FireFace 800 - Improving (Vocal & DI guitar) recordings

[HeadCrusher]

I'm working in a small studio that mostly produces Demo-tracks for solo-artists and we also do a lot of songwriting demos. What we basically do is record DI-tracks (and then use guitar rig and the like) and vocals of course. We do everything with a RME FireFace 800 and the onboard pres/instrument ins.

As we work with a lot of inexperienced singers we tend to not get very healthy levels on vocals (people moving away from the make more or less or singing louder/quieter from take to take and stuff like that...). So i wonder if a extra preamp/channelstrip would help to make that better. I was looking at the MindPrint Envoice MKII or the Focusrite Voicemaster Pro. Anyway it should cost € 600 at the most.

Also a dedicated compressor might be the way to go but the FireFace doesn't have inserts so I'm not sure if that would work...

Ideas?

 

[Amberience]

Make your singer more experienced. Tell them to "stop fuckin' moving!"

Saves you some cash, and saves the next poor sod having to put up with their "inexperience".

 

[HeadCrusher]

well, it wouldn't be my cash that i'd be spending so no prob here! ;-)
also i really want a comp for tracking...

what does everybody thing?

 

[AudioGeekZine]

I'd get something with SPDIF output so you don't degrade the signal through cabling as well as keeping all the line inputs free.

 

[colonel kurtz]

i wouldn't buy the focusrite if i were you...

 

[HeadCrusher]

thanks for the replies!

i'll look into pres with spdif-outs (suggestions?) but i think it shouldn't be a problem if it doesn't have one since the converters of the fireface are pretty good from what i've heard.

what's the matter with the focusrite? can you recommend any other units?