Do you run virtual instruments through mic pres? - Gearslutz.com Gearslutz.com
 


All Advertisers
Services Directory Reviews Jobs Deal Zone Merchandise Marketplace Music Biz Articles Video Vault Tips & Techniques
Go Back   Gearslutz.com > The Forums > So much gear, so little time!
Reload this Page Do you run virtual instruments through mic pres?
Register Posting Guidelines Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Chat Room [4]

Do you run virtual instruments through mic pres?
Topic: New Reply New Reply Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old 23rd May 2012   #1
Gear addict
 
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 364

Thread Starter
Do you run virtual instruments through mic pres?
Hi everyone,

Just wondering how you guys use your virtual instruments. I just recently started getting more into using them. I have Superior Drummer 2, Omnisphere, Stylus, B4 II, Velvet, LASS, etc. Do you guys just trust in those sounds as they are? Or do you print them to your DAW, then send them out to an external mic pre and back in again?

Before I got into virtual instruments, I used to have a couple of hardware synths and an MPC3000 for drums (I still have them but don't use them that much anymore). Anyway, back then, everything (and I mean literally everything) ran through a pair of Brent Averill 1084s before going into Pro Tools. But now that I'm turning to virtual synths, I'm not sure how to approach them.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Rockman is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 23rd May 2012   #2
Gear interested
 
Joined: Aug 2008
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Posts: 12

i do this all the time, especially with playing synths and bass sounds live back into the daw, makes it feel live and gives it a little extra something. also running stuff out through guitar pedals or a guitar amp is a lot of fun.
ericisacarnival is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 23rd May 2012   #3
Lives for gear
 
Slikjmuzik's Avatar
 
Joined: Nov 2008
Location: Boynton Beach, FL
Posts: 3,983

Oh yes!! I love running them through Daking.
Slikjmuzik is online now  
Reply With Quote
Old 23rd May 2012   #4
Lives for gear
 
henge's Avatar
 
Joined: May 2003
Location: Bowmanville,Ontario
Posts: 2,434

Absolutely! Through 2 me1nv's, very rich.
henge is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 23rd May 2012   #5
Lives for gear
 
Joined: Jan 2010
Location: Sydney
Posts: 553

Are you guys just running them out at line level and hitting the pre's with that, and padding / gaining accordingly?
Draytone is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 23rd May 2012   #6
Lives for gear
 
henge's Avatar
 
Joined: May 2003
Location: Bowmanville,Ontario
Posts: 2,434

Quote:
Originally Posted by Draytone View Post
Are you guys just running them out at line level and hitting the pre's with that, and padding / gaining accordingly?
Some sounds benefit from driving the pre's hard and some benefit with just a bit of pre imo.
What ever sounds good
__________________
Henge
Website http://www.villageworkscanada.com
henge is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 23rd May 2012   #7
Lives for gear
 
Joined: Oct 2002
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 1,371

Quote:
Originally Posted by henge View Post
Some sounds benefit from driving the pre's hard and some benefit with just a bit of pre imo.
What ever sounds good
Clean, sine-like bass sounds, in particular, will sorta disappear in a mix if you don't crunch 'em up a little, and it always sounds better to me to do it on the way in than later with a plug.
Brent Hahn is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 24th May 2012   #8
Lives for gear
 
peeweedrummer's Avatar
 
Joined: Jan 2007
Location: Syndey
Posts: 581

can transformers in pre's get damaged from overloading them? like driving them into distortion?
peeweedrummer is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 26th May 2012   #9
Gear addict
 
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 364

Thread Starter
Thanks for the input guys. I had a feeling that re-routing virtual instruments through good quality mic pres was the way to go, regardless of how great they seem to sound right off the bat.
Rockman is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 26th May 2012   #10
Gear nut
 
Cegor's Avatar
 
Joined: Mar 2011
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 107

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockman View Post
Thanks for the input guys. I had a feeling that re-routing virtual instruments through good quality mic pres was the way to go, regardless of how great they seem to sound right off the bat.
And now you can watch your buddies scratch their head at why your version of the same instrument sounds better
__________________
Facebook | @ItsCegor
Cegor is offline  
Reply With Quote
Old 26th May 2012   #11
Gear Guru
 
Joined: Jun 2002
Location: New York
Posts: 12,813

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rockman View Post
Thanks for the input guys. I had a feeling that re-routing virtual instruments through good quality mic pres was the way to go, regardless of how great they seem to sound right off the bat.
some sounds will benefit from running into a guitar amp > speaker > mic > preamp chain as well.
__________________
.

“What you ask about is music. What you like is sound. Now music and sound are akin, but they are not the same.”
— Confucius
joeq is offline  
Reply With Quote
New Reply New Reply Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook  Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter  Submit Thread to LinkedIn LinkedIn 

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Similar Threads
Thread Thread starter Forum Replies Last Post
What Mic and Pre combination have you found best for acoustic instruments... ine-kpro... Remote Possibilities in Acoustic Music & Location Recording 13 16th May 2012 02:44 AM
Do you own a Golden Age Project mic and do you like it? Brambo Low End Theory 0 22nd November 2007 10:16 AM
Dual High-End Mic/Line pre with ADC for acoustic instruments mosrite Remote Possibilities in Acoustic Music & Location Recording 41 22nd August 2007 08:26 AM
Do you sometimes prefer dynamics over condensers in high end studio (acoustic) work ? ISedlacek Remote Possibilities in Acoustic Music & Location Recording 18 20th February 2007 03:26 AM
EastWest Introduces New Virtual Instrument Collections and Play Software RainbowStorm So much gear, so little time! 0 28th January 2007 05:54 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 07:55 PM.

Home - Search Forum - Contact Us - Terms Of Use / Privacy Policy - Advertise on Gearslutz - All Advertisers - Top
 
 
Powered by vBulletin®
Gearslutz.com LTD - UK Company Number 7597610.
Registered Office - 35 Ballards Lane, London, N3 1XW.
Hosted by Nimbus Hosting.

By using this site, you agree to our use of cookies.

SEO by vBSEO ©2011, Crawlability, Inc.