Re: upgrade preamp for home recording

On Mar 21, 7:15 am, Mike Rivers <mriv...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
lustrousn...@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
He wants to keep his laptop setup , records using Octava mics (that's
plural by the way, so that's more than 1 mic, requires at least 2
preamps), records guitar and piano, wants to replace his preamp/
converter with another preamp/converter.  That's his application, and
what I suggested fits his application perfectly.

God damn, read his first post, fucking try to comprehend at least.

I looked at his first post. I didn't re-read the entire thread. First post,
February 16, quoted in its entirety:

It's been a while. I currently record in my home with octava mics into
a tascam US122 to laptop and use Cakewalk.
Results are pretty good but i'm looking to improve. I mainly record
classical and acoustic guitar and ocasionally piano. Someone suggested
the next logical upgrade would be a better pre-amp because the one in
the us122 is probably not that good. I want to keep using the laptop
setup and don't want to spend more than $500. Any suggestions?

Doesn't say anything about replacing "preamp/converter," he's only acting
on someone's recommendation for a better preamp. Since he's using
Cakewalk, his laptop is a PC, and that means that it's fairly unlikely that
it has a Firewire port, so he probably also wants to continue using a USB
connection. Otherwise he'll have to budget for a Firewire adapter card and
get that working.  Did  you even ask if he had Firewire available? Do you
see anything that suggests that he might want to use more tha two mics?

I found a second post from him on March 16:

OK, so give me some suggestions. To remind you, i have
octava mics--> tascam US-122--> laptop.
When recording, i select the tascam soundcard because it's better than
my crappy laptop card.
I am also going to 'treat' the room, following advise on Ethan Winers
website (but i'm making the absorbers myself),  and I'll measure
response before and after, as well as judge with my ears. One more
thing, I was using the cardioid capsules on the octava (because that's
all i had) but i recently purchased some omni capsules, so i'll do
some experimenting with that as well. In my recording i usually have
to cut some bass in post-EQ, probably from the proximity effect,
because to get the best sound my mics need to be only a few inches
from the guitar. Also, i do not have firewire, just USB.

So here, nearly three weeks later, he offers some more information. Here
he states that he does not have Firewire, a correct assumption that I had
made earlier.

On March 28, he explained his mic setup so that's one more piece of
information, (Oktava MK-012s) but it doesn't really change his hardware
requirements. However, it does throw a monkey wrench into the works.
Those mics have a checkered history, at least here in the US, where I
assume he is. When they were first imported from Russia, they were a
bit hit - practically a KM-84 for 1/10 the price. They were a big hit with
the home recording crowd. You could buy selected good ones from The
Sound Room. You could get random ones from Guitar Center. Later
on, you could get counterfeit and poorly made copies from Guitar Center.
And now there is a sort of legitimate distributor. So it's quite possible
that the real problem, if there indeed is one, is with his mics. Maybe
he should rent a pair of KM-84s from a reliable rental house next time
he has a session and see what that does for him.

At one point he said:

I tested my recording setup by recording a CD directly from the
speakers (PSB Image B-25's), one mic per speaker right in front of
grill) and playing back. I was surprised how good it sounded. It was
hard to distinguish from the CD direct. So i think the mics are pretty
good.

Um . .  Well the PSB B-25 is a pretty well thought of mid-priced audiophile
bookshelf speaker. That's a pretty good test so maybe his mics are OK,
or maybe his judgment isn't too good. Don't know yet, but at least he's
doing some experimenting and that's a good thing. With more resources
he could try a different preamp with his US-122, he could try the US-122
preamps with a different converter, and he could make some informed
decisions about HIS system. But he's probably in the same position as
most of the people who come to this newsgroup - he has no friends with
alternative gear and he has no local dealer he can go to for loaners. Geez,
I never had it so tough when I was getting set up 40 years ago.

You seem to have an agenda here, to discredit everyone contributing to
the discussion, so you probably either have a great memory and nothing else
to distract you or you have a set of notes that you keep handy to back up
your lame attempts to justify your recommendations. This isn't the way
I do business. The original poster is hopefully working on his room and
experimenting with mic placement so that he can get a better idea of
how good his existing hardware can really sound.

He seems to have caught on that you're a joker with nothing useful to say
and seems to have gone on his way. You should probably do the same.

--
If you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring and reach
me here:
double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo -- I'm really Mike Rivers
(mriv...@xxxxxxxxxxx)

No Mike, my only agenda was to help the original poster because I felt
I was in his situation before. I wanted to open his eyes to the
possibility that the problem could be something other than what he
thought it was. It was a sincere attempt to help someone. However,
most of you scumbags care more about inflating your ego than actually
understanding the problem and giving helpful advice. Look at you,
spouting on about what you know to inflate your ego. Creating straw
man arguments to appear to have a rational argument, when you're just
irrational, egocentric, pompous, and deluded fools. Who gives a ***
what you know Mike, get off your soapbox and get to the point.

It was only when you scumbags spoke to me as if I had no right to even
suggest anything that this happened. No one needs your permission to
suggest something Mike. You think you're a big shot but you're just a
deluded old fool that thinks he knows best when he can't even tie his
own shoelaces. You couldn't think up a solution that hasn't already
been thought up by someone else that did the thinking for you.

You can't even keep up with the thread let alone make a valid
argument. Every time someone points out something you missed; you
pretend like you knew it all along and try to patch it up, when you
haven't the faintest clue. I see through all your stupid bull***.
Either keep up or shut the *** up.

Well Mike I don't have the time nor the inclination to go back and
forth with you day after day so you can get it, when it's obvious you
have no desire to get it. Your only desire here is to be a long
winded show off and pain in the ass. "I did this, I know this, I
recommend this, only recommend things that receive my approval," ....

"Doesn't say anything about replacing "preamp/converter," "

- For that you have to be able to read between the lines, something
you seem to have no ability for. I keep having to read between the
lines for you; and since you're a repulsive old fart, you'll just have
to do it on your own now. The OP probably didn't even know what a
converter was until this thread, that's why he didn't mention it. See
Mike, you have to have at least half a brain left to be able to figure
that out.

For all your useless knowledge that you feel makes you superior and in
a better position to make a recommendation, you're still a useless old
twit who can't read between the lines and needs to comprehend before
he criticizes. In the future don't be spiteful and jealous towards
those who can. That's all Mike, end of story.

Now I really have work to do. This place reeks of old farts and
decaying nerds. You all need some fresh air, that's the problem. lol
.

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