How important is a preamp REALLY

[AGDChad]

I've heard some chatter that a solid preamp is a better investment if you have an decent microphone. I've personally been running an AT 4033a directly into an SSL2+ interface and have been getting decent results, but have been considering snagging the Sony C-100 to experiment with that dual capsule setup. Should I focus my efforts more to a physical preamp or would a solid plugin chain mitigate the need for that?

[Benedict]

People love to talk about their gear like certain types of guys like to have showoff cars to a) catch a certain kind of lady (of the night) and b) to impress blokes like them. Great for makers of gear but not anywhere near as relevant to the task of music making as indicated by the loud Larrys.

As you have in fact noted, your SSL2+ has a very workable preamp. So why use a pre into a pre? Maybe according to some metric in the marketing, the standalone pre may be more betterer BUT that in no way correlates to a better song. Take for example "Bat Out of Hell" which technically is not an amazing-sounding record, yet it is a totally amazing record. The quality of the gear is nothing to do with the quality of the songs & performances.

Use what you've got and only buy new things when they stop working. Otherwise you are probably avoiding.

[cryophonik]

It’s generally a good idea to pair a good mic with a good preamp optimize the performance of the mic and/or add some color/character to the sound. If you have a low-gain mic it’s sometimes advantageous or even necessary to add more gain. My understanding is that the SSL2+ has good preamps and plenty of gain, so I personally wouldn’t buy an outboard preamp unless I really wanted a particular flavor.

[havran]

I imagine that if you have a good, sensitive mic you wouldn't want the preamp to "warble" electronically even in the slightest -- that is, you would want the preamp to provide the steadiest and most level signal boost over time possible.

[lfm]

Should I focus my efforts more to a physical preamp or would a solid plugin chain mitigate the need for that?

Focus on getting as nice sound as possible into computer from start, and get the best preamps you can afford.
- then there is very little that needs "fixing"

As said, SSL2+ probably have good preamps, but what a better preamp might do is providing more options for impedance for mikes connected, to get the best out of them.

It also depends a little bit on where you are in your journey. If you have been using SSL2+ for a good while maybe go for SSL Pure Drive Quad or something connected to ADAT, it has many options with impedance for microphones which make a lot of difference for the same mike. And works as a usb-c interface as well if you want to replace the one you use now, with no ADAT.

[AGDChad]

I will say generally speaking I've been very much enjoying the sounds I've been getting out of the SSL2+ interface, seems to me based off of this I might be better off investing in introducing a little variety to my mic locker. Thanks everybody!

[Jim Roseberry]

Many audio interfaces come with decent mic preamps and decent DIs.
While a high-end external mic preamp isn't absolutely necessary, it can make a significant difference.

ie: If you're recording a passive Fender style electric bass via a cheap DI, it can sound weak/anemic.

Something like a Neve Shelford Channel can make a HUGE difference in that DI bass recording.
Years ago, I struggled with DI bass recording. With plugins, the bass sounded OK... but it took a fair bit of processing. I remember being on forums... and some of the older guys (who could afford quality outboard) saying, "DI bass recording is super easy." Got my hands on my first Neve Portico II... and instantly realized what they meant. The bass signal was robust (guts/balls whatever adjective you want to use)... and didn't require a lot of additional processing.

A high-end preamp can also help bring out the best in all your current microphones.

Nice preamps are somewhat like buying tires. It's not an instrument or mic... so it's easy to put-off. Higher end preamps are also expensive (hard to afford when you're younger, have kids, etc).
While I wouldn't let lack of outboard preamps stop me from making music, they can make a significant difference.

I originally bought a PolyBrute 12... and returned it because I thought it sounded a bit too thin.
A couple months later, I thought... I'll bet that PolyBrute 12 would sound great running thru a 1073 style preamp. Got another PolyBrute 12, ran it thru a 1073 clone, and it was the perfect complement.

I like the Neve sound... so I ultimately acquired enough RNDIs, preamps, and clones so all my gear is running thru them.

Outboard can be a substantial investment.
Do as much research as possible... and try to go someplace (like Sweetwater) where you can audition in person. Make sure you like the "character" that piece of outboard is going to apply.

Companies like Warm Audio are releasing pretty decent clones at much lower cost.
Behringer have also just released a two channel 1073 clone and a two channel Neve style compressor/limiter. Both together are ~$1200.
While not exactly a Neve, these units still impart a similar (flattering) character.

Back to audio interface onboard preamps.
They're decent quality... and reasonably quiet.
If you have to open up these preamps (higher gain settings), they'll often be more noisy than a higher-end outboard unit.
No onboard preamps are the 1:1 equivalent of the best outboard.
You can't put $8000 of preamp circuitry in a $600 audio interface.

If you're primarily doing over-dubs (not tracking full bands), you can likely get away with one or two channels of nice outboard.

