What Is A Pre-Amp?

The signal that a microphone picks up is actually very low, and needs to be boosted for it to
be used with your recording device. This is exactly what a mic-preamp does; it boosts the
signal to a level that is useable for recording.
  Initially, you'll probably want to use the pre-amps built into your mixer or interface, if you happen to have either, as it will save money. However, these kinds of preamps are often of a fairly low quality. Basically, with mic preamps, you pay for sound quality. Musicians after the absolute best quality sound could well spend $3000 on a preamp. If however you are just starting out and have perhaps a budget of $1000 you could use the preamps on your mixer or your audio interface.

It’s not only budget that affects the output quality on the preamp, you must also know how correctly set levels etc. Let’s talk a little about the features you’ll find on most mic preamps, and some tips to ensure you get the optimal sound.

 


• Input
Set the input to high as possible providing the meters are not crossing into the red. Having the levels reaching red is introducing distortion, which is going to go through the entire signal path. Meaning that when you listen back to your recording on the computer, you’re likely to hear a lot of crackling noises. So again, push the signal as high as possible but do not let it enter the red.

 

• Pad
This is a great feature if you are recording sounds other than guitar. For instance if you were to mic a loud sound source like snare drum even with the input turned all the way down the levels may still be hitting red. Select this feature and it will help to tame the sound further and make it useable.

 

• Phantom Power
This is a power source that is sent through a mic cable to a microphone that needs it, such as a condenser mic. It’s good to note that some fairly cheap preamps only offer +30v, and some condenser mics may not perform to their best at this level. It’s nice to have phantom power built in to your mic preamp otherwise you would have to get a separate phantom power source.

 

• Number Of Preamps
This can range from one single preamp right through to eight preamps in one box. What you are recording will generally determine how many you will need. Vocals are usually recorded in mono, whilst acoustic guitars could be recorded in stereo. Perhaps you are recording an entire band and require one for each amplifier and vocalist, along with several for the drums.

 

• High Pass Filtering
This generally means that all the highs will pass through while the lows are cut. Mics pick up an astounding amount of bass so this is a great feature to have. Of course, this can be corrected using software, though you may as well resolve the problem at the source so you don’t have to worry about it later.

 

Hopefully this has given you an insight to what a mic preamp does, and what features to look for when shopping around. Have a read through the bullet points again and compare your list of needs with the features of available on a variety of preamps. Hopefully you will be able to find a product that suits your needs.

Although the selection of a preamp is entirely up to you, I’ve made a little short list of products I’d recommend. Click each image for more infomation - take a look at the features, and user reviews. Who else better to tell you if it’s worth buying that someone who owns it already?

 

 

  
 

The ART MPA is defined by warmth, presence, clarity, and a performance that adheres to incredibly high standards with first-class features and components.

With 2 meters (tube gain and output) you can dial in the desired tube sound and then trim it up or down to get optimum level for your recording. Another feature is the variable impedance. By setting the dial to low impedance you get a crystal clear sound.

  
By setting the dial to the high impedance you pick up all the characteristics of the mic and the cable being used. The result is that the sound gets warmer and fatter. The MPA Gold is a truly modern, world-class tube microphone preamplifier that will make a huge difference in the studio.

 

 
The ART Pro Channel Tube Mic Preamp is a great-sounding and highly affordable professional recording channel. The Art Pro Channel is set up in three stages: First - input/gain. Second - compression. Third - EQ. There are unbalanced phone jacks that let you cut in and out of each stage. In effect, if you want, this device is a preamp and/or compressor and/or parametric EQ. You could use these three effects independently, if you have enough patch cords. This is a complete recording channel that will give you studio-quality pre-amping, dynamics, and EQ  

 

 
The M-Audio Black Box is an absolutely fantastic, award-winning unit! The Black Box is the first creative tool for guitarists that combine amp modelling, powerful beat-synced effects and a drum machine with a Pro Tools M-Powered compatible audio interface for computer-based recording.

With the new firmware, the Black Box features 40 amp models - including spot-on emulations of many of the greatest guitar amps of all time. The unit also incorporates over 120 unique inspiring effects, many of which beat-sync to the

 
internal drum patterns or to an external sequencer. There are 100 built-in drum patterns with tap tempo that make it incredibly easy to try out different grooves and tempos. The Black Box also features a built-in microphone preamp for recording and processing vocals and acoustic instruments.

One simple USB connection sends the output directly to your favourite computer-based recording software - and syncs the Black Box’s drums and effects to your tracks. The Black Box gives you killer tone, groundbreaking effects, and huge beats.

 

There are hundreds of other models to choose from of course, and you'll almost certainly be able to get something of a pretty reasonable quality, even on
a small budget.