Behringer ULTRAVOICE VX2000 Mic preamp

[sboy]

Anybody have experience with this mic preamp inputting to Tracktion?
I have a mic preamp at the moment but with no compressor. I feel that I need compression for my vox and especially for guitar solos.
Any way I can do it in software during recording?

[Lunch Money]

Yes and no.

No amount of software compression will allow you to avoid digital clipping with a too-hot signal. You MUST use hardware for that. Or, record at a lower level and then normalize it.

I don't have experience with the Behringer, but I recently decided to sort out my own vocal / guitar problems, and went for this instead:

ART TubeMP Studio V3

The zzounds review is low, but if you read them, it's mostly because people didn't understand what they were buying. Is it the absolute best tube limiter/pre ever made? No way! But it's good value for the $, and sounds a lot better than the "6.6/10" review. I researched it a while ago, and I remember it got pretty good reviews on actual music sites, though I can't remember which.

Greg

[timandmonica]

I haven't heard the ART pre but I used to be a dealer for a company that made inexpensive tube channel strips. I have one new one left here that's only a single channel but if you want it you can have it for my cost ($120 give or take a couple bucks?). A link is here - http://www.free-scores.com/boutique/bou ... EGORIE=627

A pic is here - http://images.misupply.com/products/ori ... 132700.jpg

I don't care if you buy it; I'm not making any money. Just thought I'd offer you another option to the world of low-cost pre's.

Tim

[C00kie]

The short answer is: yes, you can do compression with software during (and even better: after!) recording.

The preamp you have should be fine with Tracktion or any other music program. Its only task is to convert the mic signal to line level.

There is a very wide range of VST compressors to choose from, so you have to pick which one (and with which settings) you like best for which occasions. Thats why I like to apply it after recording, so you can experiment what works best without having to re-record everything.

[AsianCarol]

I have the behringer VX2496,and i am very happy with it.You can plug it straight into your soundcard if you want,but the way how to use it is up to you.Some people really don't like Behringer,and i really wonder why,because it's top quality stuff they're making.

[bewing77]

There is, however no reason whatsoever to apply software compression during recording. Since the signal has already passed the A/D-converter before the software comp any clipping will already have occured. So if you don't have a decent hardware comp you just have to lower the input level enough for it not to clip. If you later need to get that signal up you can compress as much as you like. This is not as bad as it sounds though. With modern high-bit A/D-converters you have alot of headroom, so you won't get as much noise as would be expected. But still, the best idea is to have a hardware compressor so that the wildest peaks can be tamed. Sucks to have a good take clip just because the singer moves to close to the mic for a tenth of a second during the chorus.

[GaryG]

ok, so they won't all do this but :

my mate had one of these behringer voice channels (early model, no digital stage) and it actually caught fire... he's awful for just plugging stuff in and pushing buttons without really knowing what he's doing so operator error i case but it still shouldn't actually combust...

he replaced it with one of those cheap little behringer valve pre-amps (eh... mic100?) with a built-in limiter and i was suprprised how good it sounds.

.g

[Lunch Money]

The short answer is: yes, you can do compression with software during (and even better: after!) recording.

But the even shorter answer is: YES, you can do it, but NO it won't have any effect whatsoever on whether or not your signal clips, which is what he's looking for... some control over the signal as it goes into the soundcard.

[djsubject]

my emu 1820m seems to cover such problems by putting a compressor in the patch mix

i no this is no help to any one with out a emu sound card but i thought i would spend my 2 pence

[IIRs]

my emu 1820m seems to cover such problems by putting a compressor in the patch mix

Digital compressor? Still won't protect your ADC from overs..

[C00kie]

it won't have any effect whatsoever on whether or not your signal clips, which is what he's looking for...

Hmmm, I didn't read there was a clipping issue in the original first post:

I feel that I need compression for my vox and especially for guitar solos. Any way I can do it in software during recording?

[djsubject]

that was the post i was responding to thanx but it dose fix any cliping from emu patch mix to host as long as my 192hz 24 bit head room isint peaked

it also has 2 realy nice pre amps 4 mic & gutar inputs

[Lunch Money]

quoting and double-posting weirdness edited.

[Lunch Money]

it won't have any effect whatsoever on whether or not your signal clips, which is what he's looking for...

Hmmm, I didn't read there was a clipping issue in the original first post:

I feel that I need compression for my vox and especially for guitar solos. Any way I can do it in software during recording?

Fair enough. I suppose I was only going on inference rather than what he actually said.

The sentence before the one you quoted was: "I have a mic preamp at the moment but with no compressor." To me, the implied message was, "I really think I want a compressor on my pre." Usually the reason for wanting a compressor on your pre is because you're not getting a hot and consistent enough signal for your tastes, something that can be remedied with hardware but not software.

[SuitcaseOfLizards]

Anybody have experience with this mic preamp inputting to Tracktion?
I have a mic preamp at the moment but with no compressor. I feel that I need compression for my vox and especially for guitar solos.
Any way I can do it in software during recording?

I have the VX2000 and use it for getting a nice, level, reasonably hot signal in to Tracktion for vocals. This cheap-o unit actually sounds better than most of the software voice channels I have tried, so I'm very happy with it.

I have a Behringer V-Amp Pro for my guitar work (can you tell I'm cheap yet?), it works a treat for getting a nice raunchy sound without my neighbors petitioning to have me evicted!

Both of these feed into an M-Audio Delta 44, I've run balanced cables from these units as well to help prevent any signal degradation (since everything is right next to the computer).

If you just want to compress things, record as hot as you can without clipping then use something like the PSP MixPressor or one of the Voxengo compressors on the resulting track - turn on end-to-end and you can monitor the effect of the compressor while you record (although, of course, as has been pointed out this won't prevent overs on your soundcard inputs - you'll still have to watch those).

Good luck with it!