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Gear / Technical Help => Battery Boxes, Preamps, Mixers, ADCs, and Processors => Topic started by: Shawn on August 28, 2007, 01:15:42 PM

Title: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: Shawn on August 28, 2007, 01:15:42 PM
just curious what pre's folks like behind schoeps.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: dennisrtyler on August 28, 2007, 01:19:05 PM
anything from Thomasville, Ga ;)
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: terrapinj on August 28, 2007, 02:43:31 PM
i like the schoeps >v2 combo

really depends on the caps as well

i ran CCM4v>psp2 and liked the results surprisingly
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: KLowe on August 28, 2007, 04:47:16 PM
would schoeps and anything 'warm" just creat mud?  Do Schoeps need something fast and transparent behind em?
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: jerryfreak on August 28, 2007, 11:34:44 PM
i wouldnt say that. the apogee ad1000 was on the 'warm' side, and that was some of the best recordings ever made.

i prefer the grace v2/v3

would schoeps and anything 'warm" just creat mud?  Do Schoeps need something fast and transparent behind em?
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: mmedley. on August 28, 2007, 11:45:37 PM
I like the Apogee sound behind Schoeps as well. Can't go wrong with a V2 either.  8)
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: Brian on August 29, 2007, 08:54:18 AM
another vote for schoeps > V2. a lot of people like schoeps > m248 as well.

going straight into the 722 has been more common for me lately cause it still sounds great and the setup is minimal.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: Craig T on August 29, 2007, 10:18:01 AM
NBox+
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: kennedy on August 29, 2007, 10:27:28 AM
v2/v3
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: brianp on August 29, 2007, 12:25:46 PM
m148 or a Sonosax is what I prefer.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: PH on August 29, 2007, 12:38:43 PM
Schoeps offer transparency and neutrality, so any pre will work great with them.
What you are trying to record should determine what pre you use with them.

For taping live shows at a distance, something more transparent like the Grace stuff will work the best.
The Oade, Apogee camp is distinctly wamer and they also sound terrific with Schoeps.
That warmth is a bit of a trade off for clarity though, so it just depends on what YOUR ears like.

I would be in the transparent/transparent camp for any taping situation, but if using them in the studio, I would usually take the other tack and run them through a vintage style pre like the API 3124+ or Great River (neve clone) to give them body and fullness they won't quite achieve with the Grace pre. In that case, you are looking for more warmth and the Schoeps are very adaptable to that. I have found that I quite often add top end to the mixes later to open up the sound a bit.
They are on the darker side of the spectrum, so to hear all of that clarity you have to accentuate it a bit sometimes.
Cheers, Phil
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: carlbeck on August 29, 2007, 01:00:42 PM
I would vote Sound Devices Mix Pre with Schoeps personally. I have one & while it isn't the best fit for my mic it sounds surprisingly a lot like a 248 plus it has a nice warm transformer sound to the lower octaves. I have been listening to mine & when I finally put my finger on it I felt it sounded like all my old 481>248 recordings (bright). I would love for someone to try mine with a pair of MK4's before I sell it, my best MK4 tapes were with my 248, I preferred it over my 148 with the Schoeps.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: Shawn on August 29, 2007, 02:01:02 PM
I would love for someone to try mine with a pair of MK4's before I sell it, my best MK4 tapes were with my 248, I preferred it over my 148 with the Schoeps.
hmmmmm. pm sent. ;D
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: heath on August 29, 2007, 02:53:39 PM
mk4v>ad1k

:)
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: Brian on August 29, 2007, 02:55:47 PM
mk4v>ad1k

:)

@ 70º ?

:P
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: SonicSound on August 29, 2007, 03:01:29 PM
elvo nt222
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: H₂O on August 29, 2007, 03:53:33 PM
CMCX > PSP-2
M222 > Elvo (no other pre does them justice) :)
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: Kevin Straker on August 29, 2007, 04:29:06 PM
I like my mk4>v3 setup. I also ran mk4>psp2>modsbm1 for a while with some really nice results.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: used-to-tape-alot on August 29, 2007, 04:39:30 PM
the CMXY4V/V2 combo worked well.  When I upgraded the Beyerdynamic MV100 to the V2 the sound improvement was noticeable.  I also think that there were some occasions (bassier/boomier venues)when running one of the V2's rolloff filters (typically I used 6dB/octave @50Hz, but I also played around with 12@50 and 6@75) was beneficial to the recording.  The vast majority of the time I didn't use a bass rolloff though as the low end of the 4V is slightly attenuated/rolled off anyways.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: jerryfreak on August 30, 2007, 12:18:37 AM
"Dude your mics are pointed backwards"

mk4v>ad1k

:)

@ 70º ?

