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chrislieck « For the money not bad »
Published on 09/25/12 at 23:01For the money this tube does a pretty good job. I tell my students that want a tube preamp for their home studio www.comia.us that this is a great way to learn the art of tube pre amps. The sound is colored but in a pretty good way. Trust me I use top of the line pre amps all day but this unit for a desktop unit is very good. In the old days of recording we use to "ride the input" meaning controlling the signal as it is being recorded. This unit is great in that it sits on the desk and it so reasonable it really does the trick and it can take a hit. There are settings that are all over the internet that a lot of guys share or post but there is really not much to the unit. It has a simple design to it. I recommend this unit for my beginning students that are not aware of any uses for tube or that may over do it and not recognize the sound of a tube pre amp. Most younger guys have never use a tube at any time in their lives unless they play guitar and know the difference. Most can't even hear what tube can do for the sound. Sometimes I get a bit of a buzz from the stock tube but it goes away. It is not to noisy for the money but it does have a bit of noise. Always watch the way you use this tube pre amp. If you are slamming the tube you will hear everything including the noise but if you just use it in moderation it will bode well for you. Don't try to saturate the unit with really hot levels of inputs.
UTILIZATION
Very easy to use and not hard at all to get use to. Great sound for the money. I like it for simple vocal tracks and it is a good starting point for people that do not know how to use pre amps with tubes. It is extremely simple to set up and use. I do like the table top aspect of the unit. I like the fact that you can use it and ride your input stage right by your right hand. I ride the input all the time when recording vocalists and I wish more tube pre amps and or pre amps that other companies would make table top units. As engineers having the input gain right at your finger tips is a real plus when I record vocalists.
SOUND QUALITY
Colored sounding but not in a bad way very decent and the tube is fine. Don't waste money switching it out. The sound is somewhat like a gritty tone that is not real high quality but in no way does it sound bad. It is like the blue tube or the old blue tube presounus tube amp pre amps that you could get for about 150.00.
OVERALL OPINION
For the price I would really consider this unit. It gives you a tube sound for a very low price. You can't beat it. Again for the price what is out there that can even compare. I saw a review where they were saying the MPA II was ten times better but I have them and they are not 10 times better than this pre amp. I would say the main difference is the gain input stage and in some ways this unit is very much like the MPA.
UTILIZATION
Very easy to use and not hard at all to get use to. Great sound for the money. I like it for simple vocal tracks and it is a good starting point for people that do not know how to use pre amps with tubes. It is extremely simple to set up and use. I do like the table top aspect of the unit. I like the fact that you can use it and ride your input stage right by your right hand. I ride the input all the time when recording vocalists and I wish more tube pre amps and or pre amps that other companies would make table top units. As engineers having the input gain right at your finger tips is a real plus when I record vocalists.
SOUND QUALITY
Colored sounding but not in a bad way very decent and the tube is fine. Don't waste money switching it out. The sound is somewhat like a gritty tone that is not real high quality but in no way does it sound bad. It is like the blue tube or the old blue tube presounus tube amp pre amps that you could get for about 150.00.
OVERALL OPINION
For the price I would really consider this unit. It gives you a tube sound for a very low price. You can't beat it. Again for the price what is out there that can even compare. I saw a review where they were saying the MPA II was ten times better but I have them and they are not 10 times better than this pre amp. I would say the main difference is the gain input stage and in some ways this unit is very much like the MPA.
