# Pre-amp recommendation for 'warm' violin/guitar/piano recording?



## jtyh1g11 (Aug 5, 2020)

Hi all, hope everyone's well!

I want to start recording the instruments in my home studio (namely violin, viola, cello, acoustic guitar and acoustic upright piano) for potential library tracks.

I'm pretty inexperienced in home recording but want to get the best quality production I can. I've listed my main equipment below. *I'm now looking for a mic-preamp* (ideally 2 channels, don't need more than that right now) to suit this home-studio setup for the aforementioned acoustic instruments.

First off, do I even need a preamp? If so, what would your recommendations be? I can't afford Neve or API models, but would be really grateful to hear your suggestions for affordable options?

Mics: 2 x KM184's, 1 x AKG C414.
Audio Interface: RME Fireface UC

Thanks for sticking with this post!
Any input would be very welcome!
Jot


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## iobaaboi (Aug 5, 2020)

A buddy of mine has a Warm Audio WA273-EQ that we used to track bass on a project of his I played on and I thought it sounded great. We compared it to his BAE 1073 clones and I preferred the Warm. The build quality is pretty solid as well. I think you’d be hard pressed to do better for $1500 elsewhere.


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## gsilbers (Aug 5, 2020)

jtyh1g11 said:


> Hi all, hope everyone's well!
> 
> I want to start recording the instruments in my home studio (namely violin, viola, cello, acoustic guitar and acoustic upright piano) for potential library tracks.
> 
> ...



thats the top argument at gearslutz 

the onboard rme pres are good for clean sound. 

the warm you might be after is that gain knob before the volume which enhances the harmonics while you lower the volume.. it saturates it a bit. and it creates that sort of sound. 
there are several flavors at decent prices. 

like iobaaboi said, the warm audio stuff is good. 
also golden age pre is a good option as well. if you google GAP73 vs neve preamp youll get some good AB comparisons that for just $250-500 it sounds very good.


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## Rory (Aug 5, 2020)

jtyh1g11 said:


> *I'm now looking for a mic-preamp* (ideally 2 channels, don't need more than that right now) to suit this home-studio setup for the aforementioned acoustic instruments.
> 
> First off, do I even need a preamp? If so, what would your recommendations be? I can't afford Neve or API models, but would be really grateful to hear your suggestions for affordable options?
> 
> ...



What's wrong with the mike preamps on your US$1350 RME Fireface UC?


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## Stringtree (Aug 5, 2020)

Dude, you've got some great gear already. Like really great. If everything burned down and I had to deal with what you have, I'd be okay.

If you had an M-Audio or something and an MXL, I would have pointed you to Audient, RME, Millenia, maybe a KM184. Your room sounds like it might (?) be not so great, so a toolbox to deal with that reality would cost less than expensive stuff that is odd in a home environment.

Ohhhhhhhh. I see what you're after. A preamp that fights back. Tooth, grit, arm wrestling, dirt. 

@gsilbers and @Rory and @iobaaboi are right. 

If you're itching to spend money, whee. I would recommend learning about the room in which you wish to record, its shortcomings, and what you need to do to fix it. 

In fact, I dare you to post some examples right here of what it actually sounds like. I'm sure a few here will be able to tell you within about 20 milliseconds what's in need of improvement. Cello. Violin. All that. And after spending a couple hundred dollars:

What you already have will sound AMAZING. I PROMISE. 

You have the best stuff for that honest recording already. Spend more and it's diminishing returns. Show us what you got already and let's figure out what you mean by the word "warm." 

Joe, I'm serious, not making fun. If you're inexperienced at recording, some very good folks have already come to your aid. You can fix this fast and not spend a lot.


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## jtyh1g11 (Aug 6, 2020)

iobaaboi said:


> A buddy of mine has a Warm Audio WA273-EQ that we used to track bass on a project of his I played on and I thought it sounded great. We compared it to his BAE 1073 clones and I preferred the Warm. The build quality is pretty solid as well. I think you’d be hard pressed to do better for $1500 elsewhere.



Thanks *iobaaboi *that's a great suggestion I'll certainly investigate!


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## jtyh1g11 (Aug 6, 2020)

Rory said:


> What's wrong with the mike preamps on your US$1350 RME Fireface UC?



Thanks* Rory*, to be honest I'm probably falling into the trap of "I don't like the sound I'm currently getting, what gear can I throw at it". That's was big part of the question, to determine whether what I had was enough for high quality sound capture, I seem to always hear people discussing certain preamps.


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## Living Fossil (Aug 6, 2020)

jtyh1g11 said:


> I'm pretty inexperienced in home recording but want to get the best quality production I can.



Instead of looking for a preamp i would rather double-check the acoustics of your recording room.
It's easier to add harmonics to a recorded signal than to eliminate unwanted reflections from that signal.


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## gsilbers (Aug 6, 2020)

jtyh1g11 said:


> Thanks* Rory*, to be honest I'm probably falling into the trap of "I don't like the sound I'm currently getting, what gear can I throw at it". That's was big part of the question, to determine whether what I had was enough for high quality sound capture, I seem to always hear people discussing certain preamps.



if you have a way of testing a pre amp like warm audio or GAP73 and then return it, you could gauge it better and see if its necessary. 

id say the room acoustics and mics would be the most important. then preamps and fx plugins.


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## jtyh1g11 (Aug 6, 2020)

Stringtree said:


> Dude, you've got some great gear already. Like really great. If everything burned down and I had to deal with what you have, I'd be okay.
> 
> If you had an M-Audio or something and an MXL, I would have pointed you to Audient, RME, Millenia, maybe a KM184. Your room sounds like it might (?) be not so great, so a toolbox to deal with that reality would cost less than expensive stuff that is odd in a home environment.
> 
> ...



Hi *Stringtree,* thank you very much for your response and encouragement!

You've probably hit the nail on the head here. I have some rudimentary acoustic treatment in main areas but it's a pretty small, boxy room full of hard surfaces. I've mainly used VST's in the past, now I'm looking into recording acoustic instruments in the room, it needs to be looked at, I'll have to do some research into that.

When I get into the studio, I'll do a bit of recording and post some results. It's mainly that the instruments tend to sound weak and thin, probably more to do with positioning, acoustics and technique than anything else.

Never itching to spend money , so if better/more effective treatment is a better solution, I'll be very happy with that.

Thanks for your help, I'm very grateful!


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## jtyh1g11 (Aug 6, 2020)

Living Fossil said:


> Instead of looking for a preamp i would rather double-check the acoustics of your recording room.
> It's easier to add harmonics to a recorded signal than to eliminate unwanted reflections from that signal.



Thanks *Living Fossil, *I think that'll definitely be the first thing I'll look at!


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## Markus Kohlprath (Aug 6, 2020)

I have exactly the same mics and interface as you. I got a Neve 1073 dpa on ebay fortunately which is great because it has two preamps for stereo recording. I would not want to live without it anymore. There is a significant difference in tone compared to the rme preamps which are not bad at all of course and have been used by me for years. Not to mention the possibilities to shape the tone with different settings.


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