DoronT770 Posted August 9, 2016 Report Share Posted August 9, 2016 i can buy a mic pre amp like the Soundking AM412 for 50$ (and use my Zoom H1) or the Tascam Dr-40 for 250$, but i don't know if i will get cleaner less noisy sound for the tascam, i do want a recorder like this aseptically because of it double gain recording in case of peeking but i need to know first if the sound will be better without the pre amp and on the same topic, for just recording voice, can i use the really cheap AM412 and will it do the same job as and ART tube MP preamp? (also, do i have any need for a compressor? somtimes they talk really quiet and when they sing it boosts up 12-16DB ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Reineke Posted August 9, 2016 Report Share Posted August 9, 2016 I don't know much about that pre amp, except what the specs state. (noisy) Based on that, the Tascam would be a better stand-alone or with the $50 pre amp, as it has balanced mic/line level inputs, either XLR or 1/4" TRS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantin Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 and on the same topic, for just recording voice, can i use the really cheap AM412 and will it do the same job as and ART tube MP preamp? Yes, you can use it and No, it won't do the same job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 Those cheap tube preamps (starved plate) are toys, and don't really sound like vintage tube gear (ie expensive) at all. Adding a cheap pre to a low-end Zoom just means you will be recording through 2 cheap pres instead of one. Use the Zoom as-is until you can get something better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoronT770 Posted August 10, 2016 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 are you sure? both got great reviws. the Zoom H1 got really good reviews and the ART tube got better reviews from high end pre amps. also i heared the STG1 is as good as the STG4 and they all are pretty good. i only need to record a person speaking... have marcy on my money Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Constantin Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 Philip did save you money. He told you to not buy any additional gear until you can buy better. But if you trust those reviews more, why do you ask here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 5 hours ago, DoronT770 said: ... i only need to record a person speaking... have marcy on my money Then don't waste it trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. High end is high end -- everything else isn't. ...Of course, there are sometimes exceptions: https://libraries.mit.edu/archives/exhibits/purse/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerard-NYNY Posted August 10, 2016 Report Share Posted August 10, 2016 first commandment of sound for inexperienced or newbies: don't buy crap. the argument for buying good stuff has been indicated innumerable times on this forum. sound king looks like a piece of crap, because it is a piece of crap. good preamps are priced higher because they are not crap: look at this stuff: sound devices mp-1 or shure fp 23 - fp 23 is a bargain, i own one. sonosax sxbd1 (i own one, my preference--costs a lot, sounds great, limiter is not so good) mozegear mini papi (but you'll need an np1 battery with battery cup + hirose 4 pin to power it). audioroot femto --2 channel preamp -- looks like a bargain-- i haven't used it, but i would buy it if i needed or wanted to try something new. second commandment: learn to hook up stuff and work with it (gain staging comes into play here a lot of times. mess around and mess things up and develop intuition). mic to preamp to recorder is a great place to start. mini recorders (there are lots and people like, love or tolerate or hate zoom mini recorder products) zaxcom zfr recorders -- just my preference -- no opinion on other recorders third commandment: buy and try--wisely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Tresch Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 This? http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?148270-Sound-Devices-MixPre-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werner Althaus Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 On 8/9/2016 at 9:47 PM, Philip Perkins said: Those cheap tube preamps (starved plate) are toys, and don't really sound like vintage tube gear (ie expensive) at all. Adding a cheap pre to a low-end Zoom just means you will be recording through 2 cheap pres instead of one. Use the Zoom as-is until you can get something better. To the OP: Mic pres fall into 2 categories, clean (wire plus gain) and colored (usually a function of some kind of distortion) This has nothing to do with tube vs Solid state as there are very clean tube deigns and fairly colored Solid state designs out there. But there are no good sounding cheap tube mic pres because it costs money to design and build them properly. Those starved plate designs Philip is referring to are horrible in terms of S/N, distortion and the "color" they impart on the signal can only be described as fizzy junk. Cheapest "real" tube mic pre I've come across is the Groove Tubes Brick, very good for the money, tons of color if that's your goal, but still noisy and only 55dB of gain. On the other hand you can usually get decent results with the clean pres from just about any recorder out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bash Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 Gain Structure Mr T770!!! Its all about gain structure. Why do you need dual level recording, and how is it going to help you? Most of the people on this forum have enough experience, or enough knowledge, or enough of 'The Force' to be able to plug a mic into a recorder, set the input gain (if there is an adjustment on the recorder for this) or the main gain (as per your Zoom) and be confident of not over recording. With 24 bit recording you can under record (within reason) and put the levels right later on. The under recording will allow for the very loud bits (like when they burst into song). The dual level recording on a machine like a Zoom will in fact simply record to the card at two different record levels. If the signal is too loud on the way in (ie the mic is too loud for the mic preamp on the Zoom (unlikely) then the signal will be distorted on both recordings. Save your pre amp money, use the Zoom until you can afford something better. Used SD744T's are cheaper now, and are excellent. Another good machine would be a Nagra Ares M, which is a bit fiddly to use, but they are quite cheap now 2nd hand, and are good quality. Good luck, Simon B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Perkins Posted August 16, 2016 Report Share Posted August 16, 2016 On 8/9/2016 at 10:52 PM, DoronT770 said: are you sure? both got great reviws. the Zoom H1 got really good reviews and the ART tube got better reviews from high end pre amps. also i heared the STG1 is as good as the STG4 and they all are pretty good. i only need to record a person speaking... have marcy on my money Instead of "hearing" about those pres, why don't you go "hear" them yourself? Your own opinion based on your own tests should count for more with you than my opinion or that of anyone online. A word of caution: a large percentage of "reviews" of audio gear available online are just cut-and-paste from the manufacturer's own marketing blather, often done by someone who works for a retailer. Real independent reviews carefully done by people who know what they are doing and have adequate experience and good comparison hardware available are very hard to find any more, and mostly confined to professional level gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPSharman Posted August 17, 2016 Report Share Posted August 17, 2016 Be cautious of reviews by people who aren't used to high quality. Someone might think something "sounds awesome", having never heard something that actually does sound awesome. Keep it simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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