presonus/ preamps

[unholyernest]

presonus firepod or firestudio. i wanted to ask if i can record a whole band with just that?
consist of couple of guitars..bass..electric drums..and vocals mic.
[size=+2]my question is.. whether i can record 8 guitar simultaneously at the same time.[/size]

i was told that such input requires a preamp inbetween, then it can be recorded into the firepod or whatsoever. is it true? so all my instrument needs to go through another thing which i got to buy again?

the presonus website said that all their 8 inputs consist of preamps already, so y do i still need another preamp?

and also.. is resolution the only place i can find firepod?

 

[blueprintstudios]

1) yes you can record a whole band with that, but do you have the drum mikes etc and cables?

#1 - vocals
#2 - guitar
#3 - guitar
#4 - bass
#5-8 = snare/kick/ left overhead , right overhead.

2) why do you want to record 8 guitars simultaneously? as in 8 microphones? definitely can ,but you'll be disappointed with the results if you don't know how to handle that many mics. usually ppl use 2 to 3 mics for guitars.

3) firepod (fp10) IS a preamp + soundcard ! you don't need a preamp + another preamp(firepod) . whoever told you you need another preamp, obviously is trying to waste your time/money or didn't realise that firepod is not only a soundcard but a preamp + soundcard audio interface.

and apparently resolution is the only place that sells the firepod the cheapest I believe.

do read up my FAQ @ http://soft.com.sg/forum/showthread.php?t=38326

 

[unholyernest]

umm..ok
then if i were to like put 3 guitars recording at the same time. what is recorded is all 3 guitars in one "track", or guitar 1 has one track of his own..guitar 2 has another track of his own and guitar 3 has the same too? cuz i want to edit each guitar part individually.

so i dun have to get another preamp lah..i can just plug my guitar straight into the presonus... yeah..alright..happy to hear that!

 

[blueprintstudios]

by saying this you got 3 guitarists right? you're not telling me you can play 3 guitars at once right? hahah
and yes, that's what it means by "multitrack" recording.

but if you plug your guitar straight into the presonus, you'll need at least an effect pedal of some sort, and do take note, D.I recording may not sound as nice as it being miked up.

 

[unholyernest]

3 guitars means like friends all recording together lah..
so i can record 8 different tracks ah..rather than one whole chunk together..

then y do i need to go through a effect pedal inbetween? rather than going straight into the presonus itself? cuz i got effects in my computer like amplitube,guitar rig..stuff like that..

 

[blueprintstudios]

oh thats fine then hehe

 

[godchuanz]

Please do note that even though the Firepod comes with 8 microphone preamps, only Channel 1 and 2 are desgined to record "Direct-In" instruments. If you look at the gain levels of the channels, you'll know why.

And... yes, when you plug in 8 microphones/guitars, you get 8 separate tracks. I've done many simultaneous 8-track recordings. No lag issues even at highest resolution on a 4,500RPM HDD (laptop).

The quality of the preamps on the Firepod is really good. To me, it sounds better than most of the preamps that come with M-Audio interfaces. Unless you have got too much money, I don't suggest you buy more preamps.

 

[tany]

why u need so many guitars???

 

[blueprintstudios]

ok what, bands like A Vacant Affair had 3 guitarists.

 

[unholyernest]

godchuanz:
please talk more about the 2 input..what does the 2 input can do that the other 6 cannot? its about going through some preamp stuff right?
so what happens if i plug a guitar straight into the 3rd channel? is it no sound? and whats the reason?
this was the thing i wanted to confirm.. because i read from somewhere that the firepod only has the first 2 input can do something which the other 6 cannot.


Bluepreintstudios:
"direct in" recording like pluging in guitar into the presonus unit, can sound nice also.. cuz i'm into the electronics sound.. so "direct in" is better. if i doing those rock thing..then i think using real effectors or amps..then go into presonus is better bah..

oh man..i really appreciate all the help i am getting from u all.. thanks a lot!

 

[godchuanz]

Guitars and basses have very low output levels, commonly known as "instrument level" or "guitar level".
If you plug your guitar into a Line-in, there will be sound, but it may be quite soft, because it's not at "line level".
The 1st 2 channels of the Firepod are made to accept instruments because those 1/4" inputs go through a gain stage (instrument preamplification). If you look at the knob, the instrument gain varies from -10dB to +30dB.

The other channels support only line-in. If you look at the values, it says -10dB to +10dB. It looks more like it is designed for fine volume adjustments, than as an amplification stage.

