This article was written by Brad Lyons, the Senior Sales Engineer for Sweetwater.  Over the next few months, we’ll be publishing an entire series of articles in the Lounge from Sweetwater along with contests and prizes. Keep your eyes peeled and check back often!

Have you ever been told not to place all of your eggs in one basket? Or heard the classic line that “Rome wasn’t built in a day”? I often use both these sayings when advising my clients on purchasing gear for their studios. Whether your studio is used for personal enjoyment or to make part (or all) of your income, there are many things to be aware of when making a purchase. The idea is to maximize your purchases so the investments that you make yield the biggest improvements possible. (The key word here is “investment” not purchase — too many people buy what they want rather than what they need!)

One thing I’ve learned over the years is that it’s not about having the best product on the market, but the best combination of products.

Let me elaborate with an example of a real-world situation from a client of mine who is a guitarist and has a modest recording studio based on MOTU Digital Performer DAW software and a pair of MOTU 896HD audio interfaces running on an Apple Mac Pro computer. He has a good collection of reasonably priced microphones including Audio-Technica AT3035, an AKG C414, the typical Shure SM57 and SM81, and a Neumann TLM103 models. These are good microphones, each with their own sound. The issue was that he didn’t have anything that blew him away for recording vocals and acoustic guitar. He came to me thinking he needed to purchase a much better microphone, one that was priced at nearly $3,000. While there’s no doubt this microphone would have been an improvement, the reality is it was not the best upgrade for his situation.

In a situation like this, it’s so easy to look at the microphone and think, “There’s the answer!” when in reality, that may not be the case at all. Rarely is a single item ever the “answer.” In the real world it’s more often the right combination of items that provides the answer to the question of “How do I get a better sound?” In this case, his wants were a thicker sound, bigger tone, and in-your-face response that would sit well in the mix but still stand out on its own. After looking at his system and what he wanted to achieve, we came to the conclusion that the answer wasn’t a new microphone, but an upgraded microphone preamplifier.

The MOTU 896HD (see above) is a very good interface and there is nothing wrong with its built-in preamp. But in this case, they just didn’t excel with the mics he was using for the lead tracks. For example, when using the C414, the sound was too bright. While using the TLM103, the sound was thin. The solution was a new preamp that complemented his microphones better for his applications.

In the end, we decided on a two-channel, all-tube mic preamp from PreSonus, the ADL 600 (see below). The end result, using the same mics and the same audio interface, was a richer bottom end that had depth and incredible tone, with highs that were silky smooth. His TLM103 microphone now had a response that allowed his vocal to sit out front without sacrificing the body and resonance that previously was lost. With the C414, there was now “air” in the 2khz to 3kHz range where there had been no life to it at all, and plenty of low frequencies to fill up the track.

So we went from a $3,000 purchase to a $2,000 purchase that was a better fit for the situation. In addition, the ADL 600 could be used during mixdown by patching the stereo outs from the 896HD into the preamp’s line inputs to drive the tubes and provide an analog finishing touch to the track. Since he also plays bass guitar, the built-in DIs allowed for a direct connection that radically improved the overall bottom-end of the bass.

Now, without question, that $3,000 microphone was a better mic. The point is, if you don’t have the mic preamp to complement the microphone, it’s not really a great investment. My advice is not to put all of your eggs into one basket by spending your whole budget on one great product, but rather to assemble the right combination of gear. Whether I’m working on my own studio or helping a client, I’m always evaluating the choices carefully in the context of the overall system and with an eye toward the content being recorded.

Brad Lyons is a Senior Sales Engineer for Sweetwater. He has over 12 years of personal consultation experience and over 20 years of professional experience in the audio industry in all areas of live sound, television and radio broadcast, and studio recording. He is currently the head audio coordinator for UPAF (United Performing Arts Foundation, www.unityperformingarts.com), an organization devoted to teaching youth discipline, respect, education, and confidence through the fine arts. UPAF is supported and endorsed by the Indianapolis Colts.

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