comments on art tube mp.

[manning1]

this follows up on a thread where i asked for views on the art tube mp.
i decided to go rent a new one from a friendly retailer for a week and do a demo song in it and really work hard with it and put it through its paces so to speak.
frankly ...its really important how one sets up this preamp.
its not a hi end pre....but i'm very surprised what it can do for such a low price.
very useable indeed with some massaging of the tracks.
i just double tracked a vocal using it and was surprised.
if anyone is interested just ask and i'll try and post a sample of the demo song
in a couple of days with the vocals pushed up so you can hear actual results.
in summary....not a hi end pre but pretty decent value for money.
if i decide to keep it i'm prolly going to try different tubes in it.
like others have done.peace.

[beatzz]

Originally Posted by manning1

this follows up on a thread where i asked for views on the art tube mp.
i decided to go rent a new one from a friendly retailer for a week and do a demo song in it and really work hard with it and put it through its paces so to speak.
frankly ...its really important how one sets up this preamp.
.

How did you set it up? What did you find was the most important factor?

[aapee]

I recommed you to put BurrBrown chips inside and good 12AX7 tube and you will be amazed... I did that and it truly is very usefull.

AaPee

[Dickens]

Originally Posted by aapee

I recommed you to put BurrBrown chips inside and good 12AX7 tube and you will be amazed... I did that it truly is very usefull.

AaPee

Please explain BurrBrown chips?

[Blue Bear Sound]

Several years ago, I bought one upon recommendation for use as a Bass DI and for that purpose it's fairly decent (but not as great as the person recommending it made it out to be!)

I tried it as a mic pre once and was pretty disgusted -- "small" and "constricted" were the characteristics that came to mind at the time.

[manning1]

beatzz...
heres how i set it up....
mic>>>>>tube mp>>>>compressor>>>>line mixer (to add gain)>>>>line in of sound card. keep the input and particularly the output control down a bit...
so your not pushing it too hard. use the line mixer for added clean gain going to the sound card.
aapee...
yes...those mods are interesting......and i will be looking at those further....
if i decide to keep it. thanks for your kind help.
what brand of replacement tube ? out of interest ??
dickens....
burr brown chips are operational amplifiers. (read up on google what an op amp does) and essentially contain lots of transistor circuits on a small chip.
op amps have many uses....and in audio circuits think of "mini amplifier"...essentially they are prevalent in lots of audio gear from the hi end on down.
people use burr browns because of their reputation.
what happens often is to cut costs manufacturers put into units cheaper op
amps. BB manufactures higher quality spec replacement op amps.
bear....
maybe i just got "lucky" .....i dont know.
but its not junk imho. one aspect IS IMPORTANT.
i find i DO have to massage the track a bit after recording.
I'm NOT claiming its a hi end pre.....but it IS useable imho with the proviso one works carefully on the input and output control settings.
imho for someone starting out its a fair deal for the price.
Much as i respect your expertise bear...the lead vocal i'm getting right now is not "small" at all in any way shape or form. its way out there in front of the mix. i double tracked the vocal....and will post examples if anyone wishes. so they can hear i'm getting a big dominant lead vocal sound.

[aapee]

Hi again guys!

Sorry, I have not answered to your questions but I have had short vacation

Normally ART Tube MP should use pair of TL1072's. We changed them with Burr Brown OPA 2604 (approx. 5$ each). They seems to fit very well. Then we changed that original Chinese tube to JJ 12AX7 which made ART one degree better also. If you want less gain just put 12AT7 and you are set.

I am very pleased with these little cheap boxes - they have their uses

with respect,

AaPee

[malekmusic]

what do you mean with 12at7 ?

[aapee]

Howdy!

http://www.tubedepot.com/jj-ecc81.html

12AT7 has littlebit (approx. 40%) less gain comparing to 12AX7. You might also try 12AU7 but it could be too "weak" for this purpose.

AaPee

[malekmusic]

do you mean with less gain, that the 12at7 sound more transparent and less tubish ?

[shikawkee]

I have a buddy who mod's ART units.

Roger Foote

footenote_at_hayfork.net (or .com, I can't remember this early).

He did a mod on a tabletop levelar and it made it much quieter
and more useful to me. YMMV.

[aapee]

Originally Posted by malekmusic

do you mean with less gain, that the 12at7 sound more transparent and less tubish ?

Yup, it gives less gain for the output and let's say, it gives little less tube character for the sound. Ofcourse, if driven both with the same input.

AaPee

[malekmusic]

that sounds really nice.

do you know hot get those tubes and op-amps in europe ?

[aapee]

Originally Posted by malekmusic

that sounds really nice.

do you know hot get those tubes and op-amps in europe ?

For exsample here you can find those opamps -> www.elfa.se . JJ tubes or any other quality tubes you can find from your local dealer or for exsample from here -> http://www.tubetown.de/ttstore/index...lectronic.html .

Happy shopping,

AaPee

[Dickens]

Originally Posted by manning1

beatzz...
heres how i set it up....
mic>>>>>tube mp>>>>compressor>>>>line mixer (to add gain)>>>>line in of sound card. keep the input and particularly the output control down a bit...
so your not pushing it too hard. use the line mixer for added clean gain going to the sound card.
aapee...
yes...those mods are interesting......and i will be looking at those further....
if i decide to keep it. thanks for your kind help.
what brand of replacement tube ? out of interest ??
dickens....
burr brown chips are operational amplifiers. (read up on google what an op amp does) and essentially contain lots of transistor circuits on a small chip.
op amps have many uses....and in audio circuits think of "mini amplifier"...essentially they are prevalent in lots of audio gear from the hi end on down.
people use burr browns because of their reputation.
what happens often is to cut costs manufacturers put into units cheaper op
amps. BB manufactures higher quality spec replacement op amps.
bear....
maybe i just got "lucky" .....i dont know.
but its not junk imho. one aspect IS IMPORTANT.
i find i DO have to massage the track a bit after recording.
I'm NOT claiming its a hi end pre.....but it IS useable imho with the proviso one works carefully on the input and output control settings.
imho for someone starting out its a fair deal for the price.
Much as i respect your expertise bear...the lead vocal i'm getting right now is not "small" at all in any way shape or form. its way out there in front of the mix. i double tracked the vocal....and will post examples if anyone wishes. so they can hear i'm getting a big dominant lead vocal sound.

Thank you for your response.
With the listed modifications on the ART might there be another inexpensive pre amp to look at that gives you similar quality?

[Brad McGowan]

Just changing the tube makes a big difference in my opinion. I put in a NOS RCA 12AX7 that I had lying around. We also tried a Mullard 12AT7. Both were much much better than stock. I was amazed at how good this thing sounded on bass DI. I know this will be blasphemy in these parts, but I compared it to the Great River ME1NV DI and it didn't sound a $1000 different to my ears. The Tube MP sound (with the NOS tube) was actually quite nice and useable. It was a little more rounded sounding, but still very large and thick like the ME1NV. Another good application for these boxes is for acoustic guitar DI, especially for live use. It really smooths out that annoying "I am plugging my acoustic guitar into the console" sound.

Brad