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Some help from the Pros!

M

marketweis

Been in radio for years, but am just now really making a go of this VO thing as a business. Have never paid real close attention to equipment....just used what was available to me.

Am looking for a good sounding, relatively cheap, set-up to do stuff from home....mainly web based audio. Just tried a colleague's Samson USB mic. It was okay, but I'd like a bit more punch.

I want to go USB for a pre-amp and am looking at this one:
http://www.samedaymusic.com/product--ARTTMPUSB

I would pair that with probably a $200-$300 mic.

My main question is: What's the diff between a "tube" pre-amp and just - I guess - a 'regular' pre-amp, say like this one?
http://www.ramelectronics.net/html/m-audio-Fast-Track-Pro.html

What's the diff in the sound you're gonna get from these two? Are the tube ones supposedly better for a particular application?

Thanks.
 
The 'regular' pre uses all solid state devices, transistors, ICs and the like to do it's thing. The tube pre uses an electron tube to do the amplification. In case your not familiar with tubes, you've probably seen them inside antique radios. They're the things that glow orange and get quite warm. Some people like the sound (non-linearity and harmonics) that a tube adds to the audio. That non linear frequency response and harmonics are the warmth people refer to.

As to which is better, Ideally you should audition this type of equipment before buying if possible. Your voice, and choice of mic will also effect the sound of your pre. Sorry if this doesn't help, but there's no right answer to this one.

One off topic note. Thinking of tubes, I read a review of the movie frequency a few years ago. It was clear from the review that the person writing it was young as they mistook the orange glow of the tubes in the Heathkit radio as some sort of magic ora.
 
It mostly comes down to taste. With lower end gear, I usually prefer solid state. Cheap tube gear can get pretty gritty sounding. Even with higher end stuff, I prefer Class-A solid state over tube, but when you're spending $1000+ per channel, it doesn't really matter. At that price the solid state gear sounds pretty warm and the tube stuff sounds pretty clean. Good gear is good gear and that's all there is to it. There's no question of whether or not it will sound good, it's just a matter of which sounds best for a particular voice.

I wouldn't skimp on the preamp. The pre is just as important as the mic (some people say even more). Have a look at the E-mu 0404 USB. It has very good pres built in, as well as great converters. If you want to check out Firewire gear, have a look at the Focusrite Saffire LE.

Also, do NOT buy a mic based completely on reviews. Make sure you audition some. In your price range, the R0DE NT1-A, Studio Project C1 and Audio-Technica AT4040 come to mind...But test everything you can. You'll find that some nice mics may not fit at all with your voice. For instance, the R0DE NT1-A sounds absolutely terrible on my voice, but I've heard it sound amazing on some people.

Emmett
 
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