
^^Nice!!^^
David_kessler
New member
Greazygeo":3ad1fqnz said:
There are lot's of great, decent priced pre's on the market these day's. Other than the usual suspects you hear people talk about, here are a couple of my fave's.
This is a good place to start. Very good on most sources, has di, multiple impedance settings, hi pass, etc... Very versatile with a great pedigree at a great price.
http://www.focusrite.com/products/mic_pres/isa_one/
Here is another. Very versatile and comparable quality to the Focusrite at a little higher price. Variable hi pass is real cool on this one.
http://www.transaudiogroup.com/daking/mic-pre-one.shtml
Also, the A Designs Pacifica is an amazing pre, but it only comes as a single rack pair. Quite a bit more spendy as well, but worth it.
http://adesignsaudio.com/pacifica.html
Hope this helps.