KVR Audio

cowby · Post by **cowby** » Fri Jul 01, 2016 4:44 am

Hi,

I mix with headphone and I came across a plugin called Pre-amp. In what situation do I need it ? Will it colorize the mix and sound?

Really appreciate if someone here can share with your knowledge.

Best Regards!

Cowby

nickamandote · Post by **nickamandote** » Fri Jul 01, 2016 5:06 am

to add saturation and warmth...?

Jax Pok · Post by **Jax Pok** » Fri Jul 01, 2016 11:01 am

It hides that digital sound makes it more interesting and hit it hard enough will compress and saturate making it a bit louder. Really great to have some tube warmth.

electro · Post by **electro** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 5:36 am

Read this (SGA1566).
http://shatteredglassaudio.com/product.php?id=104

Ah_Dziz · Post by **Ah_Dziz** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 6:08 am

Nope. There are a few good mic preamp models out there that add some good mojo to your sound, but I would leave that up to your actual preamp.

electro · Post by **electro** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 8:23 am

and what do you do when your source is ITB generated?

skipscada · Post by **skipscada** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 9:05 am

Primarily, a hardware preamp amplifies a signal to an adequate level for the next chain in the link. This is obviously not relevant when working in the box.

Different hardware preamps have different characteristics, and affect the signal in different ways and in varying degrees from the near transparent to the heavily coloured. This can be used to bring out certain characteristcs in the source sound and previous links in the chain (basically the mic) or to create a signal that will fit in the mix without (much) further treatment.

Software preamps primarily aim to deliver colouring. They can be useful as a a simple way to achieve a particular sound without having to create and tweak a chain of other effects. There are free ones that you can try out, and that's the only way to know if they're of any use to you at this stage.

malachy5 · Post by **malachy5** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 12:13 pm

There is a great free pre-amp with Computer Music, well worth the price.

Nice for adding a bit of saturation by driving the signal into the plug, it helps inject a bit/lot of mojo without having to get fiddly and clinical with EQ. Lindell are a class act, their EQ is superb.

http://www.musicradar.com/computermusic ... -cm-621697

Ah_Dziz · Post by **Ah_Dziz** » Mon Jul 04, 2016 9:53 pm

electro wrote:and what do you do when your source is ITB generated?

If your source is generated in the box then there is no need for a preamp. If you want distortion like you get from various preamps in the world, you can just add it. It's far more flexible that way anyways.

foo21345 · Post by **foo21345** » Sun Jul 10, 2016 6:44 pm

Warmth, saturation, and distortion that a good pre can add can be really tasty. That's why some vintage outboard gear and mixing desks command hefty prices.
Having said that, my two faves are SGA1566 MkII http://www.shatteredglassaudio.com/product.php?id=105 and Code Red http://www.shatteredglassaudio.com/product.php?id=107, both are inexpensive upgrades to their free versions SGA1566 and Code Red Free.
You can get a Lindell preamp sim, that emulates their hardware pre, free with a purchase of an issue of Computer Music Magazine.

Aloysius · Post by **Aloysius** » Sun Jul 10, 2016 9:58 pm

I think what they're trying to say is, no you don't need one but if you want to distort your sound in a pleasing way you might consider using a software pre-amp.

flugel45 · Post by **flugel45** » Mon Jul 11, 2016 2:35 pm

cowby wrote:... plugin called Pre-amp. In what situation do I need it ?

You don't need it, except to colourize the mix and sound.

cowby wrote:... Will it colorize the mix and sound?

See above.

A hardware preamp is a different animal, and if you're using a mic, you already have one.

DJbrimLo · Post by **DJbrimLo** » Tue Jul 12, 2016 5:35 am

For me personally, I got caught up in my personal "need" to have all of my channels hit a Plugin based Pre-Amp of some sort. Some preamps are cleaner than others so the rate at which they color and effect dynamics will vary, to contribute to responding to the question asked. I started questioning my workflow as it became be a good deal of time setting up "plugin-based" preamps on every channel. I started to think, why do I feel I need to setup a pre for every channel? The sounds I composed with were samples that have been previously processed. I spend a good deal of time selecting the sounds in which I want to use together. So outside of some basic EQ or compression I shouldn't have to do as much in regards to "getting the sound right." I know a lot of the influence was from the amount of them showing in the market place from so many different develops in the past 5 years or so. All that said, channel pre-amps aren't a need but they can be a lot of fun to dive into. Any version of a 73 is my current favorite. T-Racks has a very nice Pre73. Slate FG73, is a great plug. When you increase the intensity it automatically lowers the output gain. This is great for gain staging. Schleps 73 has a link I/O function also so that you can gain stage properly. UAD's 2nd revision of 1073 is one of my favorite, but one instance alone is a DSP hog.

Fleer · Post by **Fleer** » Wed Jul 13, 2016 2:38 am

Talking about Slate, those new pre-amps sound sweet indeet. Or sweed indeed.

electro · Post by **electro** » Wed Jul 13, 2016 2:35 pm

Ah_Dziz wrote:
electro wrote:and what do you do when your source is ITB generated?
If your source is generated in the box then there is no need for a preamp. If you want distortion like you get from various preamps in the world, you can just add it.

That is the whole purpose of Preamp emulation plugin.

Do I need a pre-amp plug-in?