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moosers
Published on 11/06/10 at 20:35
The Art Tube MP is a simple, one channel tube based microphone preamp. Art offers up mostly affordable tube based gear that is aimed at home studio owners looking to warm up their sound a bit outside of the box. The mic pre has both 1/4" and XLR connections for both inputs and outputs and is powered up by a nine volt power supply. It's got built in phantom power, a phase reverse button, and a +20 db of gain, acting as a pad when not switched on. The tube inside of this is a 12AX7...
UTILIZATION
You really don't need to know anything in order to use the Art Tube MP. It's only got the basics you'd want with a mic pre and nothing more. It does however, give you independent input and output leveling control, which isn't something you'll find on most mic preamps. Other than that it's really a standard and simple mic pre, so I've never had a need to look at it's manual.
SOUND QUALITY
If you're looking to warm up your sound a bit outside of your audio interface and DAW, the Art Tube MP is a super cheap way to do so. It's not going to give you a super clean sound at all, but it's a warmer option when compared to any audio interfaces' preamps. I wouldn't use the Tube MP in a professional studio, as it's not up to par, but in a home studio it's a perfect fit. It's so cheap that almost anyone can afford it, and for this reason it's an incredibly well selling product. It's not going to tear down any barriers in terms of it's sound, but when compared with what most people are using with their audio interface, it's a lot warmed and fuller sounding.
OVERALL OPINION
The Art Tube MP is the best way to get a tube microphone preamp for less than $100 US dollars. It's the perfect supplement to your audio interfaces' preamps, which most of the time can sound dull and lifeless. If you want to put together a home studio spending as little money as possible, but still want at least a tube based mic pre for warmer sounds, the Art Tube MP is the ticket you're looking for...
UTILIZATION
You really don't need to know anything in order to use the Art Tube MP. It's only got the basics you'd want with a mic pre and nothing more. It does however, give you independent input and output leveling control, which isn't something you'll find on most mic preamps. Other than that it's really a standard and simple mic pre, so I've never had a need to look at it's manual.
SOUND QUALITY
If you're looking to warm up your sound a bit outside of your audio interface and DAW, the Art Tube MP is a super cheap way to do so. It's not going to give you a super clean sound at all, but it's a warmer option when compared to any audio interfaces' preamps. I wouldn't use the Tube MP in a professional studio, as it's not up to par, but in a home studio it's a perfect fit. It's so cheap that almost anyone can afford it, and for this reason it's an incredibly well selling product. It's not going to tear down any barriers in terms of it's sound, but when compared with what most people are using with their audio interface, it's a lot warmed and fuller sounding.
OVERALL OPINION
The Art Tube MP is the best way to get a tube microphone preamp for less than $100 US dollars. It's the perfect supplement to your audio interfaces' preamps, which most of the time can sound dull and lifeless. If you want to put together a home studio spending as little money as possible, but still want at least a tube based mic pre for warmer sounds, the Art Tube MP is the ticket you're looking for...