I want to record using my computer but is it possible to use a TUBE mic preamp?

[Aviary Disaster]

I want my recorded sound to come across as a deeper, fatter sound that gives off more of a professional quality.

If I buy a TUBE preamp should I record onto my computer with is using something like ProTools? Would that do a good job of accuratley capturing this better sound?

Does anyone know of some good Tube Preamps that are relativley inexpensive? I dont want to drastically cut the quality of my sound but I do have somewhat of a budget.

Thanks in advance.

Peace
AVA.

 

[vitaminman]

Hey,

You'll have much better luck recording THAT sound using a good soundcard rather than just relying on ProTools...ProTools itself doesn't guarantee a good recording unless the convertors and drivers sending the audio into it are good.

Take care,

Nick

 

[Aviary Disaster]

Originally posted by vitaminman
Hey,

You'll have much better luck recording THAT sound using a good soundcard rather than just relying on ProTools...ProTools itself doesn't guarantee a good recording unless the convertors and drivers sending the audio into it are good.

Take care,

Nick

Oh yeah, definetley. I was thinking maybe something like a 24/96 type of sound card, maybe with multiple audio inputs? Are those cards even neccessary, or should I just look to get something more affordable?

Peace
AVA.

 

[vitaminman]

Hey,

The multichannel cards are necessary if you need to record multiple streams of audio simultaneously, like if you were recording a drumset with 4 or more mics (just as an example).

As for the 24/96 debate, it is one that can go on and on forever. In theory we cannot hear anything above 20khz, therefore our convertors need only to capture at 40khz (look up Nyquist frequency if you don't follow me); some argue that the frequencies we cannot hear still effect the sound we can hear, therefore we need to sample at higher rates and convert it back down using filters and other clever technology so that the sound remains as true as possible.

As for bit depth...it used to be a really big deal a while ago to keep the noise floor as low as possible and bit depth was critical...it is my personal belief that with a decent 16 bit card you can get a damn good recording and not have to worry about noise as much.

And since most recordings have all the dynamics squashed out of them during the mixing/mastering process (the same dynamics you're trying to acheive when you fork out wads of cash on high-bit cards, funnily enough), it seems a little odd that people spend so much on such cards...

I think that there are a ton of great cards out there that are pretty cheap, my favorite suggestions are ones from M-Audio and Echo Audio

http://www.midiman.com/products/m-audio/delta.php
http://www.echoaudio.com/Products/

Take care,

Nick

 

[TKNK]

**WHAT ARE THEY NECESSARY!**
THATS LIKE ASKING ARE MORE SOUNDS NECESSARY ON YOUR KEYBOARD. YEAH IT IS THE HIGHER THE BITRATE N THE FREQ THE MORE ACCURATE IT WILL SOUND.
LIKE WITH THE MIC WITH THE TUBE PREAMP WILL BOOST THE SIGNAL AND MAKE IT WARMER BUT IF THE MIC HAS A WEAK FEQENCEY RANGE THE CARD WOULD MAKE SOUND A BIT SHARPER THAN NORMALLY CAUSE OF THE HEADROOM IN THE BITRATE N THE FEQ.

 

[The Bastard]

i use to use a blue tube pre amp by presonus before i plugged into my soundcard sounded nice,i know use a behringer eurorack mixer witch has a built in mic pre amp,nice also,i guess it depends what yur lookin for if your u want that really professional studio sound which i really cant tell the difference then u should get a really good soundcard,if yur easily satisfied with good sounds a pre amp would work

 

[Architect]

The audio interface (soundcard) is one of the most important items used when recording via your computer. You can get acceptable sound with just a 16bit card I guess like a sound blaster, but why would you do that? Don't limit yourself, get a card that has a high frequency range regardless of what your ears can hear or not because that information is still coming through and will effect the quality of the overall mix at the end when its time to dither down to 44.1/16 CD quality standards. Start from the top with as much musical information as you can get and then go down still capturing most of the information at the top. If you start at a low level you put yourself in a corner.

Getting back to the original topic of your post, a tube microphone preamp will warm up your sound, if you have a good mixing board it may already have preamps built-in. The quality of the tube mic preamp will determine how good your sound will be.

Check out models from these manufacturers:
ART Tupe Pac -good inexpensive tube preamp
Presonus-good inexpensive tube preamps

 

[MadScientist]

I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for. If something only makes a 5% difference in quality ... imagine how much quality you'll end up losing if you keep cutting corners ..... 5% here, 5% there it all adds up. You need to get the best piece of gear thats in your budget. If there wasn't a difference between high bit rates and sampling rates they wouldn't make them. Professionals would just use the cheap shit. But they don't, they use million dollar equipment. Believe me, every piece of gear is important. Get the highest bit/sampling rate sound card because in a few years you'll still be up to date, but if you get something on the low end you'll always be upgrading faster than you want and in the long run end up spending more.