mic pre - along the vocal chain

[amiracam]

So I'm in the market to extend my meager mic collection , so small I cannot claim I have a "locker" perhaps a shoe box , and on a tangent to the the focus of this post , the mics I'm looking at are:

 

Blue Blueberry

Neumann TLM 102

Mojave 201

 

I currently own:

 

Rode NTK

Shure SM58

 

the application is for-mostly for male vocals and secondarily for acoustic steel string recording.

 

However, I keep hearing it stressed how important to the sound a mic pre is. I currently own:

 

Focusrite Trackmaster Pro

Studio Projects VTB1

 

not a mic pre but sometimes part of the chain:

A-Designs Reddi Tube DI

 

Where's is this going? Well its a UAD question possibly best for another forum but I thought I give it a shot here.

 

I have an Apollo Twin with supposedly very transparent pro level mic-pres according to UAD naturally. Additionally , via their plugin unison technology one can insert among others a Neve 1073 in the path from the source to "tape".

 

So my question is would one of the above mics i.e. Blueberry, 102, or 201 hooked into my Apollo Twin with the Neve 1073 make for a good combo?

 

Yes of course , I will use my ears but do want you all to chime in.

 

thanks

[amiracam]

let me put it another way:

 

I want to get the Blueberry but I need to partially fund that acquisition with the sale of I'm thinking the Focusrite Trackmaster Pro, and I'm excusing that because of the built in Apollo hardware DSP capabilities. However, I admit that I don't know much.

 

Any thoughts ?

 

thanks

[David Nahmani]

I think that's a good move. I wouldn't consider a hardware mic pre over my audio interface's built-in mic pres unless I had at least $1,000 to spend.

[amiracam]

ah, I'm getting closer to the Blueberry , and that VTB1 may bot be high end but it adds some color if desired, but since I have u on the phone, another question, the Trackmaster Pro has a comp on it, but so far for what I have used it i.e. vocals , acoustic guitar , I don't think its doing much for me i.e. I can manage source levels without it so that I don't clip my AI , and otherwise I can use a plugin comp on the channel if desired

 

so I"m still going with I probably don't need the Trackmaster Pro , still agree ?

 

thanks

[David Nahmani]

I agree: I have never used the Trackmaster Pro myself but have found that you normally get much better results from plug-ins (even the Logic compressor is outstanding) than from inexpensive hardware. Record at a lower level to avoid clipping and compress in digital. That's what I do.

[stardustmedia]

The first and most important sound source is the room. Ok, that cannot be changed easily for 99.9999% of us Just one recommendation here: May some mobile walls or some screens could help here immensely to get rid of nasty echoes from the walls. E.g. http://ais.badische-zeitung.de/piece/01/62/01/73/23200115.jpg http://ais.badische-zeitung.de/piece/01/62/01/73/23200115.jpg

 

or screens (iso tools): http://www.primacoustic.com/index-isotool.htm

 

Then the second most important part of the sound comes from the mic and the placement. Room + mic + placement = 90% of the sound.

 

The preamp gives another 7-9% and afterwards the rest EQ and compression. Depending on how hard you drive them a little more % in sound Maybe some 0.1 - 0.3%

 

So if you're happy with the room, get first another mic, that sounds different from the ones you already have. Maybe invest in some walls or screens. Test different mic positions in different spots in your room.

[amiracam]

I have 3 , 50 lbs dogs that serve as bass traps , but I did buy a heavy "acoustic" blanket which I'm placing directly behind the position where I record vocals on a partition type structure, but yes its hard to control my space, it currently serves dual purpose i.e. my studio and the gym, so for practical purposes the area that I can control is the one immediately surrounding my workstation. I have a small heavy area rug underneath me but the rest of the 20 x 20 area is a ceramic type tile, there are two large couches, and a 4 ft wall of wood outlines 3 of the sides , with 2 large wood sliding door closets on the remaining side, I have 8 guitars sitting on the "ledge" of the mentioned wall, perhaps that breaks up things luckily the room is isolated from the rest of the house so at least I don't get extraneous noises coming in.

 

These problematic circumstances is one of the reasons that I have avoided / neglected mic-ing for so long, but since I want to play more with producing/engineering and vocals I can't procrastinate any more

 

Anyhow, new mic it is , thanks