-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Florin Andrei wrote: > To the original poster: > The fact that you're using a SM58 and a SB Live indicates that you're on > the cost-effective side of things. If the signal level is strong enough, > then you don't need a preamp, nor do you need to change your sound card. Thank you for your guidance, I am going for the cost-effective end! I'll be buying a preamp. Tim > > On Thu, 2006-09-21 at 00:07 +0200, Carlo Capocasa wrote: >> However, since you are willing to invest in a pre-amp, you might want to >> consider getting a sound card that is geared at pro recording, that >> INCLUDES a pre-amp. This is the path I have chosen, full analog signal >> chain integration (tm). > > Full analog signal bullsh**. > "Pro recording" and cards with integrated mic preamps do not mix. That's > bang-for-the-buck amateur recording, not "pro". > > There are three reasons to get a mic preamp: > > 1. The signal is too low for the existing card > This is the most obvious reason. This situation can also be remedied by > a card with an integrated preamp, if the quality requirements are not > too high. > If the signal is strong enough and you're satisfied NOW with the > quality, then you don't need a mic preamp, obviously. > > 2. Sound quality > The majority of the preamps integrated in sound cards are in the low end > of the quality spectrum. The best ones are somewhere in the midrange. > There is no high-end mic preamp integrated with a sound card, unless you > include in the "sound card" category some multichannel mixing consoles > connected digitally to a workstation (and even then some of them are > pretty average when it comes to their integrated mic preamps). > If you're not satisfied with the quality of the integrated preamp, and > you're sure it's the preamp (not the mic, not something else), then it's > time to shop around. > > 3. Another reason, perhaps more subtle, is related to compression. In > the majority of cases, you want to perform some compression on anything > captured by a mic. > Doing compression in the analog chain, before the signal hits the > digital domain, allows you to use the full resolution of your digital > channel, which otherwise would be wasted on high-amplitude peaks which > need to be trimmed off anyway, and allows you to easily fend off digital > clipping which is awful and must be avoided at all costs. > That's why, in a decent setup, you will often see a compressor between > the mic preamp and the sound card, configured for very gentle and > transparent compression. > That's also the reason why many mic preamps include compressors. > There's really no digital workaround for this issue. If you're already > hitting that kind of quality ceiling, you must separate the preamp / > compression stages from the digital chain. > > That being said, for amateur recording, cards with integrated mic > preamps are fine. Careful with clipping and you're going to be OK. Most > amateurs are in this situation. > Just don't bring the pro domain into this discussion, please. > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.5 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iD8DBQFFEiuAsUUdIDHrdAURApHwAJ9i3lFJ5xgILZVgYzcg81CF9ztBjQCePwmB iguheZKReTWL42pQLpdtW8U= =v1pB -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
