Tech Tuesday—How to Choose the Perfect Preamp for Your Music

In this video, Dave Hagen, instructor at Dark Horse Institute and senior engineer at Dark Horse Recording, invites expert gear manufacturer and audio engineer Bret Teegarden to explain comparative recording techniques using different types of preamps.

Preamp Options

Preamps are essential for bringing the signal up to alter and color the essence of your recorded sound in interesting ways. The three features Teegarden looks for when choosing the right preamp include headroom, phantom power and possibly a pad depending on the amount of incoming signals.

The three basic types of preamps he suggests using are vacuum tubes, discrete transistor based and IC. Each has a unique way of generating sound depending on the genre of music you are trying to create.

Watch the video to discover which preamp is ideal for capturing the excellent audio sound you want to achieve.