If you plug your guitar into a Line-In, I'm sure there will be some sounds. But if it's not loud enough even with the line-gain knob at "full-blast", then you'll need a preamp (not really the same as a microphone preamp) between your guitar and the line-in jack. A preamp can come in the form of guitar pedal. In fact, most guitar pedals have provide sufficient amplification. Just turn up the volume of the pedal a little, and let it act as a booster of some sort.

Most active guitars/basses already have higher output than passive guitars, so most likely these can go straight into Line-In. Of course, you can also plug active instruments into Channel 1 and 2, just that you may not need all that much gain on it.

 

[unholyernest]

which means if i were to record 3 guitars...2 can go straight into presonus 1st and 2nd input..
but the third one onwards will need to go through a preamp lah..

oh man..that was the thing i was afraid of..though the presonus webby said they have 8 preamp build inside already..thats rubbish lah..

 

[godchuanz]

It's not rubbish. It is true. There are 8 MICROPHONE PREAMPs built-in. These preamps offer amplification of up to 60dB. You can plug in 8 microphones and simultaneously record 8 tracks without the need for other equipment.

But there are only 2 INSTRUMENT PREAMPs. These preamps offer up to 30dB of gain.
The other Line-In (Channel 3-8) jacks offer only a minute gain for trimming purposes (-10dB to +10dB).

If your guitar output is high enough, you can directly plug into Channel 3 to 8. If not, you can always amplify it through software.

If you have a DI box, you can also "convert" your guitar into a balanced microphone signal to make use of the microphone preamp. This is what most audio engineers do for Direct-In recording.

 

[unholyernest]

godchuanz: "If your guitar output is high enough, you can directly plug into Channel 3 to 8. If not, you can always amplify it through software."

how do i use the software to do it? what kind of software?
or perhaps using a "real external" preamp is better.. but that would be expensive lah..haaii.

 

[soft]

What guitar are you using? Electric? Will you be using any efx? What efx are you using?

You might be able to go from E.guitar -> Efx -> Firepod/studio.

We can guide you but you must learn wisely too.

 

[unholyernest]

yes..i'm using electric guitar.
i actually plan to use computer effects..like amplitube and guitar rig..
if i am using any external effects..then i no need preamp.. but what if i wanna use computer effects? which means i have to get some device that can amplified my sound lah..

sorry if i'm slower in understanding all these things..cuz i'm still new to computer recording..
last time i only bother about guitar going into amp.. didn't bother about going into computer..

 

[tany]

how much is the fp10 retailing for?

 

[blueprintstudios]

well, what I think is, the 1st 2 channels has some kind of "D.I box" built in.

if you plug into the 3rd onwards channel , it'll still work but the signal is not as clean as the 1st 2. if you really gotta plug into the 3rd onwards, and you want it real clean, you'll have to get a D.I box.

 

[parablue74]

The presonus firepod is really good quality???? I think not!!! I'm using one, and i can tell you, it's the equipment in my studio that breaks down most often. It took me more than a year to realise the problem. But now it's ok!!!
This is the thing, channel 1 and 2 are preamp ports meant for higher gain, while the rest of the channels have lower gain values. If you plan to record all your guitars together, yes, it work for sure. I use the firepod for recording drums, no latency issues etc. Just that you would find that channel 3 to 8 would seem to be pretty soft. Just simply 'Normalise' on your audio program, and you will see everything as loud as it should be.
Only problem is, i get my channel 1 and 2 have crackle sounds all the time, really turn me off that i have tried to counter that by using 2 Art tubeamps and minimising the firepods preamps. Maybe i got a defective stock, cos my piece just doesn't sit peacefully in my studio. I thot Presonus is a good brand, i'm still having a Presonus ACP22 compressor that works in perfect condition for 7 years till now, but the difference is that is made in USA, while the firepod is made in china. Everything quality has drop ever since they touch down in China.
Besides this sickening problem, the preamps in firepod sounds great, better than my Tascam interface anyway. Very clean and transparent!!!
Just give you a basic rule of the thumb, any interface worth $1000+ most probably give you channel seperation that can let you record simulataneously. But those that are worth $350 etc are nothing but crap, they only have a stereo output, meaning everything you record only becomes a stereo wave file that you can do nothing about. Who wants that!!!!
But it will never be stated in their advertising until you start reading the manuals....

 

[unholyernest]

parablue74

what do u mean by channel seperation that lets u record simultaneously?are u talking about multitrack recording? like blueprintstudios was talking to me about..

getting stereo output is the correct thing what? u mean there's something else meh?