Outboard preamps are (in my mind) something of an all-or-nothing proposition.
I wouldn't waste money on mediocre outboard preamps.
Those won't offer enough benefit to justify the cost.
Would something like a Neve Shelford Channel make a significant difference?
Absolutely no doubt.
Can you make music without it? Obviously.

When/if you get an outboard preamp, you want to run it into line input (versus into the audio interface preamps). You want to bypass the onboard preamps if at all possible.
Problem with many inexpensive audio interfaces, there's no means to bypass the onboard preamps.

[AGDChad]

I've definitely looked a lot into 1073 clones. Even the preamp plugins with the 73s I feel sound great so it's definitely made me question looking into those specifically. Most of my use case in studio right now is a vocal engineer. It definitely seems like a solid investment, I'm just trying to make sure I'm not bottlenecking myself in the process.

[cryophonik]

Most of my use case in studio right now is a vocal engineer.

Have you considered going beyond a preamp and getting a full channel strip? I primarily record vocals (also bass and guitar) as well and always liked owning channel strips with onboard gate/expander, de-esser, comp, and EQ. There are obviously pros/cons of each, but it’s something to consider.

Another option to consider is one of the UAD Apollos, which is what I’ve been doing for the past 5 years. The Unison preamps are really great and the various Unison-powered plugins model the input circuitry of many classic preamps and channel strips, allow you to match/mismatch impedances, etc. right at the preamp stage. You can buy a secondhand TwinX pretty cheap these days. Just another option to consider.

[lfm]

Outboard can be a substantial investment.
Do as much research as possible... and try to go someplace (like Sweetwater) where you can audition in person. Make sure you like the "character" that piece of outboard is going to apply.

You can't put $8000 of preamp circuitry in a $600 audio interface.

I think the rack units with ADAT is the perfect solution, if interface has ADAT.
- no analog in interface used

Neve 1073OPX can be equipped with ADAT as well.
Grace Design M108 has ADAT.
- these land on $5500 or so 8 channels

As SSL Pure Drive series is ADAT. The clever thing SSL did was to provide a 4 channel rack version making it half price.
- the Quad is around $1100 or so
- but can cascade a second unit later if you want, on the same optical
- and there is a 8 channel version too, but a fixed HP 75 Hz on this, no knob

Couldn't be happier than with the Quad. Rendered some midi from Mp7SE piano and REV2 so far and just floored over result.
- Audient ASP was decent, this was special a couple of notches

Also some interesting features like the drive modes Classic or Assymetrical. Assymetrical is in the ballpark of 4000 series, but not designed to be really, according to SSL support.
- 4 options impedance mike inputs. Line inputs fixed at 22kohm.
- you have to experiment with input level in drive modes
- not going +24 dB on leds, making it 0 dBFs into unit, it's taking it too far
- clean mode is all fine with a tiny bit compression, but stick to +12-18 dB and neutral just very, very clean and nice

Listened to some YT demos and they went all the way +24 dB and it sounded far out, and not so usable in my taste.

With a push of a button you can make send out on DB25 connector and take 4 first inputs back into unit. Can also be used to have fixed XLR connected on regular inputs and just take line on DB25, so no need for cable swapping if having that setup and just a button push to change to DB25.

But can be used as having a compressor or something else in the chain.

[havran]

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[kelvyn]

If you have a good microphone and a decent interface you probably don’t need an extra pre amp.
But! Nuance is the word when it comes to fine tuning.
I have a decent interface - RME - and some good to great pre amps - Summit, Cranborne, Golden Age and Focusrite - plus two really fantastic microphones. I was using the pre amps of the RME for quick and dirty vocals with my SM7b and Cloudlifter and was just as happy with the sound as with the external pre amps in my voice. For other productions with vocalists I would use one of the others, all good just different shades of good. I just invested in a new pre amp that’s made by the same company as one of my better microphones and although the difference might be perceived as relatively small - in the grand scheme of things - it’s the first time that a vocalist has said that they noticed a big difference as they really enjoyed singing into it. Do you really need an external pre amp? Maybe not. Does it bring something to the production - in a nuanced fashion - definitely:)
Good luck:)

[_leras]

. I've personally been running an AT 4033a directly into an SSL2+ interface and have been getting decent results, but have been considering snagging the Sony C-100 to experiment with that dual capsule setup.

You're interface is more than fine from that, plus much better mics.

There are, if you look around, some really great mics that don't break the bank.

There are definitely plug ins that will be the most cost effective way to improve your sound. I'd suggest the UAD LA2A for a starter if you're recording vocals.

[I_Am_Become_KVR]

The Entry Level SSL interfaces have pretty decent preamps for the money, actually.

Buying a nicer preamp is never a waste of money though, it's one of the crucial links in audio recording. Moreso than microphones, I would argue. There are many great preamps for cheap nowadays, or splurge for the name brand stuff.

[_leras]

I'm not so sure. you'd have need to pay quite a lot to get a better pre than the SSL. More than for a better mic, and definitely more than a couple of good plug ins.