:P
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: db on August 30, 2007, 11:41:21 AM
elvo nt222

too effin' heavy.

i'm now 4s > 744 and i do like it a lot. however there are circumstances where i really miss the 3d airiness of the mme... the splashy cymbals in particular. it's just too effin' heavy.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: SonicSound on August 30, 2007, 01:20:11 PM
elvo nt222
too effin' heavy.

You just have to bend your knees when lifting ;D
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: DSatz on August 30, 2007, 11:48:59 PM
With my Schoeps CMC 5-- microphones I most often use a Grace Lunatec V3 for two-track recording, or an RME QuadMic for three- or four-track. Occasionally, though, I use an outboard A/D converter and an FMR "Real Nice Preamp," a Sonosax SX-M2, or a dbx 760X modified by Jim Williams. When someone's giving me a ride to and from a recording I sometimes bring a Millennia Media HV-3B. Finally I use an M Audio DMP3 for bench testing, but I'm not sure it can withstand being knocked around for portable use--I had a DMP2 lose a channel just before a live concert recording (the only time I ever took it out of the house).

The thing is: Transformerless microphones such as Schoeps Colettes or CCMs (or the Neumann KM 100 or 180 or TLM series) have a very low output impedance which is primarily resistive in character. As a result they are relatively immune to the varying load impedances (input impedances) which various preamps provide. Thus they have a tendency to make most preamps sound rather alike, as long as the preamps themselves have flat frequency response and low distortion. My preamp choices are therefore able to be based on small size, reliability, freedom from overload, and low noise rather than different "sonic characteristics"--which simply don't seem to crop up in my preamps to anywhere near the degree that they seem to with some other people.

The main exception may be some preamps with input transformers that have a high voltage step-up ratio. Depending on how the secondary winding of the transformer is terminated, such preamps may have non-flat frequency response when driven by a source impedance much different from whatever value they were designed for. This type of input circuit isn't common any more (especially in the type of lightweight, portable equipment that folks here use), but it does exist; an example is John Hardy's magnificent M1 and M2 preamps. (The M2 has an optional switch to compensate for microphones with a very low output impedance such as modern transformerless microphones generally have.)

Note that some people misconstrue this situation and insist that their higher-impedance, transformer-equipped microphones are actually superior because they can evince audible differences among more preamps. What's really happening is that audibly distinct, frequency-selective losses are occurring as a result of the failure to meet the necessary condition for a bridging load: The load impedance must be at least five (preferably at least ten) times the driving impedance across the entire frequency range of the signals. This problem can be avoided even in most transformer-equipped microphones by setting them to their lowest output impedance setting--generally 50 Ohms. In that setting they don't get loaded down as easily by preamps, and they're better able to drive long cables and/or cables (such as some Star-Quad cables) which have very high capacitance, without incurring audible high-frequency losses or other circuit misbehaviors.

--best regards
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: db on August 31, 2007, 12:16:18 AM
elvo nt222
too effin' heavy.

You just have to bend your knees when lifting ;D


huh? my knees?  you need a lil red wagon.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: PH on August 31, 2007, 12:56:08 AM
Satz, what sort of characteristics would the John Hardy pre's bring with the low impedence mics, that the others (V3) would not?
I find it interesting that you mention they behave in a very similar way with various pre's. I understand the principle of why that would be true, but just have not necessarily found that to be the case with the various pres I use on a regular basis. (API 3124+, Great River, V3, Presonus) They all have very different textures when I use the Schoeps with them. I guess I'm wanting you to go into more detail as to why you feel you get the same sort of response with most pres.
Thanks, Phil

Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: DSatz on September 02, 2007, 03:51:53 PM
Phil, I don't mean to say that all preamps necessarily sound alike, but only that the low output impedance of the CMC series amplifiers tends to remove one prominent cause of different sound with different preamps.

