Re: recording interface/preamp
My $.02... it might be okay with that one mic, with your current setup into the ibook, and if you place the mic fairly close (mandolins being one of the quieter instruments to record).
I wouldn't personally be comfortable with a preamp that topped out at 45db gain. It's not so much that this amount of gain isn't useful... I often record somewhere around that level. But I don't want the circuit to be maxed out with no headroom, unless I'm intentionally choosing that for a semi-distorted flavor... and that only works (in my experience) with the more expensive preamps, and seldom for acoustic instruments.
I like to see at least 60db gain as a minimum spec for general use, unless it's something very specialized like a high-end $2,000+ tube preamp, where it's difficult to get high gain due to the nature of the circuit. 70+ db gain is even better if you can get it, for more distant mic techniques (room mics), or certain ribbon mics. A preamp that can do at least 60db gain maxed out, can be ramped down to 40-50db and it will likely sound cleaner and more transparent at that level... which is usually the goal with acoustic music. Some preamps are designed to be pushed hard for certain effects, but you really have to know what you're doing with those.
FWIW, I just did some recording this afternoon with a trio I play in (fiddle, guitar, mandolin). I had a stereo mic up at a distance for room sound, and that was running 60db gain. I had two small diaphragm condenser mics on fiddle and guitar, placed about 18" away, both running around 50db gain on a preamp that's spec'd for 70 db max. I had a ribbon mic on my mandolin at about the same distance, running at 57db gain on a preamp spec'd for 83db max. I was running somewhere in the neighborhood of -3 to -6db so I didn't clip the converters on my computer interface. None of the preamps were working at their maximum level; I was aiming for the sweet spot for tone. These are expensive preamps, but it isn't that difficult to find good entry-level pre's with at least 60db gain.
Which Presonus preamp are you looking at? Maybe there's something else in the price range that would work better. Also, beware of anything with a tube in it, at a low price point. Those are "starved plate" designs that don't do what a real, high voltage tube circuit can do.
Lebeda F-5 mandolin, redwood top
Weber Yellowstone F-5 octave mandolin
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