The Voicemaster... And Mouse..

[JayFro407]

Aite so I read all the past threads in 06 on here bout the voicemaster... And I have to say after talking to dudes at sweetwater and doin some research I wouldn't say grace101 > voicemaster for doing vocals... Especially in a home project. From what I gathered, and the guy at sweetwater told me, the grace101... yes is very clear, but doesn't add much transparency or presence to vocals, they recommended the 101 for drum sessions n what not. And if you are going to use it for vocals... Of course you'de be better off going with a nice tube mic, and you'll pretty much be stuck with w/e sound you get, while the voicemaster is more versatile. Also after lookin at alot of reviews and shit the blue mouse is lookin like it's bout to be in my home. (sweetwater guy also told me to look into this) And it seems like the mouse is really slept on for the time being. Couple people claim it to eat up a u87 in a/b comparison, and it's really good for hip/hop/r&b. I know the grace is an overall nicer solid state pre, but just doesn't seem to be geared toward vocals. Lemme know what yall think.

[Brandon Heat]

depends on the mic you have man... honestly... because I talk to sweetwater all the time... and they recommend the grace out of those 2 pres... for the K2... and alot of other mics... so... word. and all of my research is... grace > voicemaster. a pre by it self... vs a channel strip with shit you won't need... winner: Pre.



and the mouse eating the u87..? That's just silly. don't get me wrong it's a good mic... but... eating the u87..? No. but the soundelux u187... different story. it's about half the price and it emulates the u87... alot of studios are moving to this mic... including Baseline...


what you should do is go find my "what preamp should I get" thread... and see what Kris recommends... or ask him yourself... he's pretty knowledgable... or not.

[JayFro407]

Well here's a link from the people who made that claim bout the mouse... http://www.bluemic.com/index.php?nam...ade78cd490b362 ... And I already saw that thread you posted. I think it's jus matter of opinion whether you need the shit on the voicemaster or not, you say it's not needed... But I don't really like using plug ins, i'de rather have some decent oatboard options. And that's funny sweetwater recommended that to you, I told them I was doing hip hop, and what sound I was looking for, and he said "the grace isn't exactly what i'de recommend to someone looking for some fat transparent vocals.." I mean the channel strip will let you be open to more different people, while still keeping really good quality... I'de rather have the channel strip(voicemaster) and and add an la610 to the rack later on. Than I can get some nice standalone pre's later on to have a specific sound you know? Untill then i'de prefer to have as many options as possible. It's not like i'm going without quality for however long...

[JayFro407]

Dam... See that deal with the kiwi? Free robbie in the month if april if you buy a kiwi. Check that shit out at sweetwater, i'ma buy the kiwi, N if I don't like the robbie I can flip that shit.

[Brandon Heat]

that's not what I'm saying... you don't need all the shit on the voicemaster... because me personally I'd rather have equipment that is specifially for (insert here) that's what I meant...


the best way to explain it to you is the way it was explained to me...

pre + compressor + eq (channel strip) = 500 < per function then pre (standalone) + comp (stand alone) + eq (stand alone) = 500 each... I mean yea it's more money... but take out the comp and eq and you have the answer... the stand alone pre = 500 and the pre on the channel strip = 166.66 feel me..?


but you're where I was about a year ago with equipment... now you see why sw recommended what they did... I want stand alones... instead of wasting money (in my opinion) now... that's all.

[JayFro407]

I know what you sayin... I pretty much figured a channel strip was a cheap alternative to buying a standalone pre, eq, compressor, and w/e else. Guess it is better to get it slowly then rush into some shit. Either way, don't matter now i'm gettin that kiwi wit the robbie that shits the best deal out thur right now.

[Brandon Heat]

it is a cheap alternative... but you get what you pay for... 3 pieces of shit... for the same price as a decent pre... but word@the kiwi & Robbie. I just saw it.

[JayFro407]

Yea... I'm tryna scheme some shit right now I only got 1300 to spend, surprised you aint tryna jump on that shit.

[Brandon Heat]

I'm buyin a great river nv1 and a liquid mix... I'm good lol...

[JayFro407]

wit ur k2? you talking bout the liquid channel? Well you can't go wrong wit that or the great river... But i'de try steppin ur mic up IF you still using that k2.

[Brandon Heat]

K2 is fine with me... I'm not talking about the liquid channel... I'm talking about the liquid mix... and the great river yes yes... after that... I'll buy a booth... then worry about a new mic later.

[Kris Cain]

lol@taking the advice of a salesman

anywaay.... what he told you really doesnt make that much sense when you look at it...

let's see... the grace doesnt "add much transparency or presence to the vocals"... LMAO
transparency cannot be added, warmth can be added... because warmth is a "color" and transparency is not... the reason i recommend the grace is because it lacks color... it doesnt add extra artifacts to your signal chain, that a tube preamp of the same price would add...

buying a preamp is like russian roulette if your going off of recommendations alone. You gotta get out there and test and see what you like. But to be on the safe side, you should probably go with something thats going to add the least amount of color to your signal chain... because color can be good or bad.

now... as far as him saying the grace is better for a drum session rather than a vocal, shows his lack of knowledge about the product. The grace 101 is only ONE channel... how are you going to do a drum session with one channel? Unless your just micing a single drum... then your pretty much out of luck. The voice master is also more expensive than the grace 101.

Focusrite is a featured brand at sweetwater. Period. There always going to push that brand... because there paid too. Just like Digidesign, and just like Kurzweil, and Mojave.

It's a nice thing to talk to someone about gear when you don't know, but if they are salesman... you need to take their advice with a grain of salt.

and the k2 is nice, just has too much sibilance in most cases where i've seen it used.

[JayFro407]

He mite have said for some kind of string instrument not sure. But if I want a little color what's the best option? Getting a good pre, and later an eq / comp? What else adds color n shit

[Kris Cain]

He mite have said for some kind of string instrument not sure. But if I want a little color what's the best option? Getting a good pre, and later an eq / comp? What else adds color n shit

well, everything adds color, but all color isnt good...

get a good preamp now, and then get a good comp

i dont think you'll need a outboard eq, i wouldnt recommend eq'ing vocals before they hit the disk, cuz you cant change them if you mess them up. Same thing with compression too, but with compression, under compression can be fixed, while overcompression cant. i compress lightly through the compressors on my console, before they go into the box just to control the peaks... then compress regularly once there in my DAW.

[JayFro407]

Tru. How come I see so many studios with shit like the LA610 or the 737 channel strip?