I'm looking for, but not finding at the moment, an impedance chart which was drawn a few years back by a friend of mine, based on measurements of a high-quality, U.S.-made figure-8 ribbon microphone. The microphone's output impedance is 300 Ohms throughout most of the audio band, but near its resonant frequency (between 50 and 90 Hz, depending on the individual sample), the output impedance shoots up to a value well above 1000 Ohms--literally "off the chart." If I can find this piece of paper soon, I'll scan it and attach it here.

What Ohm's Law says about such a microphone, when you plug it into a preamp with an input impedance of (say) 1000 Ohms, is that around the resonant frequency, more than half the signal will be dropped across the microphone's own output impedance, and will never reach the preamp. That means the response around the resonant frequency will be down more than 6 dB below where the published curves say it should be. Even a preamp with 2 kOhm input impedance would load down this microphone and cause an audible decrease in its low-frequency response, as compared with the essentially unloaded state in which a microphone's frequency response is normally measured.

This isn't the only possible reason for different preamps to sound different from one another, but it is a big one--and using microphones with low, non-reactive output impedance tends to reduce or eliminate it in general.

As for as an input architecture like that of the John Hardy preamps, running a 30-Ohm microphone into it will simply tip the top octave response up or down a little--I forget which, actually. It's not a large number in terms of dB; there's no risk of parasitics or oscillation. But the response will simply be flatter at the top if you throw the "Lo-Z" switch which is optionally available on the Hardy M2.

--best regards
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: kennedy on September 02, 2007, 07:30:09 PM
Phil

-T  ;)
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: Nick Graham on September 02, 2007, 08:59:35 PM
Sonosax
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: monochromic on September 02, 2007, 11:00:02 PM
I've run a Sonosax, V3 and my current Portico and for mine, the Portico is the winner.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: F.O.Bean on September 03, 2007, 12:30:04 AM
i always liked the v2/sonosax with the many Phish recordings with those combos. But i like the schoeps>7xx better than schoeps>v3 fo sure. much more up front and in-your-face presence with the 722. the v3 sounds a bit duller and less detailed than the schoeps>722 believe it or not. but those are mainly from jon merins moe recordings with the schoeps>v3 or 722 :)
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: ero3030 on September 04, 2007, 08:45:48 PM
a/d 1000 sounds the best in most situations.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: BobW on September 08, 2007, 12:42:14 PM
would schoeps and anything 'warm" just creat mud?  Do Schoeps need something fast and transparent behind em?

Warm is neither bassy or muddy.
Rather processes "euphonic even-order harmonic development", which is more closely associated with tonal richness and depth.
I see the opposite as being dry and clean, but not dry and clean as in lack of echolia.       ;D

Schoeps' loves warm as warm will reinforce mids and give it more presence and body, IMHO.
Great mics, you'll always be able to get the sound that you need with forethought and planning.

Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: Kyle on September 09, 2007, 12:01:13 AM
I have a V2 and a PSP-2 - figured I would be covered sound-wise in varying rooms. These days I seem to run the PSP-2 exclusively; it sounds tailor-made for my mk4's - rich and warm, lots of texture, solid soundstage with plenty of depth....

I love the V2 as well - always super-clean but can almost be a bit sterile with the mk4's. The PSP-2 adds a bit of 'character', if you will. The V2 needs (IMHO) to be run at a lower gain setting (20db or so). It gets a bit brittle and compressed sounding at higher settings. Interestingly enough, the manual that came with my V2 states that the lowest amount of gain necessary should be used. The .pdf document on Grace's website makes no mention of this......


Verdict: never thought I would say it after eight years - PSP-2 smokes :coolguy:
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: grawk on September 12, 2007, 12:10:53 AM
I loved the tapes I pulled with my VMS02iB/mk21h/mk8

I thought 41s sounded best with the AD1000

I thought 4s sounded best with the sonosax
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: Shawn on September 12, 2007, 07:47:10 AM
thanks for all the input guys. I'm trying to decide what my next move should be.

I can't decide if I should get a new pre, or get oade to do the T mod done on my r4. Or I could scrap that idea all together and get some omni caps for the schoeps, or a nice set of multi pattern LDs.

decisions. decisions.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: andyjah on November 22, 2007, 03:43:04 PM
Anyone ever try SXM2>V3? Been kind of curious how this would sound. On the fence between the V3 and the minime. Can you run just the a/d on the v3?
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: rokpunk on November 24, 2007, 02:12:15 PM
i'm suprised it hasn't been mentioned more, but i love the way the mk4v's sound with the VMS021B box....even moreso than with a grace.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: Nick Graham on November 24, 2007, 03:23:38 PM
Anyone ever try SXM2>V3? Been kind of curious how this would sound. On the fence between the V3 and the minime. Can you run just the a/d on the v3?

