ART Digital MPA II vs GAP Pre 73

[David C.]

Yeah, my ART is the DPS II and I've never tried the two space ART units but have heard they're a whole 'nother animal. Mine quit working so being a guitarist who knows that most amp problems are tube related I popped the top on the DPS and popped in an old tube from my tube stash. Well, it started working again and sounded better. Funny, while I had it open I checked the digital side of it and there were a boat load of Alesis chips in there. ART must have bought out the old ADAT stash or something.

Also, the ART just had one tube for a stereo unit so they're using just one side of the triode for each channel. It seems to obviously be a starved plate. How many tubes do the two space ART mic pre's have?

[ivmike]

Originally Posted by David C.

Yeah, my ART is the DPS II and I've never tried the two space ART units but have heard they're a whole 'nother animal. Mine quit working so being a guitarist who knows that most amp problems are tube related I popped the top on the DPS and popped in an old tube from my tube stash. Well, it started working again and sounded better. Funny, while I had it open I checked the digital side of it and there were a boat load of Alesis chips in there. ART must have bought out the old ADAT stash or something.

Also, the ART just had one tube for a stereo unit so they're using just one side of the triode for each channel. It seems to obviously be a starved plate. How many tubes do the two space ART mic pre's have?

The MPA II and MPA Gold both have two tubes (one for each channel). Also, they have selectable plate voltage (low or high). The MPA units are a large step up from the DPS and even the TPS.

My Behringer ADA8000 also has Alesis chips in it; maybe Alesis is a reseller for all things digital?

[nathanp]

Originally Posted by David C.

Also, the ART just had one tube for a stereo unit so they're using just one side of the triode for each channel. It seems to obviously be a starved plate. How many tubes do the two space ART mic pre's have?

I had a hunch the DPS and TPS were starved plate designs. I have not used those pres but I have had the displeasure of owning/using a couple other starved plate designs. The bluetube DP, and before that the single channel bluetube. I've used the Art MP before as well. They all have a similar sonic quality when you drive the tube. To me, it seemed that as I increased the drive, I would keep waiting for even a slight hint of pleasant tube color to come through, and then all of a sudden it would distort and sound similar to a blown speaker effect, which I did find a use for on very rare occasions.

Sometimes I wonder why they make cheap tube pres that run at low voltage at all. It seems like a good majority of low end preamps have some kind of starved plate/hybrid tube circuitry. I'm sure a company can increase their sales by tacking "tube" onto their amp's title, cause a lot of people in the market for a budget pre will just see "tube" and think "yay" and buy. I was one of them.

Also, does anyone know how the quality of the AD converters in the MPA digital units compare against other converters? Such as run of the mill interface converters? I have a focusrite Saffire Pro 40, which actually has some very nice pres for interface internals imo, but they have no way to completely override the input gain stage without going digital in.

[gear aholic]

i have an ART TPS 2 that i use for acoustic and vocals sometimes sounds great for $225

[dickiefunk]

Originally Posted by cdbluff

This will be my first mic pre purchase, and I'm going crazy trying to decide between these two (ART Digital MPA II vs. GAP Pre 73). My budget is right around $400 and I'm trying to record vocals and acoustic guitar with an acoustic folk rock sound. I am using an SM7B, CAD GXL 2200, and an Audix OM2 at the moment. Can someone help me decide or suggest a different mic pre? Thanks!

I have used both the GAP PRE73 and ART MPA Gold with NOS Telefunken tubes.
From my experience with these I would personally choose the PRE73.

Having said that, I would be tempted to try out a different vocal mic instead of changing the preamp as I've heard some great recordings made with those M-Audio pres. Upgrading the mic can make a bigger difference from my experience.