Topic: Pre-amp / mic in question

[bigu2fan]

 Going to an acoustic show tonight. I will be using a Sony m-10, an SP pre-amp and SP CMC 8 mics. My question is this. Should I be going mics > preamp > line in > Sony m-10 or mics > preamp > mic in > Sony m-10

It's been awhile and I am having a brain fade on this. Thanks very much for any help u can give

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

Line in.

[bigu2fan]

Ok, thanks! I will go mics > sp preamp > line in Sony m-10.

When using a preamp like the sound professionals standard one, should I pretty much ALWAYS be going line in? Or is there a scenario where I'd ever want to use mic in with an external preamp?

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

You go mic in if you were using the plug in power of the M10 or a battery box for a show that wasn't super loud (thereby using the M10's mic preamp).

I use LINE IN for everything except when I'm running my B3's directly to the M10, in which case I turn the plug in power on on the M10 or the B3's > Church BB > M10 where I turn the plug in power off (since the BB provides the power).

Some people will run mics > BB > Line In for loud shows. I've never tried it since I'll run my Nevatons for louder shows.

[adrianf74]

You go mic in if you were using the plug in power of the M10 or a battery box for a show that wasn't super loud (thereby using the M10's mic preamp).

I use LINE IN for everything except when I'm running my B3's directly to the M10, in which case I turn the plug in power on on the M10 or the B3's > Church BB > M10 where I turn the plug in power off (since the BB provides the power).

Some people will run mics > BB > Line In for loud shows. I've never tried it since I'll run my Nevatons for louder shows.

^^ THIS.

I would suggest for louder shows to run MICS > BB > LINE IN.   For quieter shows (like the one you're mentioning), it's probably better to run mics > BB > mic in (PIP OFF) since it'll be quieter.

[bigu2fan]

I would suggest for louder shows to run MICS > BB > LINE IN.   For quieter shows (like the one you're mentioning), it's probably better to run mics > BB > mic in (PIP OFF) since it'll be quieter.

OK, I don't have a battery box. Just a Sound Professionals 9v Preamp with +0, +15 and +30 gain options via a switch. Should I go MICS > PREAMP > LINE IN even with the amplified acoustic shows? This is what I did last night with the gain set at +15. The pre-amp volume knob was almost maxed out. Volume on the M-10 was at 7 or 8. Cursory listen to one of the tracks in my car sounded good on the way home from the show.

I guess, should an external pre amp be used in the place of a BB in your scenario. My experiences using a battery box > line in weren't great. Either the shows were too bassy (even in a good taping spot DFC in front of mixing desk area) or levels not strong. This is why I bought the SP preamp

[Phil Zone]

When in doubt line in is always safest if your worried about overload

[adrianf74]

Generally Mic > Power Source > Line IN.   I wouldn't want to run a preamp via MIC IN and could see that distorting the heck out of a capture.   

Preamp isn't going to "improve" the sound of your recording.  If the recording is bassy, it will still be bassy with a preamp.  Most of what a small preamp does is drives the mics harder so you can get better levels; if you're in a lousy sounding room it won't "help" your recording in the least.   

[earmonger]

By the way, the reason some people were putting BB in the chain is that a preamp at zero gain essentially is a battery box, providing power to the mics that helps them handle louder sounds.

There is already a preamp behind the mic-in jack--that defines "Mic-in." Line-in expects a powered or amplified signal, as from an external preamp. So if you were recording something really quiet, I guess you'd run mic-preamp-mic-in---amplifying the mic signal twice--but otherwise the preamp is for Line-in. And I find that with anything through a PA system,  a battery box is all I need for Line-in.

 For just about everything amplified, I run mics (usually CA-14 omni)--BB--Line-in to the PCM-M10.  Volume is generally around 5-6. Your mics will probably have a different optimum volume level.

As noted above, neither a preamp or a battery box should make a recording bassy or color the sound appreciably in any way (unless they have a bass roll-off switch, which would lessen bass). The point is to amplify the mic signal to record it better--not to change it.