I may be wrong but I believe Brian Skalinder tried this. It's not possible to get truly zero gain on the V3, so you'll be running through 2 gain stages. Also I remember the results being less than spectacular.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: carlbeck on November 24, 2007, 03:38:17 PM
Exactly, I tried to just get the A/D of the V3 with my 148 but you always had to run some sort of gain on the V3 & I felt it may have taken a little away from the 148.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: Brian Skalinder on November 24, 2007, 03:58:35 PM
Anyone ever try SXM2>V3? Been kind of curious how this would sound. On the fence between the V3 and the minime. Can you run just the a/d on the v3?

I may be wrong but I believe Brian Skalinder tried this. It's not possible to get truly zero gain on the V3, so you'll be running through 2 gain stages. Also I remember the results being less than spectacular.

I sort of tried this, and the results were less than spectacular.  But the reason isn't really applicable to SX-M2 > V3 in general.  I ran for an amplified acoustic, but very very quiet, bluegrass show:  MK4 > KCY > SX-M2/LS2 (Lemosax) at 0 dB gain > V3 (+ 63 dB) > bit-bucket.  The results were definitely less than stellar due to hiss I attributed to Lemosax self-noise.  I ascribed the results to the Lemosax's self-noise (not noticeable in high-volume situations), since I've run the V3 with that much gain using CMC6 bodies instead of the Lemosax, and noticed no such self noise.

At any rate, I think SX-M2 > V3 could sound good.  All in one's own ears / brain / playback / etc.  Like most preamp / ADC combos (including standalone recorders that include those features), there's no real way to run "just the A/D".  As Nick suggests, the signal will run through two gain stages.  But nearly every preamp / ADC / recorder + an external preamp does the exact same thing.  It's a non-issue, IMO.  Just set the -20 dB V3 jumpers.  Or, depending on what one's recording, for example if quieter material, even that may not be necessary.

Exactly, I tried to just get the A/D of the V3 with my 148 but you always had to run some sort of gain on the V3 & I felt it may have taken a little away from the 148.

I think that has more to do with the M148's fixed gain, thereby requiring more gain on the V3, than the fact that the signal's going through 2 gain stages.  With the SX-M2, one could leave the V3 at absolute minimum gain, never needing any gain out of the V3.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: shaggy on November 25, 2007, 07:03:21 PM
Ever since I got the vst62 (cmc6 in a single body for kcy use), I prefer the Oade T+modUA-5 over the vms02ib and the Lemosax.   

I have done the SXM2/LS2 into a T+modUA-5, but to be honest, I think the straight T+ is better.  Less grainy in the HF, IMHO. 

Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: mmedley. on November 25, 2007, 07:06:39 PM
I have run the Sax > V3 and made a few killer tapes, too bad the guitarist sucked :P ...


http://db.etree.org/shninfo_detail.php?shnid=26256

03. Ring of Fire >
04. Driving Song >
05. Arleen >
06. Ride Me High >
07. Drums >
08. Ride Me High >
09. Arleen >
10. Driving Song >
11. Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys

 :o

http://db.etree.org/shninfo_detail.php?shnid=18835
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: F0CKER on November 26, 2007, 02:13:39 PM
a/d 1000 sounds the best in most situations.

Personally, I think the AD1000 preamp is god awful.  I'd never consider running that thing as a pre ever again..but just my humble opinion

Shawn, I think you know my answer but for the record I ran a V3, PSP2, 148, and 248 with my schoeps, and the 248 was the clear winner.  I liked all four preamps fine, but the 248 just had a quality that seemed to get it right.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: F.O.Bean on March 05, 2017, 02:27:22 PM
My favorite EXTERNAL preamps for the Schoeps are in this order for EVERYTHING but Phish!

#1. EAA PSP-2
#2. Schoeps VMS
#3. Sonosax/LB's & TB's with Output Transformers

However, for recording Phish ONLY, Schoeps->Sonosax is ALWAYS where it's at for me for whatever reason! That combo just emphasizes Phish PERFECTLY IMO! And the above preamps are strictly external FWIW!

