Question about Reamping with a PRE73 Preamp

[Vaggelis_Revolted]

+1 to Eduardo, you want your DI to be as clean and uncolored as possible.

I didn't fullly understand this concept when I was full blown noob just want to make sure that's this is clear.

To get the cleanest DI possible with the least amount of tranny color on the signal. Set output knob to full output yes 100%. Then adjust the input to get the desired output. Think about it like a guitar amp if you want no distortion but a loud signal you would turn you master volume up aka output then adjust your preamp gain aka input up just loud enough to get your signal.

Thank you, that's exactly what i did, while recording the sample posted above! I had really good results using an ampsim, but i'm not sure if it's better to buy a DI box when it comes to our full-length (real amps!)

There are mixed answers, the general idea is that the PRE 73 is NOT transparent (it will surely add coloration), but i STILL haven't decided if i can rely on the device for a professional high-end recording.

So let me change the question, because we will have to decide on the next few days:

Can i have good results by reamping with a cheap Samson DI? If the answer is yes, i have no reason to keep on using the PRE73 DI.

The answer would be clear if someone took the time to reamp the above sample posted, but if that's not possible, we can't risk recording a whole full length album with a device that might not be suitable!
Cheers!

 

[if6was9]

You won't a defintive answer for questions like this, because quality is subjective.

Does the guitar sound good to you using amp sims when you use DI's from the pre73? If they do then use it. If they don't then try something else. You'll get equally varying answers reagrding the samson and you won't know which is better for you till you buy one and try it. Could be worse than the pre 73, could be better and depending on who the person is listening the answer could change.

There is no line where something becomes "good enough for pro use". The only real guideline is price. If they sell DI boxes for 200€, chances are they're going to sound better than ones that cost 40€ and you will find more pros telling you to go for the expensive one.

edit: if it sounds good with amp sims, it will sound good with reamping. you don't have to reamp it to find out what the quality is like

 

[Vaggelis_Revolted]

You won't a defintive answer for questions like this, because quality is subjective.

Does the guitar sound good to you using amp sims when you use DI's from the pre73? If they do then use it. If they don't then try something else. You'll get equally varying answers reagrding the samson and you won't know which is better for you till you buy one and try it. Could be worse than the pre 73, could be better and depending on who the person is listening the answer could change.

There is no line where something becomes "good enough for pro use". The only real guideline is price. If they sell DI boxes for 200€, chances are they're going to sound better than ones that cost 40€ and you will find more pros telling you to go for the expensive one.

edit: if it sounds good with amp sims, it will sound good with reamping. you don't have to reamp it to find out what the quality is like

I agree, a more suitable term would be "versatility" (not quality) The main reason i ask about the Pre73, is because we will have our record mixed by another engineer, so i am not sure if it will be suitable for all the engineers out there!

Thanx for your answers anyway!

 

[Vaggelis_Revolted]

For the record, decided to go with the PRE73, cleanest settings possible! Hope it turns out well, promise to post samples when it is finished (gonna take some time though till we start recording)

Cheers!

 

[Vaggelis_Revolted]

Resurrecting the thread, the time has come to record the guitars:
Still a bit hesitant, so we are looking at the possibility of buying a BSS AR133 and connect it at the PRE73 mic preamp. More money, safer choice i suppose.

Any thoughts? Thought it would be a risk to use just the PRE73 as the feedback and opinions so far are mixed (from really bad to really good). Hopefully someone has tried the PRE73 DI method since the creation of this thread and can give as some more feedback. (test DI sample link still working, just in case anyone is interested in using it)

 

[Vaggelis_Revolted]

SO, i decided to send an email to CA, asking them whether we should track guitars directly to the PRE73 DI front input, or we should use an external DI unit, plugged into the mic pre of the PRE73 with the cleanest settings possible. They replied immediately:

The signal from the front panel DI input is actually slightly cleaner than the mic input, since it do not pass between the microphone input transformer. The input impedance is 100 kohm.

If you use an external DI box, it will probably sound a bit different since it will probably have a higher impedance and possibly some coloration of its own. It should be connected to the mic input.


Some coloration (or sometimes a lot of it…!) usually sounds better. If you have different options, I suggest that you try them and find the one you like the most.

What do you think, based on this answer? We are going to use both active and passive pickups

 

[DanLights]

SO, i decided to send an email to CA, asking them whether we should track guitars directly to the PRE73 DI front input, or we should use an external DI unit, plugged into the mic pre of the PRE73 with the cleanest settings possible. They replied immediately:



What do you think, based on this answer? We are going to use both active and passive pickups

Well, they clearly said it´s best to try and listen. Just record a quick clip on each option and see what sounds better and go with that.

 

[Vaggelis_Revolted]

The problem is that we don't have a quality DI unit, so we must buy one before we compare.
That's why i started the topic in the first place: we are not on a big budget, and it is not easy to try both options

 

[Pman]

Bit of thread resurrection here. How did your DI capturing go Vaggelis_Revolted?

I am reamping some captured DI's in a few hours and I was wondering how reasonable of an idea it would be to send the DI's through a PRE73 before going to the amp?
Or is this just a stupid idea? Anyone?

 

[Vaggelis_Revolted]

We weren't able to find a clear answer, even though this forum helped a lot!
I thought it would be too risky to use the PRE73, so we decided to buy a LittleLabs Redeye unit.

However, your question is different than mine! Your idea COULD work, but don't forget to bypass the preamp section of your amp, by plugging into the "return" input of the FX loop. Try with/without the PRE73 and see which one sounds best! Check this video out:

 

[Heabow]

The PRE73 will work fine. Really. Try and see by yourself!