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| Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
| ART MPA Gold vs. Digital MPA | indravayu | Low End Theory | 57 | 22nd December 2007 04:31 PM |
| ART MPA GOLD - Impedence? | Psychoguitarz | Low End Theory | 5 | 24th March 2007 03:51 AM |
| ART MPA Gold? | stones@rocheste | So much gear, so little time! | 0 | 23rd April 2006 08:29 PM |
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5th June 2007, 06:33 PM
| #1 |
| Gear interested Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 10
| Art MPA GOLD 2 I can get the art mpa gold 2 and an at3035 for 400 bundled. What's everyone think of the mpa gold 2? |
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5th June 2007, 06:48 PM
| #2 |
| Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: St. Louis MO
Posts: 2,200
| It's surprisingly good for the price. I bought it just to help fill out my rack and it's pretty much going to be my goto pre for di bass. I'm also loving it's character on dirty guitars compared to my True Systems. |
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5th June 2007, 06:50 PM
| #3 |
| Gear interested Join Date: May 2007
Posts: 10
| Awesome, Anyone tried it on vocals? |
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5th June 2007, 07:06 PM
| #4 |
| Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: St. Louis MO
Posts: 2,200
| Yep, done that too. Perferctly useable. Can't directly compare it to my True because they were different vocalist but I did comment to my assistant that I would be more than happy if it was the only preamp I had to use. The impedence knob really makes a big difference as well. Like I said, I didn't expect much at all from this pre and it continues to impress. |
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6th June 2007, 12:44 AM
| #5 |
| Gear addict  Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 303
| art mpa gold... Got one... LOVE IT... My only advice to you is ...the second you open the box, take the top off, remove the 5 dollar chinese tubes...and replace with 2 Telefunken ECC83/12ax7a tubes , and u will be in business.. 2 tubes on ebay will run you 40-60.00 each...WELL WORTH THE MONEY!!!  |
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6th June 2007, 12:45 AM
| #6 |
| Gear addict Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 303
| ps... Then Throw the two Chinese tubes against the wall, and yell "Mazel Tov!!" when they break... thats what I did....  e |
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6th June 2007, 05:24 AM
| #7 |
| Lives for gear  Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 2,522
| It's cool. It's sounds good when you change the tubes out. It sound good on mics. The direct inputs sound nasal and thin to me. I would rather use a DI box into the mic input.
__________________ http://www.nu-tra.com |
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7th June 2007, 02:12 AM
| #8 |
| Lives for gear  Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Long Island, NY + Boston, MA
Posts: 606
| A question for those of you who swapped the tubes on the MPA Gold (or digital MPA): How easy was the switch? I have never changed tubes in any gear before but I just bought a pair of Telefunken ECC83s to put in my digital mpa preamp. Anyone have any pictures of the insides of the unit or will I easily find my way around? Any tips for a first time tube changer (whether specific to this unit or not)? Thanks!!!  |
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7th June 2007, 02:19 AM
| #9 |
| Gear maniac Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Boston, MA
Posts: 258
| btw...i love the at 3035....GREAT mic for the price! |
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7th June 2007, 08:31 PM
| #10 |
| Gear addict Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 303
| Changing tubes... VERY simple.... Take the top off, Unscrew 2 screws per tube that hold the tube on (its like a cap holder), pull the tube out, put the new tube in, put the cap back on, screw the 2 screws in , D O N E ... Very easy... |
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7th June 2007, 08:40 PM
| #11 |
| Gear interested Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 7
| Looking at those replacement tubes for my DMPA as well. What's the diff between the smooth plate and ribbed plate versions? Thx. Jonathan |
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9th June 2007, 07:14 AM
| #12 | |
| Lives for gear Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Long Island, NY + Boston, MA
Posts: 606
| Quote:
I recently picked up a pair of smooth plate telefunkens. I installed them tonight and they sound GREAT in the Digital MPA. I can't believe the tone I'm getting out of this sub $400 preamp. I have noticed however one small issue with the pre. I virtually always need the +20db switch engaged while using the DMPA with my mics. I don't run out of gain, but I need that 20db boost to get me into a usable gain range. Do you guys find this to be true as well? The pre has a ton of total gain but I'm curious if you all find that the 20db boost switch is a constant necessity. I used my Rode NT2-A condenser tonight with the pre and found myself needing the boost yet again. | |
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9th June 2007, 08:17 AM
| #13 |
| Gear nut  Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: USA
Posts: 87
|  I like mine |
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9th June 2007, 09:51 PM
| #14 |
| Lives for gear  Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 618
| I have an MPA Gold plus two ART Pro Channels. I've tried a range of tubes and they can make a significant difference. My favorite is the Mullard 12AT7 and my second favorite is the Mullard 12AX7. The 12AT7 has a little less gain but I haven't found that to be a problem. As frankie c said, they're easy to change. Take the top off and it will be obvious how to change them. If you're feeling geeky it can be fun to try a few different types of tubes and see which you like best. A few examples of available tubes are JJ/Tesla, EI, JAN Phillips, JAN GE, Mullard, and Groove Tubes. Groove Tubes is now making a Mullard 12AX7 replica that I haven't tried yet. The MPA Gold sounds wonderful for the money - very clean and 3 dimensional but you can get some crunch if you disengage the 20db pad and crank up the input. Speaking of the 20db pad I use it most of the time on vocals but I turn it off if I'm recording louder sources such as drums. This pre is killer for vocals. It creates a nice space around the vocal which sits in the mix very nicely. |
