Genghis
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Low-noise Mic Pre for Classical Guitar?
I have a UA 4-710d Mic Preamp and it works well for many of my recording needs, such as vocals and electric guitar, but it seems to have a bit of a noise floor when I record classical guitar (or even steel string acoustic). I'm running a pair of SDC mics (Studio Projects C4) and when I turn up enough gain to get a decent level out of the preamp the noise is just a bit too high. I'm looking for suggestions on something that will be better for classical guitar. I've been looking at the Grace Designs m101 and think it might fit the bill, but thought I'd ask here for anyone with experience with both pres to see if it:
A. Has a significantly lower noise floor
B. Sounds better for a clean nylon string classical guitar (the 4-710d has a bit of color, so I think the clarity of the m101 might be good here.)
I'm also looking for any other suggestion on lower-noise good sounding pres.
Thanks
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rumleymusic
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Re: Low-noise Mic Pre for Classical Guitar?
2015/03/15 21:50:27
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Genghis
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Re: Low-noise Mic Pre for Classical Guitar?
2015/03/15 22:18:32
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Actually looks like a pretty nice one. Thanks for the tip. I sent an inquiry to them.
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mettelus
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Re: Low-noise Mic Pre for Classical Guitar?
2015/03/16 00:05:56
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Something to consider with this is also your recording environment. The body of an acoustic guitar will resonant environmental noise as readily as it will a string. The sensitivity of a microphone and chosen placement can exacerbate this. Gates and noise reduction utilizes can be useful in a scenario where the noise floor can be recorded discretely (like a few seconds of "environment only" before and after each take).
ASUS ROG Maximus X Hero (Wi-Fi AC), i7-8700k, 16GB RAM, GTX-1070Ti, Win 10 Pro, Saffire PRO 24 DSP, A-300 PRO, plus numerous gadgets and gizmos that make or manipulate sound in some way.
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AT
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Re: Low-noise Mic Pre for Classical Guitar?
2015/03/16 01:17:53
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Your cheapest way is probably a focusrite ISA One. Lots of gain, a single transformer so it is clean but not too clinical, and plenty of do dads (if you find them useful). You can find them for $400 knew - or less on used on Ebay. It is a great sounding preamp for what you want.
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http://www.bnoir-film.com/ there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
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Beagle
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Re: Low-noise Mic Pre for Classical Guitar?
2015/03/16 08:34:57
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for a clean preamp, I'd go with a True Systems P-solo (which I own one of and it is truly very clean) or a Grace M101, which I would like to have because it's rack mountable (the p-solo is not). I haven't used the grace myself, but I've heard recordings made with them and they are very clean as well. either of them will give you simply true gain with no color. The P-solo is about $600 http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PSoloand the Grace is $740 http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/m101
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Cactus Music
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Re: Low-noise Mic Pre for Classical Guitar?
2015/03/16 10:07:59
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I bought a Joe Meek Three Q a few months ago and it was a wise purchase. I read a lot of reviews and it was either it for $230 or the Warm Audio which was $599. I'm sure the Warm is better but so far I've found no fault with the Joe Meek. It is dead quiet too. I've used it for Vocals, Acoustic guitar and Bass. http://www.joemeek.com/threeq.html http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TB12
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batsbrew
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Re: Low-noise Mic Pre for Classical Guitar?
2015/03/16 10:24:44
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wst3
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Re: Low-noise Mic Pre for Classical Guitar?
2015/03/16 20:31:19
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If it were me I'd go with either the Grace Designs or Millennia Media preamplifiers. Both companies offer many models, probably one that fits your application and budget. Both are clean, quiet, and built to last forever. I'd have a difficult time picking one as better than the other, they do have different sounds, but both are fantastic neutral microphone preamplifiers, very nearly "wire with gain".
-- Bill Audio Enterprise KB3KJF
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Genghis
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Re: Low-noise Mic Pre for Classical Guitar?
2015/03/16 22:50:34
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Thanks for all of the great suggestions. Been reading reviews and spec charts for the last couple of days and would probably have gone with the DAV, but it was just a little out of my price range. If I had a bit more of a budget I'd probably go for that or a pair of m101s for the clean pres.
As it came down though, I missed a deal on a Grace Designs m101 because I didn't bid high enough... found a pretty decent deal on a Focusrite ISA Two, and really need two clean, quiet channels anyway, so I snagged it. From the specs they look to be quite a bit quieter than the UA, here's hoping it sounds good as well. I have the UA for a few channels of color (although I'm considering putting it up for sale and getting one really nice colorful pre instead.)
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AT
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Re: Low-noise Mic Pre for Classical Guitar?
2015/03/17 01:25:47
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The ISAs are good, middle of the road preamps. Nobody really seems to love them most or have one use (well, maybe as a bass amp pre or DI) that it kills on, but they seem to do yeoman work on just about everything. You ought to be covered between the ISAs and the UA.
have fun.
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https://soundcloud.com/a-pleasure-dome
http://www.bnoir-film.com/ there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. 24 And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them.
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