Hi Bitflipper - thanks for the explanation!  So would you recommend plugging the mic right into the audio interface?

bitflipper
 
Personally, I like to keep things as clean as possible going in, and then subsequently add controlled distortion as needed. That leaves you with the most mixing options. 

+1 to this, once you "bake" an effect into a signal, it is nearly impossible to remove it. If you ever get into that "hmmm, I would rather it have this effect instead," you have pretty much bought a re-tracking scenario. As a general rule, I will also record dry signals for the same reason Bit mentioned.

mettelus

bitflipper
 
Personally, I like to keep things as clean as possible going in, and then subsequently add controlled distortion as needed. That leaves you with the most mixing options. 

+1 to this, once you "bake" an effect into a signal, it is nearly impossible to remove it. If you ever get into that "hmmm, I would rather it have this effect instead," you have pretty much bought a re-tracking scenario. As a general rule, I will also record dry signals for the same reason Bit mentioned.

see i was told at the store that you always want a pre-amp because it sounds better than the preamps in the interface.   

Are you recommending plugging the mic right into the audio interface?

Ultimately this is up to you and what you prefer. As long as a signal is clean, you can do just about anything you want with it "in the box." Definitely try the interface on its own.

Better preamps can be better, and although I've never used the presonus,  most of the better preamps cost a lot of more money than either unit you are using (could good tube hardware costs even more).  A mid-priced tube or built-in transformer can cost more than an entire entry-level interface.  I'm sure your salesperson would love for you to buy a Warm or Neve, which would give you a better preamp and more commission for them.
 
However, the enhancement of a really nice preamp is a subtle thing which takes a certain monitoring quality to hear and some experience too.  More expensive designs and high-quality (cost) components don't just jump out at a person.  What isn't so subtle is the higher output so you can use a mic farther away from the subject which can even out the sound, like a compressor, as well as find a better spot as far as room and tone is concerned.  Another thing is they are less easily overdriven - instead of immediate distortion you get a thickening saturation that adds little hairs like cilia to your recorded sound and opens up other techniques.  It is not so much a problem solver as a better problem solver.
 
So for most of us a good transformerless preamp design (the kind found in most interfaces and many mixers) works most of the time with most sounds and usually the cost starts at several hundred dollars to get a better pre.  The presonus most likely has pretty much the same preamp (with a starved-plate tube-effect tied in) as your interface.  No need for it, unless you like the tube effect, which you don't on your voice.  Don't use the extra preamp.  A preamp simply steps up a mic-level signal to line level.  Plugging a pre into a pre isn't necessary.  If you can't find anything you like the tube effect on, take the item back.

thanks for the information.  Someone on gearslutz replied with:
 
"you're not plugging the pre amp into the interface with a mic cable by any chance are you?

Line level input should be a TRS cable. If using an xlr cable you are pre amping the signal twice and could be adding some distortion especially on the plosive parts"
 
 
so thats why i thought that.  thanks for clearing that up.

Hi Silver,
 
I'll give you my opinion for what it's worth....
 
I'm not a great engineer or anything, but I have had really good "better than average" recordings for most of my recording days. In most of them, I found I got the same results with a pre and without one. For example, I (thankfully) have had a good business going for numerous years and have been financially "safe" with buying gear. I've had so many mic pre's and outboard gear...it was crazy. One day I started getting rid of it because I found other methods that to me, gave me the same results.
 
Now, though this is going to sound stupid....it's really the truth. I've gotten a lot of compliments over the years on stuff that I've done. Rarely have I been asked to speak about my signal chain. One day I made a friend in someone that has about 90 million sales as a producer/engineer. He asked me what I used to get some of the sounds I was getting and he was blown away that I didn't use a dedicated mic pre.
 
I have for years, used a Mackie 32-8 console. I've either recorded direct or mic'd things up. Now granted, there is a mic pre on each channel on that board, but I used so little of it to get between -6 and -10 dB, to me a mic pre was barely used. Other times during my direct recordings, I never touched them ic pre trim knob because the ouput on the device was just loud enough and gave me the signal I needed. So yes, I sort of used a pre but not the way most people use pre's for coloration and all that other garbage. I found that unless I needed a specific color from a pre that absolutely had to be captured, there was really no reason for one.
 
Speaking of my friend with the 90 million sales....I happened to interview him one day just because I wanted to. One of the questions I asked him was "do you really need to use mic pre's?" His answer was No, you absolutely do not!" That engineer/producer is Beau Hill...who was quite famous in the 80's. I need to post the interview up here one of these days. :)
 
In this field, a lot of the sounds and situations you find yourself in will be subjective. Other things will only matter to you or a small amount of people. At the end of the day, you have to use what works for you. I have found that the more people I listen to, the more I go astray and lose my way. Of course there are things I have learned from others that have helped me....but other times, I've been taken on a wild goose chase that has sent me reading for nothing. You have to learn when to stop and read to where you can apply what you learned, and when to move on because something is a big bunch of hype. I've always felt that mic pre's are just that. A big bunch of hype where people feel the need to justify and brag about a pricey piece of gear that may make a 2% difference....and the key word there "difference" meaning *different* not necessarily "better".
 
So though a pre can and will make a difference, the big deciding factor for me has been "what am I going for and how do I need to get there?" In some instances, a dedicated, colorful pre is the answer. Even a tube pre. Other times, the pre in my new Midas M-32 console works perfectly and gets me to -6 dB the way I want....which is all I need.
 
See, I'm all for processing non-destructively. I am in the camp that feels we can process enough with plugins to come close enough to what hardware can give us. Not exact, as there are things that plugs and sims can't do.....but they can get so close, the only one that will notice is you when you solo something up....or some gear snob engineer that doesn't understand that the buying public listens to his $100,000000 recording as an mp3 through $3 earbuds. ;) Don't buy into the hype unless it is completely justified.
 
-Danny

SilverBlueMedallion
 
see i was told at the store that you always want a pre-amp because it sounds better than the preamps in the interface.   

Are you recommending plugging the mic right into the audio interface?

Let's put it this way. I'd rate the four mic pres in my RME UFX as likely to be better than any cheap pre-amp, and most middle-range ones. They're quiet and uncoloured which gives a good platform to build on.
 
An entry-level interface's pres might well be worse than inexpensive stand-alone pres, or not - only your ears can judge that. But entry-level interfaces can also be very good nowadays, once you're out of the rock-bottom level ones, as they go up in price you pay more and more for smaller and smaller improvements. Which is true of pretty much all audio gear.
 
And a better, or just different, mic might make far more difference than adding in a pre-amp... As might de-essing the offending tracks or careful eq. Or backing off from the mic, using a better windshield or a combination of all of that. If the mic or how you're using it is producing the plosives and sibilance all a different pre-amp will do is make them sound slightly different, it won't remove them.