That said, the Tascam DR-70D has GREAT stock preamps IMO, and I can BARELY tell a difference between the Schoeps VMS02IB and the DR-70D Preamps! As always, YMMV ;) But that just goes with what DSatz stated in this thread awhile back! The Schoeps have a low ohm resistance being transformerless and sound "alike" with most preamps it's run with! That seems to be the exact case with my VMS02IB & DR-70D preamps! They both sound very similar to me! The VMS02IB is definitely a QUIETER preamp, but you'd never notice that unless recording acoustic or unamplified music! In fact, I loved the caps>KCY>+60v PFA>DR-70D preamps sound so much, that I bought [2] +60v PFA setups so that I can run 4 Channels of +60v PFA's directly into my 70D Preamps ;)

That also means that I can leave my heavy-ass VMS02IB at home most nights and just have to worry about powering the 70D with a single USB battery, instead of dealing with lugging the heavy brick VMS02IB and batteries for it to run 4 channels of DAUD mics! I do love the VMS02IB sound overall, and the KCY Input is sweet, but with the new +60v PFA's and having XLR's with DarkTrain Rt Angle Stubby XLR Breakout Cables for ANY Preamp/Recorder, I sometimes wonder why I even have the VMS02IB when the DR-70D preamps are more than adequate for my recording needs, and the VMS02IB is so damn heavy?!?! The +60v PFA's and their regular, 3-pin XLR outputs basically turn my KCY>60v PFA setup into an even more compact Schoeps CCM system, but with interchangeable capsules and a single cable vs. two cables of the CCM Series ;) I JUST got the 2nd +60v PFA a couple of months ago, so I haven't got to run 4 channels of 60v PFA's "live" yet! I don't see myself selling my VMS02IB anytime soon, but if I start pulling kick-ass recordings with just the 60v PFA's, like I did in the past with my VMS02IB and +48v PFA's, the VMS02IB might be a goner and I can invest that $$ into a nicer 4-6 Channel deck like a Tascam 701D or DR-680mkii ;) ;D
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: noahbickart on April 05, 2017, 08:10:15 AM
Elsewhere, Dsatz has stated that the Schoeps bodies present such a constant impedance load that, unlike with other microphones, with Schoeps it is harder to hear the differences between preamps.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: MakersMarc on April 05, 2017, 11:25:20 AM
I've only run an Nbox, IPA, and Oade warm mod 661 behind them, and find it very hard to hear much of a difference if at all.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: acidjack on April 07, 2017, 05:34:53 PM
I like the Aerco in situations where I want a warmer, more analog sound (e.g., onstage, really dry rooms). Otherwise Sound Devices USBPre2 or the PSP2 for a really clean, tight sound. PSP3 is not bad, either.
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: F.O.Bean on May 27, 2017, 06:01:51 AM
Well, I took a ton of pics of my VMS02IB and listed it for sale. Then realized what an idiot I was and now I'm keeping it lol. It really does sound great with the Schoeps! I mean they were made for each other after all! It has a really fast and clean and detailed sound, but with great low-end, and has really low-noise preamps! There's no way that I could sell it! I just found other ways to afford the new MixPre6 I'm ordering soon ;D ;) 8)

Like Dactylus said, I'm a preamp guy too, but now I'm down to just my VMS02IB. One of these days I'll grab a PSP-2 to join my 02IB ;) That said, most all-in-one decks have adequate preamps, especially these days, to get the job done! But there's just something about a dedicated preamp that makes you feel like you're getting a better end result, and you can change the flavor of the mics by changing preamps! But depending on the mics and the preamps and decks etc, running different preamps & recorders produces negligible results that some can barely hear, like Marc said above!

Luckily for us external preamp guys, the prices keep coming down and down, for the most part anyway 8) Anyone have a PSP-2 they want to let go? LOL
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: Scooter123 on June 13, 2017, 12:03:25 AM
Stealthing?  NBox is the only answer. 
Title: Re: favorite pre to run behind schoeps
Post by: MakersMarc on June 15, 2017, 06:10:45 PM
Vote for Naiant's IPA. Clean compact power and gain. Nbox can get a bit unwieldy. It's my open pre.