Give Your Sound Some Character: Why You Should Be Using a Preamp

[@sweetwater]

How do you supplement your sound with some distinct style? Tell us in the comments about the gear you use to introduce character to your recordings, and be sure to head over to Sweetwater for a detailed look at Golden Age Project’s Pre-73 MKIV preamp 👉 sweetwater.sjv.io/Golden_Age_Project_Pre-73_MKIV

[@pb25193]

This guy is such a good salesman that i used to think that he's the ceo of sweetwater for many years.

[@chris-rb7bm]

We love Mitch :)

[@fikstheruler1762]

He should be. He’s the best

[@2dboo11]

all this time I though he was the CEO. he's so good @@fikstheruler1762

[@jvonnjvonn4688]

Lol😂😂 me too he travel places for them going to seminars an things

[@DavidMKyalo-it1ok]

Oh! He's not the CEO?

[@cement01]

I've not seen preamps explained so clearly and quickly, thank you!

[@aangovan]

Sir, ur the best salesman on the internet, great explanation, and really good work. 😁👍

[@rodneyhanssen2641]

He really is so good at explaining audio gear. Greatly appreciated, thank you! 🙏

[@houseofjesseworship]

that MKIV really sounds nice! Much better than just the Scarlet on its own.

[@thedudegamezzz]

As a salesman and CEO of my company, I give this guy an A-Plus. Charisma, eye contact, and easy understanding of the product as well good vibes from the gentleman. I'd like his job one day.

[@AlanWade-vb5xb]

Excellent example, switching the freqs while talking. Really shows the effect.

[@ruthhaskins4423]

I always benefit from Mitch explaining gear. Thanks for making this easy to understand, Mitch!

[@Lord_UND_Himself]

Love when y’all get educational on us

[@astrangeandmysteriouspodca7168]

Golden Age makes great products.

[@jeremythornton433]

My input interface is a Presonus StudioLive 32SC mixer. I thought about a Scarlet and yes they do sound good but I need a LOT of inputs. I don;t want to be patching and re-patching for all of my keyboards , microphones, etc. I want to be able to fire up my DAW after I've powered up my mixer and keys, and record. I have a low end tube pre-amp running through an ART VLA II compressor going into channels 1 and 2 of my mixer. Got some character there. There rest is just fun stuff!

[@mikew8622]

Great teaching! Easy to understand.

[@freewillbeatz-jd4pq]

A great explanation of a preamp!

[@currentcontentco]

I got so much hate for using a preamp with a focusrite on my Instagram, thanks for the backup man

[@alpa3710]

People on insta only know how to hate it seems...

[@BradsGonnaPlay]

People who hate Focusrite usually don’t know that the company was founded by Rupert Neve. People who hate the Scarlett series usually just hate it because everybody uses it. Since Gen 2, the Focusrite Scarlett series has been a great contender in the budget friendly world of AD/DA conversion and transparent preamps.

[@Jin-lj5mk]

​@@alpa3710 They should hate themselves

[@AnwaarAliOfficial]

I'm currently using plugin preamps by Arturia and they sound similar to the hardware units ❤🙏

[@Gretsch0997]

the explanation of all this was awesome, I only wish i heard a difference in "Character"

[@LTPottenger]

Would make a bigger difference if the starting voice were thinner but he already has an amazing voice.

[@velocitystudiomix]

Great videos always! Easy to understand!

[@HBSuccess]

I’ll just take one of Mitch’s voice please…🫥

[@thundersnow819]

Aye yooooo

[@nickparas7170]

Fabulous video, well-explained. Thanks!

[@DommoDommo]

I actually do have a golden age III running into the back of my 8i8! I plug my guitar into it and it sounds great.

[@activelow9297]

Smoothest cat in all of Fort Wayne, IN.

[@ronaldcoleman9370]

Thanks Mitch!!!

[@100chuckjones]

Normally I don't buy into this type of hype, classic sales pitches.. But this is legit.

[@RetroPlus]

It helps to have an amazing voice to begin with

[@СергейЧупин-м9ы]

So soundcard sounds much more better then golden age))

[@NewcarsTv]

THANKS SWEETWATER

[@dodgingrain3695]

lol, clear and accurate is not the same as adding grit or warmth, but this can be done pretty easily in software too.

[@booyahsunshine]

How are y’all putting out vids on just what I need, just when I need it.

[@Mr.Facebox]

The algorithm!😅

[@carson8417]

I've been researching this exact thing the past few days too

[@austinmurphy8981]

This guy is awesome.

[@dananthony6258]

I’d buy a Lennon Mcartney audio interface preamp scarlet. I know they don’t make but but just sounds cool.

[@joshuasarabjit]

Does the preamp’s XLR out need to be converted to 1/4” in order to connect to line in on the interface?

[@Blueguitar007]

I think so but not certain. The mic plugs are usually mic level on Scarlett as opposed to the 1/4 which can be line or instrument.

