gucciescalade Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 Hey everyone I have been recordings songs for over 11 years now and always was poor and had to get the cheapest equipment I now have some money to spend but i need help I bought an Audio-Technica AT3035 (mic) and i'm using the M-Audio Firewire Solo I want to improve my sound quality my budget is less than $600 Should I use all the money for a preamp or should i upgrade the mic and get a preamp, or spend it all on a mic? I've been doing literally hours of research and can't find the answer I'm looking for So if anyone has any suggestions that would be Awesome!! I do mostly youtube video commentaries. I have almost 12,000 subscribers here is a link http://www.youtube.com/epicgamerworld and i do a little rap here is a link with some of my songs http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=1059460&content=music Thanks guys i appreciate it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplets Posted October 16, 2011 Share Posted October 16, 2011 You can definitely get a better mic pre. I strongly recommend the Golden Age Pre 73. It's amazing for what you pay. Personally I like the Shure KSM27 for vocals. But definitely get the mic pre first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gucciescalade Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 You can definitely get a better mic pre. I strongly recommend the Golden Age Pre 73. It's amazing for what you pay.Personally I like the Shure KSM27 for vocals. But definitely get the mic pre first. Ok thanks. Someone said that I should replace my m-audio device with a Usbpre instead of spending the money on a preamp.. Does this make sense??? I now have around $1,000 to spend and want to spend it on a preamp then upgrade my mic later. Will the m-audio interface affect the sound quality if I use an expensive preamp or will it affect it at all? Any info would be awesome!!! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lagerfeldt Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Should I use all the money for a preamp or should i upgrade the mic and get a preamp, or spend it all on a mic? I've been doing literally hours of research and can't find the answer I'm looking for So if anyone has any suggestions that would be Awesome!! Look no further. It's a trick question... In order of priority (apart from a good performance and an engineer who knows what he's doing): 1. Acoustic treatment of your recording room 2. Microphone 3. Preamp 4. Compressor 5. Sound card Acoustic treatment includes an acoustic ceiling and bass traps. It does not include any foam products or microphone shields. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gucciescalade Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 In order of priority (apart from a good performance and an engineer who knows what he's doing): 1. Acoustic treatment of your recording room 2. Microphone 3. Preamp 4. Compressor 5. Sound card Good info. Ive heard that a preamp is more important because even with an expensive mic it can only sound as good as the preamp. Im kinda new to all this, so this is just what I've learned the last few days I heard a good preamp can make a $100 mic sound like a $1,000 mic without a preamp. Anyways... will I be wasting my money on a good preamp with the m-audio device I have? really what i want to know is will it affect the sound at all that will be noticeable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lagerfeldt Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 I heard a good preamp can make a $100 mic sound like a $1,000 mic without a preamp. That's a load of poppycock, I'm afraid. Also, a mic won't work without a preamp. While it's true that a preamp will affect the signal from the microphone, a preamp is only a small part of the equation and much less so than the microphone itself. In fact there's surprisingly little difference between most solid state preamps and sound cards (converters), but the same can't be said for microphones. If you have an untreated room that'll be the biggest hurdle. You can partly compensate in the mix for the frequency changes a microphone and preamp impose on your recording, but the time domain problems from a untreated room can't be fixed. Anyways... will I be wasting my money on a good preamp with the m-audio device I have? really what i want to know is will it affect the sound at all that will be noticeable? Unless you treat your room correctly first: no, that's very unlikely. Listening to your video clips, it sounds more like you need to work out how to equalize and compress your voice better in the mix. Also, some volume automation or sidechain ducking would help in the video commentaries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shivermetimbers Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Good info. Ive heard that a preamp is more important because even with an expensive mic it can only sound as good as the preamp. Im kinda new to all this, so this is just what I've learned the last few days I heard a good preamp can make a $100 mic sound like a $1,000 mic without a preamp. Anyways... will I be wasting my money on a good preamp with the m-audio device I have? really what i want to know is will it affect the sound at all that will be noticeable? For now, don't spend your money on anything (no need to read any more beyond this point). There is more to all this and cannot be answered with a simple "get this or that." Your M-Audio box has a spec sheet: http://www.m-audio.com/images/global/manuals/FWSolo_UG_EN01.pdf As does your mic: http://www.audio-technica.com/cms/resource_library/literature/1677ce82695ff2f5/at3035_english.pdf As does something like an Avalon VT-737SP: http://www.avalondesign.com/vt737sp.html At first, you would think that everything will work with anything. It will, but after a while you will start to notice you can do better. There is a reason the very expensive (insert item) sounds superior to the cheap $99 version of that same model. You don't want to send your very expensive mic that goes thru an expensive pre amp into a $99 audio interface. Basically, you do not want a weak link in the audio chain. So the spec sheet has some important info regarding what equipment can work well or better than other equipment. So in terms of what you are hearing in your head and what your ears hear, you want to make a drastic improvement, but you can't afford that kind of equipment right now. You can buy less expensive toys that will give you a great sound on an amateur level, but it won't compete with the profession quality product put out by professional studios. I think that is the sound you are searching for, and you would do better to save your money for the better quality items. On a side note, if you are planning on making money doing this, you may already have pro (or semi pro) studios in your area. You have the talent and they have the equipment. So you spend $500 in the studio and get paid $600 from your client, you made $100. As long as you make more than you