okay...
look, i apologize in advance here. i never say things like this, but i just have to for the sake of people at the same stages of their career as me.
people beginning to understand the subtle nuances of this art get to a point where everything is a blur. you get to a threshold where you totally get how to capture sounds, mix, just be good at what you are doing. then you start to wonder about those other possibilities. like what makes things tick.
so you stumble on a forum such as this. amazing in and of itself - a whole mass of like minded people seemingly willing to help out one and all. and some will. there was a post not too long ago about impedence. did he get flamed for asking about the apparently general curiosity question? i have pre's with impedence buttons, and my instruction manual tells me what it does. big whooop. but it can't tell me what posting in a forum like this can - practical situations, applications, examples... just real people telling about real experiences. lamen's terms, as that poster put it.
the same thing applies to my question about gain structure. i'm not an imbecile (even though i can't spell so hot sometimes) - i did my homework. yes, i saw thsoe websites. that's all fine and good if i had an osciliscope, or seven things in a signal chain, or every mic an amp with a pad like the examples given.
but i'm a dude with some mikes who records folk music. the sound is all in the mic, right? how do i benefit from gain structure? i can read definitions till monday but that won't help. sound guy that i mentioned - he was using the pre's on the board - mic to board to PA. that was his signal path. how does gain structure help him.
i came here to ask that question hoping to get some real life 'here's what happened to me' or 'i was a sound guy and here's what he meant in a simple path like that...' and sure, i'll take partial blame. maybe i should've suspected that i could get flamed by a 'professional,' and provided every last detail (such as his signal path). and i didn't - my bad!
but hey, its cool. to each his own. again, sorry my first post seemed ignorant, and sorry about this rant here that might not do me too well, either. but to every other person like me out there who reads this, who wants to practical advice from people who have lived it for 20 years, and who wants that personal touch to their learning experience, don't let this stop you from posting!! that's the reason this board is here!!
lord knows this won't stop me. i'll post more questions, i'm sure. and i definately will come here to learn from the tons of professionals that here, as well as the people like me who just stumble across things as they go.
thanks/sorry
josh dennison