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10th June 2007, 01:02 AM
| #15 |
| Lives for gear Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 502
| i've also found that it's almost always necessary to engage the 20db boost switch for anything that isn't crazy loud but...whatever - i've just assumed that's the way the thing was engineered |
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10th June 2007, 06:43 PM
| #16 |
| Gear addict Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 303
| pre gain I have found the "HIGH PLATE VOLTAGE" GREAT for vocals as well.... Definately do that!!! My used tube recomendations are 1. Telefunken ECC83/12ax7 2. RCA 12ax7 (a) 3. Mullard ECC83/12ax7 ((haven't heard em but the slutz seem to like them)  |
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17th June 2007, 04:02 PM
| #17 | |
| Gear maniac  Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 182
| Quote:
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17th June 2007, 06:20 PM
| #18 |
| Gear addict Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 303
| tubes.. Check back with this thread and let us know how it sounds  |
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21st June 2007, 02:25 AM
| #19 |
| Gear maniac Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 182
| Well guys the JJ tubes work great in the MPA it has low end that I need and great shimmering high's as well, this is just using a SM7 and a modded Apex 2o5 on my guitar cab.  |
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21st June 2007, 02:54 AM
| #20 |
| Gear addict Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 303
| mpa nice one.. I can't believe it....this is a definate score 4 the money... |
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21st June 2007, 08:32 PM
| #21 |
| Gear nut Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Victoria, Texas USA
Posts: 147
| My signal chain is an MXL V69me into an emu 1616m and the MPA Gold did nothing to improve my signal. No added warmth, dimensionality or anything. May work great for some, but I couldn't make it work for me. Yes, I changed the tubes to JJs too. It was so unimpressive it made me wonder if the people who pump this thing on the internet are really ART employees...  |
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22nd June 2007, 03:04 AM
| #22 |
| Gear addict Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 303
| art.. I'm definately NOT a ART employee.. I think your biggest problem is your mic... I would try getting a mic in the 3-500.00 + range.... taking a 150.00 mic and getting a preamp is kind of a waste... u wont hear the preamp difference until you get a better mic... |
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22nd June 2007, 03:15 AM
| #23 | |
| Lives for gear  Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: West Coast
Posts: 3,070
| Quote:
bcgood 
__________________ bcgood  | |
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22nd June 2007, 03:47 AM
| #24 | |
| Gear maniac Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 182
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22nd June 2007, 08:55 AM
| #25 | |
| Gear interested Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 6
| Quote:
Is that an intelligent enough thing to do? | |
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22nd June 2007, 05:55 PM
| #26 | |
| Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: St. Louis MO
Posts: 2,200
| Quote:
Well it just could be that your ears suck. You're probably just a Behringer employee. This thing sits in my rack with about 4 grand in other pre's and I still use it on every session. It has so many options tone wise I'm not sure how you could't hear the variations it offers. The ability to match impedences with your mics is a great way to give yourself more options. By the way, what other pres are you using? | |
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22nd June 2007, 07:52 PM
| #27 |
| Gear nut  Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Orlando
Posts: 101
 | Don't quite understand why people put ART and Behringer in the same category. I am thinking about getting a MPA soon. I have a DPS and think it's pretty versatle. I would consider the DPS or TPS a "tube" pre like a UA, but the are pretty versatle. |
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23rd June 2007, 06:48 PM
| #28 |
| Gear interested  Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 24
| I had the Digital MPA 2 Gold a year ago and it had some great features, and from what I remember, the digital outputs were virtually noiseless, which was nice. Also a nice feature is the variable impedance, something not often found on cheap gear like this, or even in more expensive boutique stuff. This lets you get some different sounds out of the same microphone, although you may never use it (like me... took some time to find a value I liked). My problem with the unit is that it didn't have much gain. I ALWAYS had the +20 db switch engaged and there was a very fine line for both analog and digital outs to clip and distort, which usually wasn't loud enough and I'd have to digitally amplify the signal. It's almost as if the +20db switch turns off a -20db pad. The preamp by itself was clean and clear, although transparent pretty colorless especially for a tube pre (+ or - depending on your viewpoint). Sold it on ebay last year when I decided to get into some more serious preamps, which is well worth the money. |
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24th June 2007, 04:06 AM
| #29 |
| Gear maniac Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 206
| Funny, when I took a cheap mic, an SM57 and compared an ART tube pre with an API, I could hear a difference. A big difference. |
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24th June 2007, 04:59 AM
| #30 | |
| Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: St. Louis MO
Posts: 2,200
| Quote:
Well yeah, I hope so. It's like saying I compared my Focus to a Ferrari and there was a big difference. The Art is not bad, the impedance knob is cool and gives a variety of sounds. Yea, preamp doesn't have a lot of gain but you can push it pretty hard and it stays relatively clean. Like I said I have some nice pre's and I won't lie there is a difference but I could make a decent sounding record with the Art. I do want me some API's though. | |
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