spend, you are a success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gucciescalade Posted October 23, 2011 Author Share Posted October 23, 2011 Thankyou both for your advice. Its nice to get some different opinions because in other forums people are saying different stuff. The best advice I've heard so far is sell the m-audio Get the usbpre2 http://www.sounddevices.com/products/usbpre2.htm Then spend $400 on a mic Does this sound like good advice? I'm literally going to be broke after this so that's why it's important for me to make the right decision. Here is a link to a video i did with my commentary and rapping. What would be a good mic for my vocals???? Or should i avoid this advice altogether. I understand about the treatment of the room but I I'm not going to be spending any money on that since i use a closet with eggshell foam mattress topper on the walls. Im not buying anything more with that just need info on the other stuff Thanks guys I really really do appreciate all the help Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shivermetimbers Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 http://www.apogeedigital.com/products/duet2.php I seriously think you should save your money and work with what Logic has to offer. Follow lagerfeldt's advice on the EQ and Compression ( etc... ). BTW - look him up ... http://www.popmusic.dk/references.html If I were you, I would take his advice over most any forum you have been on - cuz he has skillz and a reputation. Develop your skills with what you already have. You could buy all the expensive equipment in the world, but if you don't know how to make it work for you, you will end up frustrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lagerfeldt Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 The best advice I've heard so far is sell the m-audio I don't think you're really taking in the advice here, but that's okay of course. We all make mistakes and learn from them the hard way. I see you're making another very related post on this forum: http://www.logicprohelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=77228 I'm not David (who runs this forum), but I recommend that you keep your related questions to one single thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gucciescalade Posted October 24, 2011 Author Share Posted October 24, 2011 sorry agerfeldt Well i want to spoil myself and get something new. I decided on getting the SM7B mic and the RME babyface audio device Its kind of hard to get good eq and compression settings with the setup i have now the sound quality raw literally sounds ugly. It doesn't even sound like me it sounds like it was dipped in mud. you probably have nice equipment, but the way it sounds right now is discusting. I have to mess with the eq a lot and and compression and its still hard to get good results because the original audio is so horrible With a new setup it will at least give me something good to start off with i can practice and better eq and compression techniques without completely wasting my time on crappy audio that will probably still come out crappy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gucciescalade Posted October 24, 2011 Author Share Posted October 24, 2011 I really do appreciate the info and about the importance of the acoustic treatment Since the sm7b is a dynamic and Cardioid (unidirectional) it isn't affected as much by having bad acoustic treatment. ( you won't notice it as much) and I think i fi add this thing in the pic it will help out and fix that problem or greatly improve it Am i wrong again or would i waste my money on that thing http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/8360/boxwithmic2.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lagerfeldt Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 the sound quality raw literally sounds ugly. It doesn't even sound like me it sounds like it was dipped in mud. you probably have nice equipment, but the way it sounds right now is discusting. I have to mess with the eq a lot and and compression and its still hard to get good results because the original audio is so horrible. You're missing the point: buying any new equipment won't fix your problem if you have acoustic problems in your room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shivermetimbers Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 Well i want to spoil myself and get something new. I decided on getting the SM7B mic and the RME babyface audio device Ahhh, you are going to spend your money no matter what. Your choice seems like a wise one and Hopefully you will get the sound you are looking for. Good luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gucciescalade Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 You're missing the point: buying any new equipment won't fix your problem if you have acoustic problems in your room. so your saying if I buy this equipment its going to sound exactly the same because of the room treatment? I don't need it super super professional quality i just want better quality than i have now And the mic is 1 way directional and with the thing behind it that should help a lot right?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lagerfeldt Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 If you re-read my first post you'll see my opinion on those "shields". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gucciescalade Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 O ok so it would make no difference at all and not even help a little with that foam thing behind the mic? Treating my room sounds really expensive plus would look funny I don't have any extra rooms in my house because my daughter is in the other room. I used to record my music in the closet with foam on the wall and the sound was 1,000 times better than in the open room. Its been years since i made a song and you reminded me of the importance of it When i do my commentaries I have to watch the video while I talk so I have to do it in the open room but I am also saving up for a tablet I can bring in the closet with me so I can see the video and record the commentary (thanks to your advice) My closet is at the edge of my house so it is shaped like a triangle the left wall is straight up but the ceiling goes to a point and slants down to the carpet on the right side kind of like in the picture but a smaller space and no window Is this actually better than a normal square room? And my final choice on what I'm buying is the http://www.focusrite.com/products/mic_pres/isa_one_digital/ It has digital output which means I can sell my m-audio and hook it up directly to my iMacs digital input. P.S. will plugging it directly to my iMacs input make it higher quality than usb or firewire, or worse? Once again thanks http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dvKC4OcgTys/ToAIK4ZIK5I/AAAAAAAAWFE/IO3n8FjB6XA/s1600/architizer+triangle+room+3.jpg[/img] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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