Studio Preamp in General Guys.

[zenguan88]

hi i am curious about this and hope fellow guys could help chipped in.

if given a studio would you guys rather a board that has a uniform preamp, what i meant is that say you just own the SSL console and you just rather have the board with you. OR would you spend money on different preamps to get different colours and tone.

yep i know it boils down to what are you looking for, but in any record's do you guys think its better to make do with uniform preamps instead? would it be more sensible?

just curious :X

[Slaytex]

Everyone is different, but I like having one really good uniform set of preamps. It let's me focus more on making good music than spending a lot of time trying out different pre's. If the artist is in the zone and ready to go, just plug the pre in and go.

Personally I have a API 3124 and use it for everything across the albulms I do. I'm going to be getting 2 Aurora GTQ2's in the future so I'll have 4 API and 4 Neve-ish pre's. To me those are two completely different flavors to choose from.

[zenguan88]

thanks dude for your input.

when personally i do also wish to have a set of uniform preamps, i heard alot of the chandler therefore its my way to go in getting the sounds in, but everything i read product's review say the new ADL 600 i was really awe by it as well.

this question came to me today as i got to visit a local country studio where they use a neve console, therefore all neve preamps. i was thinking if preamps were like reverbs, whereby its better to go for a certain quality say neve and just stick to it instead of having a mix of different preamps, ending up with different colours.

i do agree with you that everyone have their own workflow but i just got curious and decided to start a thread about it. thanks anyway

[Slaytex]

Also on another note, I've learned that just because a mic or preamp sounds great on a single source it really doesn't mean poop. The real kicker is if it sits well in a mix or not. To me gear is like ingredients, sure garlic tastes great but I don't want it in my cereal. Sometimes it's good to just use your good ole salt and pepper pre's (API & Neve in my opinion) because they work on just about everything.

This isn't related to your question but as a side note, I've been using the Fat Head II exclusively with my API's across all my tracks for my bands lastest song and it sits in the mix great. Just FYI!

Good luck and welcome to Gearslutz.

[andychamp]

Using different flavours of preamps in the same project is a relatively recent phenomenon, and if done wrong it can bite you in the a**.
OTOH, all those old records whose quality we're trying to match nowadays were recorded on one console and that often contributed to those records' personalities. And none of those engineers complained about sonic limitations.
So I guess, it's just a matter of choice, which way you wanna go.
Going for one single flavor probably flattens the learning curve, as you don't have that many possible combinations to worry about.

[zenguan88]

wow yea!!! your right

well its strange how we always compare vintage recording to modern recording but fear to really incorporate what was given at that time and now.

you set my mind straight i am now a official chandler limited guy LOLS!

THANKS GUYS

[andychamp]

Well, if you're all set, you might want to check out this thread

[gainstages]

my dream setup would be a full rack of NEVE preamps or a NEVE console. I'd probably bring in a couple of extra pres just for special jobs, but i'd rather start out with an amazing set across the board. like what was said earlier - focus on making music or capturing a performance, not on worrying about what preamp to use.

[deuc647]

I use 8 channels of sebatron pres and i do like the way one pre sounds in comparision to alot of different flavors, i feel its a lot easier to get that cohesion

[MeSoHornplayer]

Originally Posted by Slaytex

To me gear is like ingredients, sure garlic tastes great but I don't want it in my cereal.

That's because you've never tried Kashi's new cereal -- Garlic Oats!

Listen to this endorsement:

Hmmmmmmmmm. Garlic Oats.
-- Homer Simpson

[Slaytex]

Originally Posted by MeSoHornplayer

That's because you've never tried Kashi's new cereal -- Garlic Oats!

Listen to this endorsement:

Hmmmmmmmmm. Garlic Oats.
-- Homer Simpson

I almost wouldn't be surprised.