Quote:
Originally Posted by noharmlessrock  In the process of researching mic pre's to track my mpc 2500 to a digi002 rack, I think it would be super helpful to have a CD reference to illustrate the classic hip hop pre amp
sounds. i.e. the kick in "can you werk wit dat" by DJ Quick is a classic use of the ______ pre amp, the keys sounds like they were tracked with a _____ pre amp. etc |
The problem with that is that there are too many variables to actually have a solid a/b... The specific drums that were recorded, the specific engineer that recorded them, the specific pieces of a certain brand of gear that were used, the way they were set, who the tracking engineer was and how the stuff was recorded, the levels that they were recorded at, the type of tape and tape machine they were printed to, the mixing engineer and how the stuff was mixed, which eq was used, anything else in the recording chain, the mastering process...
So it would be hard to listen to certain commercial recordings and go "oh yeah, that's what I want" because if you use the *same* pre and change even just a few of the variables listed above, you end up with a totally different sound.
If there's anywhere you could go to hear it in person or sit in on a tracking session, that would likely give you more useful information.
Also, some people here have convinced owners of certain pres to run a file and print it for them as a test. That's really helpful because you know the audio file you give them and what it sounded like originally, so it's pretty clear to you what the difference is. If there's anybody you know (or can find on the internet) that works in a studio and would be willing to take a minute and process a file for you, you'd have a better shot at hearing the naked result of the pre instead of the tracking/mixing/mastering process as a whole.
Anyway, good luck!