My son plays violin and I recorded some of his songs for his Grandparents and Great Grandparents for Christmas. The only mic I currently own is an SM57 which proved to sub-standard for violin due to the high frequency roll-off of the SM57 relative to the high frequency content of the violin. The CD came out fine for the intended audience who can barely hear and certainly can't tell the difference but I am determined to make a proper sounding CD next year!
Step #1 is buying a reasonable condenser mic. Step #2 is getting a proper interface with phantom power for it. My current "interface" is a Line 6 UX1 with a mic input but no phantom power. I have been looking at various interfaces but it occurred to me if I only need 1 input, then why not just use the Axe? It probably has A2D's that are world's better than most of the affordable interfaces on the market plus it would allow me to easily add whichever world-class effects I want.
To do this, I think I would need a small pre-amp before I run to the Axe. I would appreciate any input on any or all of the following questions:
1) Does this sound like a reasonable approach or should I stick with the standard interface methods?
2) Would I want to run the pre-amp to Input 1 right or input 2 or doesn't it matter?
3) Any advice on the balance of output level of the pre-amp vs. the input level setting in the Axe?
4) Any advice on using a tube pre-amp vs a SS pre-amp knowing that I could use the Tube Pre model in the Axe to add the warmth?
5) Any recommendations on small, single channel preamps?
Thanks in advance for the input!
Step #1 is buying a reasonable condenser mic. Step #2 is getting a proper interface with phantom power for it. My current "interface" is a Line 6 UX1 with a mic input but no phantom power. I have been looking at various interfaces but it occurred to me if I only need 1 input, then why not just use the Axe? It probably has A2D's that are world's better than most of the affordable interfaces on the market plus it would allow me to easily add whichever world-class effects I want.
To do this, I think I would need a small pre-amp before I run to the Axe. I would appreciate any input on any or all of the following questions:
1) Does this sound like a reasonable approach or should I stick with the standard interface methods?
2) Would I want to run the pre-amp to Input 1 right or input 2 or doesn't it matter?
3) Any advice on the balance of output level of the pre-amp vs. the input level setting in the Axe?
4) Any advice on using a tube pre-amp vs a SS pre-amp knowing that I could use the Tube Pre model in the Axe to add the warmth?
5) Any recommendations on small, single channel preamps?
Thanks in advance for the input!