preamping a microphone with Digi002R & VoicePrism+

[chal7ds]

Hey Everyone,

I have the Digi002R system and software on my computer. I am going to be laying down vocals soon with a TC Helicon Voice Prism Plus. I think it has a preamp already.

My question is, there's 4 preamps that come equipped with the Digi002R..plus the preamp that's with the TC Helicon voice processor, so what's the ramifications of this to my vocal sound and sonic capabilities? Do you use both, turn one off, not use either and buy an external preamp that can handle a better vocal performance??? How do you measure a preamp's ability to make a mic sound GREAT? I want superb vocals..and I want to know how to get them.

Any pro vocal studio gurus or experienced users in this area would be much appreciated
if you could drop me a line and teach me a thing or two. I got the equipment, now I just need
to know how to fine tune it!! help me out..

thanx

Chal7ds

[funkyghoul]

I've never used one. I would think though, plug mic into the VoicePro (if it doesn't require an external pre) and use the spdif out of the Voice into your 002.

If you use you analog outs on the Voice you'll be doing A/D - D/A - A/D then your audio will be in the "box" so to speak. You can bypass the last 2 connversions by keeping the signal digital using the spdif outs.

That being said you could also record the vocal clean into PTLE via the 002 onboard pre and setup the Voice as a hardware insert which you could control parameters via midi.

[Brain Digger]

If you already have the mic going through a preamp, simply take the analogue out of the preamp to the line in of the DIGI002R. I do not, however, know if the helicon preamp (is there is one) is better, worse or the same as the DIGI preamps.

[chal7ds]

yeah..i was actually reading my TC Voice Prism processor's manual last night..and I couldn't
find anywhere in the book specifying a preamp, although i coulda swore i read that somewhere
before i bought it. in any case, even if it doesn't have one it sounds amazing..and i still have
one in the DIGI002R at least.

I'm really confused about preamps. Are they all the same? are some better than others? Is digi002R's built in preamps equal to say, an external rack preamp you could buy? What's the difference? What's the pros and cons? Will one preamp make a mic sound larger and fatter than another? Will one preamp make a mic sound clearer and better than another? Can anyone explain this to me? No one seems to know this when I ask my friends, etc..

Chal7ds

[Camilo Toledo]

IMHO, Dont use it going in, you won't be able to do any changes to the track later on. Record your vocal track without it, if you don't have an external preamp, use channels 1-to 4 on the 002. Plug in and use the unit as an external harware device. By having the vocal track in its original state you can use the unit to change the sound without doing any damage to it. You can record to a new track, and play back both. Compress it, etc..

IF you are only using the EQ, compression or dinamic processing pre sets, go for it, plug your mic to the unit and then to channel 1 to 4 on the 002.