recording using sm57 with lambda...

[beardy]

Hi, i'm trying to record my guitar amp with a sm57 plugged directly into a lambda, however i have to turn up the pre-amp/gain all the way on the lambda to get a good signal, and i have to have my amp fairly loud as well. I would ideally like to record quiet levels. Are the lambda and sm57 made for that, or should i invest in an additional pre-amp?

Thanks for your help,
peace

[Electriclight]

The following comes from Lexicon's website:

The Lambda’s microphone preamps provide 44dB of gain which should be enough for most applications. If you are using a microphone with low sensitivity or if you are recording a relatively quiet signal 44dB of gain may not be enough. It is possible to link two gain stages on the Lambda together for increased gain. To do this, make the following connections:

Connect the XLR microphone cable into the Mic 1 input.
Connect one end of a typical TS instrument cable to the Mic 1 insert jack.
Connect the other end of the TS cable to the Line 1 input.

Use the Mic 1 and Line 1 knobs to increase your gain to the desired level. This configuration will allow for more gain, but the noise floor will also be increased.

[beardy]

thanks man, would it hurt or be beneficial to add an additional preamp, like the presonus blue tube? would i be able to pick up quieter sounds with that setup?

thanks again

[Electriclight]

If your quieter sounds are acoustic guitar, you might want to invest in a condensor microphone. If you are just recording your guitar amplifier I personally don't think a preamp would be necessary.

[brandondrury]

The Lambda’s microphone preamps provide 44dB of gain which should be enough for most applications.

44dB if a tiny amount of gain for a preamp, but even with a low output SM57 you should been getting a healthy signal if the guitar amp is up pretty loud.

would it hurt or be beneficial to add an additional preamp, like the presonus blue tube? would i be able to pick up quieter sounds with that setup?

Cascading preamps will definitely get you more gain. I've not been impressed by the sound quality of the Presonus Blue Tube (it's not really good or bad, it's about the same) but 44dB of gain is not really enough in my opinion.