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Published on 06/29/11 at 02:29Ahhh Art. Offering VERY inexpensive gear to anyone in a pinch or anyone looking to get started. Well, when someone asks for a cheap preamp at a music store, the Art Tube MP is usually what the salesman directs one toward. It is a very inexpensive single-channel tube preamplifier for those looking to give their sound just a bit of that notorious tube warmth directly in the signal chain.
The Tube MP is actually quite generous, giving you 1/4" and XLR connections for inputs AND outputs (not something you see often in budget gear). It has all of the obvious things that people don't seem to notice until they need them: phantom power, phase reverse and a strange button offering 20db of gain, which is just a convoluted way to add a 20db pad into the machine.
UTILIZATION
There's nothing particularly special about the Art Tube MP except for the fact that it allows you to adjust BOTH input and output. Once again, I must also mention the XLR outputs, which quite frankly, mean a bit more than most people realize.
SOUND QUALITY
This is of course where the opinion on the Tube MP splits. Yes, the Art Tube MP WILL impart a certain tube fullness to the signal chain. No, it will not do it terribly efficiently. The Tube MP suffers from an unfortunate but understandable "budget grit." I won't attempt to describe it; the Tube MP's low price and resultant popularity ensures sound samples galore for anyone to look up.
I won't say that it's bad though. If used in a busy mix, the Tube MP is a very cheap way to get a good fat sound in the chain, but I would personally never use it against a solid-state preamp like my trusty M-Audio DMP3 on a quieter recording.
OVERALL OPINION
The Tube MP is probably where people initially go when they want a dedicated preamp for the first time. It definitely manages its market well. clearly differentiating itself from the vanilla and sterile preamps that tend to come in most beginner interfaces that most people start off on.
For not a lot of money, and a clear idea of its limitations and what you want out of it, the Art Tube MP is a pretty darn steal. But make sure your purchase is educated, because very few people in the world who deal with this don't have a terrifyingly polar opinion about this brilliant little box.
The Tube MP is actually quite generous, giving you 1/4" and XLR connections for inputs AND outputs (not something you see often in budget gear). It has all of the obvious things that people don't seem to notice until they need them: phantom power, phase reverse and a strange button offering 20db of gain, which is just a convoluted way to add a 20db pad into the machine.
UTILIZATION
There's nothing particularly special about the Art Tube MP except for the fact that it allows you to adjust BOTH input and output. Once again, I must also mention the XLR outputs, which quite frankly, mean a bit more than most people realize.
SOUND QUALITY
This is of course where the opinion on the Tube MP splits. Yes, the Art Tube MP WILL impart a certain tube fullness to the signal chain. No, it will not do it terribly efficiently. The Tube MP suffers from an unfortunate but understandable "budget grit." I won't attempt to describe it; the Tube MP's low price and resultant popularity ensures sound samples galore for anyone to look up.
I won't say that it's bad though. If used in a busy mix, the Tube MP is a very cheap way to get a good fat sound in the chain, but I would personally never use it against a solid-state preamp like my trusty M-Audio DMP3 on a quieter recording.
OVERALL OPINION
The Tube MP is probably where people initially go when they want a dedicated preamp for the first time. It definitely manages its market well. clearly differentiating itself from the vanilla and sterile preamps that tend to come in most beginner interfaces that most people start off on.
For not a lot of money, and a clear idea of its limitations and what you want out of it, the Art Tube MP is a pretty darn steal. But make sure your purchase is educated, because very few people in the world who deal with this don't have a terrifyingly polar opinion about this brilliant little box.