Using preamp plugins

[MeTangent]

I’m looking for advice on best practice using preamp plugins. I’m new to these, so interested to hear other people’s experience.

Do you put the preamp at the beginning of the FX chain on each channel?

Before or after for example, an amp plugin on a guitar / electric piano part?

If you use the preamp eq, how do you use it? I would use an eq later in the chain for mixing. Maybe the preamp eq can achieve a given sound, and then a further eq down the chain can be used to mix the sound with other sounds?

And given that most preamps are emulations of hardware desks, would you use the same preamp on all of your channels to give a unified sound? Or do you mix and match, or simply use preamps on channels you feel need them?

Thanks for your input on this...

[SoundPorn]

I use pre amps like I use any other form of saturation, when I want something dirtier i put a pre amp on it.

[Burillo]

whatever sounds better. i don't much care about the "correct" order.

[phoenixdenim45]

Is there a particular plugin you are wanting to use? I've heard of folks using something like bx_console on every channel to hopefully get some of that "console magic" in their in-the-box mixes. It's actually got 72 different channels that they modeled so each instance of the plugin can sound slightly different if you want.

https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/prod ... 000_e.html

As mentioned earlier depending on what plugin you are looking at and what features it has you may want to use it for drive, eq, filter, or compression, or all of the above. I agree that there's no right way to use these things so I would start with using it as you feel its needed and not start with putting it on every track by default. Putting it before or after other effects would be up to you and what you think sounds best.

[MeTangent]

Thanks phoenixdenim45.

I bought Arturia’s effects bundle, which includes three preamps.

I was looking for a steer since I hadn’t used them before, and they seemed designed to do the job of the preamp on a hardware mixing desk.

I’ll experiment I guess. They are unfamiliar tools, so I wanted to know how other people were using them.

[mertmavismusic]

I like to run the sound through pre-amp first and then compress/eq if needed.

[mixtur.se]

Thanks phoenixdenim45.

I bought Arturia’s effects bundle, which includes three preamps.

I was looking for a steer since I hadn’t used them before, and they seemed designed to do the job of the preamp on a hardware mixing desk.

I’ll experiment I guess. They are unfamiliar tools, so I wanted to know how other people were using them.

Chances are you will max out your cpu if you put the Arturia preamps on every channel, unless you bounce the track. I would just put it on the channel that benefit from saturation or maybe all group tracks.

It really doesn’t matter in which order you insert them, but the order will affect the overall sound and be careful with gain staging. Some console plugins like waves nils work best from the first insert slot and were designed to sit on every channel.

[mixtur.se]

I’m looking for advice on best practice using preamp plugins. I’m new to these, so interested to hear other people’s experience.

Do you put the preamp at the beginning of the FX chain on each channel?

Before or after for example, an amp plugin on a guitar / electric piano part?

If you use the preamp eq, how do you use it? I would use an eq later in the chain for mixing. Maybe the preamp eq can achieve a given sound, and then a further eq down the chain can be used to mix the sound with other sounds?

And given that most preamps are emulations of hardware desks, would you use the same preamp on all of your channels to give a unified sound? Or do you mix and match, or simply use preamps on channels you feel need them?

Thanks for your input on this...

You don’t need a preamp in the digital world, just use the fader or volume control. The preamp plugin is only there for saturation purposes and should typically be setup so there’s no volume increase when you drive it (I.e adjust the output volume accordingly and/or switch on automatic gain control)

[MeTangent]

Really helpful pointers - thanks very much, I appreciate it.

[simon.a.billington]

I like to use preamps to subtly tie groups of instruments together, drums being the obvious example. Maybe, though, you want to put the same preamp on the bass and kick, as another example. Or maybe use the same preamp on all your guitars, or synths. Maybe everything is going through a submix of some kind and you want to put the same preamp across all of those.

Well, that’s how I use it.

[briaboy]

I’m looking for advice on best practice using preamp plugins. I’m new to these, so interested to hear other people’s experience.

Do you put the preamp at the beginning of the FX chain on each channel?

Before or after for example, an amp plugin on a guitar / electric piano part?

If you use the preamp eq, how do you use it? I would use an eq later in the chain for mixing. Maybe the preamp eq can achieve a given sound, and then a further eq down the chain can be used to mix the sound with other sounds?

And given that most preamps are emulations of hardware desks, would you use the same preamp on all of your channels to give a unified sound? Or do you mix and match, or simply use preamps on channels you feel need them?

Thanks for your input on this...

You don’t need a preamp in the digital world, just use the fader or volume control. The preamp plugin is only there for saturation purposes and should typically be setup so there’s no volume increase when you drive it (I.e adjust the output volume accordingly and/or switch on automatic gain control)

Nonsense. Many good preamps add considerably to overall quality.

[yellowmix]

You don’t need a preamp in the digital world, just use the fader or volume control. The preamp plugin is only there for saturation purposes and should typically be setup so there’s no volume increase when you drive it (I.e adjust the output volume accordingly and/or switch on automatic gain control)

Nonsense. Many good preamps add considerably to overall quality.

How do you add "quality" to a signal originating in the digital realm?

[simon.a.billington]

You don’t need a preamp in the digital world, just use the fader or volume control. The preamp plugin is only there for saturation purposes and should typically be setup so there’s no volume increase when you drive it (I.e adjust the output volume accordingly and/or switch on automatic gain control)

Nonsense. Many good preamps add considerably to overall quality.

How do you add "quality" to a signal originating in the digital realm?

Quality is a subjective term. Just as everybody has their own idea of what constitutes a good quality movie, or album, it’s subjective to what people hold as a idea of quality processing in a DAW.

[TS-12]

if you plugin hardware preamp into another hardware preamp it sounds really ugly. strange that doesnt happen in software preamps