Remote Control Mic Pre that work with non-HD Pro Tools

[kedavis]

I see the feature is available in Pro Tools and would like to utilize it. Does anyone have experiences with them in the non-HD/Ultimate version of Pro Tools? If so, which one(s) and how well does it work? Also, how's the quality of preamps?

[albee1952]

I'm not the final word, but here are some thoughts:
#1-preamps that work this way are few and far between(I know of the Avid DigiPre, the Grace 802 and there may be 1 or 2 others)
#2-for the most part, those preamps are pricey(the DigiPre shows up under $1K on the used market, but its not a "killer" preamp. The Grace is killer but I think its like $3995)
#3-you would be paying a premium for a feature that won't help you make better recordings. I recommend you get some great preamps to suit your needs, and skip the "gee-whiz" features in favor great sound

FWIW, I ran 32 outboard preamps on my HDN system and was never bothered by reaching for a gain knob

[kedavis]

But "gee-whiz" is fun!! Lol


Seriously, for me I'm a vocalist usually recording myself. One thing that's a PITA is when I have a great mic position and in the zone, realize the gain is too low (or something else) and have to go over make the adjustments and then come back and get back in the zone and find that mic position again. Oh how I wish Universal Audio would include MIDI on their interfaces.

Thanks for the info you provided. They do seem far and few. All other experiences are welcomed.

[originalscottyg]

Put the mic preamp in the room, right next to the mic, and run line level (rather than mic level) from the recording room to the interface.

[BScout]

^^^^ That's the best for signal fidelity

The mic pre control in Pro Tools uses a MIDI command structure. That's all it is. Can't tell you if it is in Vanilla (only HDX/Ultimate here so can't see what Vanilla looks like) but if you have the mic setup tab in the peripherals page, it should work.

As for using it, almost all of them have zipper noise when you adjust gain. You don't want to use it while in record. This is because they all have stepped gain. If you have a mic pre in the room with analogue trim/gain variable pots, you won't have zipper noise.

I did not like the Digi Pre. The Grace is nicer but it is a set once at the beginning of a session and leave it alone. The DAD mic pres are the same (set at beginning and leave alone.)If you want to make sure a transient doesn't catch/clip, you can't really trim while recording because you'll put the zipper noise all over the track. A mic pre in the room (or remote analogue control like the Gordon Model 5) allows you to do that.

At the end of the day, controlling it from Pro Tools really only has one advantage vs just from the box or remote and that is instant recall with the session.

[falcowe]

I know RME has some remote PreAmp options. Just not through PT. You'd have to use their TotalMixFX to control gain, however it works really well and if you have an iPad you can control it remotely without issue. But like people have mentioned previously it certainly costs more than your average pre/interface. However I think you do get your money's worth out of RME's gear.

[kedavis]

Originally Posted by BScout

The mic pre control in Pro Tools uses a MIDI command structure. That's all it is. Can't tell you if it is in Vanilla (only HDX/Ultimate here so can't see what Vanilla looks like) but if you have the mic setup tab in the peripherals page, it should work.

PT Vanilla does have the Mic Setup tab.

[metalmixer]

Grace and Mellenia both make great 8 ch. preamps that work in pro tools you need to set up the preamps in the midi studio set you then select them in peripherals page then finally set them up in the i/o window under the mic pre amp tab. What really cool is being able to control them on the icon as well recording level on the meter and gain on the knobs it makes for a very fast recording level set up in less than 60 seconds for a 32 channel tracking set up.

[MrDibS]

The Avid "Pre" protocol is midi and it's limited. For example, it only goes in 3db increments. The Millenia, the Grace and the Focusrite Rednet stuff is the only ones I know of that implement that feature.

I use a Red 8Pre and I have the "Pre" control setup in Pro Tools. It's fine but I often just use the RedNet Control app instead. If you have Dante, the Rednet X2P is a great "in the booth" solution.

[BScout]

Originally Posted by MrDibS

The Avid "Pre" protocol is midi and it's limited. For example, it only goes in 3db increments. The Millenia, the Grace and the Focusrite Rednet stuff is the only ones I know of that implement that feature.

The DAD/MTRX mic pres can use it.