[@jemmymonepa1975]

wow.. the same combination i'm using now.. but I'm using earlier versions of both..😁

[@Wizardofgosz]

Every time I've used a Scarlett and went into the line-inputs, when you turned the preamp gain knob, it added gain. Why would that happen if it wasn't going through the mic pre also?

[@YOUTUBEOBWAYJACOBGASTON0800]

Hi,mich how are you and the rest,at sweetwater,was the focus rite supposed to arrive with a flashdrive?

[@kon9274]

Have the Solo and the 2i2 4 gen the Same line in Baypass Funktion ?

[@alpenglow4243]

The Scarlett 4i4 Gen 4 has two line inputs that bypass the pre amps. The Solo and 2i2 do not.

[@kon9274]

Hallo, who i can find this infoformation?

[@RudeCanine]

What concerns me is audible white noise. Running a dynamic this hot and pushing it down adds saturation, but how much added noise seeps through? One of the many reasons I can’t stand the sm7b, alongside the muddiness.

[@garyshirinian]

What's the difference between mk4 and the premier.

[@ande047]

Newb question but I’ve heard mixed answers. I’m just starting to get into analog preamps and have the 18i20 1st gen Scarlett. When hooking my external preamp to the line input of the 18i20, do I turn the input knob on the 18i20 all the way down? Looks like Mitch in this video is turning the volume up on the interface.

[@sweetwater]

Hi, thanks for your interest! With the combo jacks on your Scarlett interface, you’ll want to make sure that you’re going into the ¼” section rather than the XLR, as this will effectively bypass the built-in preamp on the interface. At that point, you don’t have to make any adjustments to the gain on the interface itself. I wonder if you are thinking of the portion of the video where Mitch demonstrates the difference between the built-in Scarlett preamp and the Golden Age - I rewatched it just now, and he does plug the mic directly into the Scarlett and adjust the gain at one point. In any case, I hope this helps - feel free to contact me directly with any further questions, and thanks again! Caleb Lowrey, Sweetwater Sales Engineer, [phone] ext. 1620, [e-mail]

[@edwardreverseproductions]

i mean, analog effect sims can get the same effect with undo-ability right?

[@shubhshinde4438]

can you please suggest me a cheap alternative of the hardware manley vox box? and can I increase the output of preamp so that I can increase my headphone volume of my headphone without sounding distortion?

[@kon9274]

Hallo , i Need help, i don‘t can find in the manuals of Focusrite the Information Bypass line in , in the Preamp Can someone help ? Thx

[@babylittlebaby]

does this preamp will work with m4 motu> Please tell me

[@howir0n1c2]

would it be possible to feed the line level output of one interface (such as the scarlett) into the preamp of another interface, and just have very low input gain? I want to try to combine preamp characteristics like this, but I don't know if the extra voltage would cause a problem on a microphone input.

[@eweesplace]

I'll note that pushing preamps gives much more harmonic information and shape the overall waveform significantly. This stacks as the recording comes together. Things like bass, vox, acoustic guitar, overheads, etc are often more saturated than you'd think, but by no means crazy nasty most of the time

[@xPanDaemonx]

Mitch, talk gear to me ❤😌

[@TsosmiLosGizmoXou]

tbh after this video i bought a pre 73 mk iv

[@Bradleybrookwood]

What audio interface is he using? It sounds so clean

[@LEXRAPS]

This man could sell The New Testament to Jesus

[@cinex5114]

he would even walk away with the testament and a new preamp under his arm😁

[@johndoe-cb5ck]

Mitch seems like a really good guy

[@albanyrebelion]

Are UAD unison preamps transparent?

[@rodneyhanssen2641]

Voice so deep not even a filter can change his bass 😂

[@IstyManame]

if all those "warmer" "punchier" and "brighter" are frequency changes why can't just analog eq be used?

[@AthensTheOfficial]

He says you can attain the same effects with EQs at about 4:08. I think hardware really just saves your CPU. Less Plug-ins needed and there's less to process with a cleaner audio signal.

[@HarvinderSingh-yy8th]

Overall neutral sound is best.

[@Tazmanian_Ninja]

Back in the old Lucky Luke days, Mitch would be selling snake oil from the back of a wagon...

[@mrlungbutter]

I wish my only problem with audio was that it sounds too clean 😅 Feels like I'm playing a whack a mole game of audio issues everyday.

[@pedrocols]

I need more character...lol

[@Noone-of-your-Business]

Why not just use a tube or tape emulation plugin? There are plenty of _free_ good ones out there, so why spend money on something you can get free of charge? Also, this gives you more freedom to decide _after_ recording how much saturation you want on any given track. Baking in the coloration on recording limits your options in the mix.

[@MTDJ]

Warmth was not the overused word. Actually, it was character preamp. LOL :)

[@MikJames-d1g]

Lol, dude looks like he took a break from running his drug empire to sell some pres...

[@NuclearDeathWalk]

I will bet that not one person at Sweetwater can pick out the interface pre from a so-called quality character pre in a blind test.

[@mrsnapple5827]

Looks like funeral home director

[@MikeSmith-or4il]

Sounds like a waste of money. Just learn how to write good songs like back in the old days.