Pros and Cons of the following method?

[AstroSounds]

I have a Saffire Pro 40 running into an iMac with Logic Pro.
I have few pieces of outboard gear and would like some more but I always feel torn about how to patch it into my signal path.

I know a lot of guys would go:
mic-->Saffire Pro in --> Saffire Pro out --> outboard comp or EQ --> back into Saffire Pro

I hate the idea of all that AD/DA conversion though. So here is what I often do while tracking and I'm wondering what TOMB thinks of this:

mic--> outboard pre --->outboard comp or EQ ---> Saffire Pro in with input gain set as low as possible.

In my noob head I feel like what I'm doing is using the Pro 40 merely as an input device, ignoring it's preamps (sorta) and doing much of my signal processing before I even get to the first A/D conversion.

Thoughts? Opinions?

[Nick Sevilla]

Hi,

Firstly, the mic preamps on the Sapphire Pro... do you like them? I'm sure they are useful for some recording situations.

And yes, mostly, at least my method, is getting the sound all done outside the box, and just converting into the DAW (PT HD8)
I have a 32 channel Allen & Heath GL8200 series board, which I love the mic preamps on, as well as about 4 different stereo sets of mic preamplifiers of different makes, to get different tones and colors from my mic collection.

It really boils down to knowing a little ahead of time what sound you wish to have, and then knowing what equipment combination will be the one that gets you the closest BEFORE conversion to the DAW, so it becomes easier to mix later on. This takes time to learn and master. Never be afraid of doing pre-recording tests with different gear combos, so you get a good feel for the types of colorations you can get with your equipment.

Cheers

[CurtZHP]

There's a lot to be said for fewer conversions, and with an outboard preamp, you can up the quality a bit. Not that the Saffire's pres are crap; they're actually quite good. But outboard pres give you greater flexibility. At the very least you could regard them as additional colors in the palate.

[AstroSounds]

Thanks for the opinions so far.
Both of you hit on the sound of the Pro 40 pres. I don't dislike them at all. They sound pretty good but my main goal is to insert processing such as comp and EQ without having to do several A/D D/A conversions.
Add that to the fact that I don't want to put my EQ and compressor in front of the gain boost from a pre, it leaves me using outboard pres and turning down the gain on the Saffire Pro.

It just seems that keeping the Saffire pro gain down at 1 and cranking the outboard pre to get -3 db of signal into A/D conversion is not the best way to do this...
I wish I had some direct input path that didn't make me go through another pre when I'm using my outboard ones.

[Nick Sevilla]

Thanks for the opinions so far.
Both of you hit on the sound of the Pro 40 pres. I don't dislike them at all. They sound pretty good but my main goal is to insert processing such as comp and EQ without having to do several A/D D/A conversions.
Add that to the fact that I don't want to put my EQ and compressor in front of the gain boost from a pre, it leaves me using outboard pres and turning down the gain on the Saffire Pro.

It just seems that keeping the Saffire pro gain down at 1 and cranking the outboard pre to get -3 db of signal into A/D conversion is not the best way to do this...
I wish I had some direct input path that didn't make me go through another pre when I'm using my outboard ones.

Hi Astrosounds,

If you are recording at 24 bit (which you should be) you do NOT need to hit the converters at -3 peak levels, you can get away with lower levels like -12 to -6, and still get the same resolution into your DAW.

The other benefit of leaving this headroom on your audio file is for further processing with plugins inside the DAW. If you have a file that is almost peaking at max, and you then EQ it, you can only EQ it so much before distortion occurs. If you still have 6-10 dBFS of headroom, you can EQ more and gain more if needed.

This is how I do it :

Mic / Line ----> Mic preamp or Line input ----> COMP ----> EQ ----> AD converter.

Why the compressor first? To me I prefer to make the whole signal smaller, and then accentuate with some EQ the parts of the signal I wnt more of, so I use the EQ as a booster for the good bits. Of course you can do it the other way round, depending on your signal type.

You will get some pundits that say what I wrote above is wrong. But since I am left-handed, I use my right side of my brain, and therefore am always right!!!



Cheers

[MoreSpaceEcho]

If you are recording at 24 bit (which you should be) you do NOT need to hit the converters at -3 peak levels, you can get away with lower levels like -12 to -6, and still get the same resolution into your DAW.

QFE. i never record anything peaking over -12, makes life much easier later on.

[W DeMarco]

I like HPF's on the record side and some real subtle tweaks otherwise maybe some compression. Unless its vocals or bass which usually get hit a bit harder on the way in.