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hi!

i want to be able to record my acoustic guitar on my laptop

i have cubase sx3 or whatever

for a soundcard right now i have an 'm-audio mobile usb pre' which is a usb interface, but the preamp on it is shit

what i'd like is a really really really good preamp but i only just need one xlr in.

and then i need a way to hook the preamp up to my laptop. would one of those $200 usb interfaces without a preamp do the trick? and then i'd just go guitar > mic > preamp > interface > laptop?

the microphone i'm using right now is an sm57, which i assume is a good beginner mic for this sort of thing, but if there's a widely used/acknowledged upgrade that's under $500 i'm all ears

thank you!!

i recently picked up an electrovoice RE-20 and it blows the 57 out of the water on all of the things i've put it on so far. and it's under 500 new.

as for preamp, you're going to need some sort of ADC with usb or firewire out to get anything to interface with your computer.

a friend of mine recently got the apogee minime. it's a lot of money for two channels, but his recordings with a single 57 sounded pretty incredible.

hth

Since you said you are a beginner I pose this question to you, why do you think your preamp sucks, ultimately what don't you like about your recording?

The fact of the matter is there are several factors involved in getting a good sound. First consider the source and the room it's in. Does it sound good because if the instrument/playing room doesn't sound good you are already fighting an uphill battle. Next up is the microphone. While there are probably "good" and "bad" microphones, ultimatly they are application/situation specific. One mic sound great on some instruments or in some situations and suck in others. The preamp is important too and a great preamp can make some mics really shine but I would take a better mic over a preamp any day. Just as important I think is the relationship between the pre and the mic. Some play well together better than others. Lastly you have to consider the medium you are recording on, in your case a computer so the converters are an issue.

Back on topic, I have never used the M-Audio unit but I looked it up and while I'm sure it's fine and great for making recordings on the go, I hardly doubt its got some of the best sounding converters. It accepts line level signals so you could upgrade to a better microphone preamp and just use it's converters to get into the computer. Personally I think you would be best off to start with another mic or mics. Not only do I think you'll notice the biggest sonic difference but should you decide to branch out and record other sources you will have something more than a sm57 (which is a fine mic, although I don't think Steve likes it ). The RE-20 is a great mic too. I don't really know of any pre's in your budget that I think would make a huge difference. I'm more of a do it once do it right type of person by that I mean, rather than by some cheap prosumer thing that is ok, outgrow it in a few months and sell it for a loss only to buy something better, save up for what you really want and just get that. Which brings me to my last point.

Don't buy anything at all, unless you really have money burning a hole in your pocket (BTW I do take donations). Play around with the 57 and m-audio and try to get it to sound the best that you can. You would be amazed at what you'll learn just playing around with different mic placements and using different rooms. Then when you do move up to better gear you'll have some skills to compliment the equipment. Because in reality, equipment is just a bunch of tools, it won't make a great recording, only a great engineer will.

trash_treasury_12 wrote: I would take a better mic over a preamp any day.

I wouldn't.

trash_treasury_12 wrote:Don't buy anything at all, unless you really have money burning a hole in your pocket (BTW I do take donations). Play around with the 57 and m-audio and try to get it to sound the best that you can. You would be amazed at what you'll learn just playing around with different mic placements and using different rooms. Then when you do move up to better gear you'll have some skills to compliment the equipment. Because in reality, equipment is just a bunch of tools, it won't make a great recording, only a great engineer will.

This is pretty sound advice.

You said you would maybe upgrade a mic up to 500, but never said your budget for the pre. Yes, a 57 is a good beginner mic. And yes, for under 500 you can get a much better mic than the 57.

thebookofkevin wrote:as for preamp, you're going to need some sort of ADC with usb or firewire out to get anything to interface with your computer.

That shouldn't be necessary for him b/c the m-audio has a line input on it.

I've heard very good things about Groove Tubes "The Brick" - $399 for a preamp and DI that has transformers on both the input and output, I believe.

http://www.atlasproaudio.com/groovetubes.html

oh and that electro harmonix 12ay7 pre?

i believe that's less than $200

maybe a shinybox ribbon mic?
$250 for the basic model..

not a bad sound at all...though i haven't used the pre yet..

ribbon mic ribbon mics please..

just a thought

Audio Technica Pro 37r $125
FMR Audio RNP $475

No A/D converter that i've come across is so horrible that it will ruin this chain. There are however acoustic guitars so horrible that they will ruin this chain.

i have no idea if the m-audio converters are any good, how could i determine that?

basically i plugged in the sm57 into the m-audio, and plugged that into the computer and opened my recording program and hit record. the level it records at is like -45db when i'm not playing anything, which is still really really noisy. (i hope i'm explaining this well.)

i guess my budget for a preamp would be maybe $500-$700?

also i didn't even think about getting a new converter, but i am not opposed to buying one to replace the m-audio. what are some good converters?

i'm looking into the products reccommended - thank you!

There are probably a dozen cheap, good preamp threads in the Tech Room.

Im sure the Sytek MPX-4 gets mentioned in all of them.

I just wanted to make sure it gets mentioned here too. Fantastic, cheap 4-channel preamp. Very low noise floor, lots of headroom, and very clean-sounding. I love it for acoustic guitars.

thanks - i've been looking into the preamp threads. a lot of them are for numerous inputs, whereas i just need one.

i've never understood what 'headroom' means. noise floor i've just found out is what i'm mostly interested in, but the -120db range seems to be perfect for what i'm looking for. i think with the m-audio the noise floor is -45.

i'll check out the sytek.

also, just to repeat, how does one tell whether or not they have a good or horrible converter? is there a straightforward way to do this, or do you have to guess & check using different combinations of gear? does anyone have any links to websites that explain the basics/standards of A/D?