ART Tube MP...consider a tube change

Slackmaster2K

Slackmaster2K

Gone
Just a note....for a long time I thought that my ART pre sounded funny. Actually I blamed it on my SM57 for a long time....but when I got the V67 I noticed very similar characteristics...a hollow or shallow sound at moderate volume, and a strange tin can sound at high volumes.

So finally, after a year of owning this stupid thing, I trucked on down to the local music whore and bought a groove tubes 12AX7A and stuck it in the ART. WOW. Much more usable gain and the hollow tin can sound seems to be gone. I honestly didn't think it would make that much of a difference. Total cost was $16.

If you're experiencing similar crap sound from your Tube MP, then you might consider a replacement tube. I should note that the single channel Tube MP's are kind of a pain to get apart. Actually, they come apart easy, but you have to be very careful because the ribbon cable connecting the pots to the main board is not very long, and the tube is on the same end of the board as the ribbon. In other words, it might help to have two pairs of hands, and be gentle.

Slackmaster 2000
 
I've heard good things about the Sovtek tubes as well, which you can get fairly inexpensively, $12 for a 12AX7.

BTW, I have a Tube MP Studio on the way, which is basically a Tube MP with an actual VU meter and a basic limiter. I'll report on it vs. my DMP2 when I get it.

I was also searching through r.a.p. yesterday on this very topic of "tube swapping" and I came across a pretty comical post, let's hope its not true or at least a case of gear snobbery:

"We're ralking about a Tube MP here. All this tube swapping may be a good academic exercise but in the end, the test will yeild various shades of mediocre. Try swapping the Tube MP with a Manley unit and see if that clears everything up for you. Tube swapping on the MP is like experimenting with different spoilers on your Ford Pinto -- it really doesn't matter."
 
"We're ralking about a Tube MP here. All this tube swapping may be a good academic exercise but in the end, the test will yeild various shades of mediocre. Try swapping the Tube MP with a Manley unit and see if that clears everything up for you. Tube swapping on the MP is like experimenting with different spoilers on your Ford Pinto -- it really doesn't matter."


:D
 
Well, all I can say is that the difference in sound was dramatic. Call me deaf, but I actually like the sound now. Besides, I'm not going to spend 400 bucks on a neve pre just to run it into a silly Delta soundcard :)

Slackmaster 2000
 
Oh, don't get me wrong....I'm not knocking the Tube MP. I just bought one after all! I just happened to see that post and thought it was funny.

BTW, Slack, tube stuff (well tube guitar amps anyway) is pretty dangerous to open up and play with (dangerous voltages, even after they're turned off). I'm guessing this isn't the case with the Tube MP since it uses a low-voltage "starved-plate" design, but did you do anything to drain the voltages before swapping the tube?
 
I replaced the tube that came with mine with a vintage GE Long Plate 12AX7. I don't even know what the stock tube sounds like actually.
 
Dolemite said:
BTW, Slack, tube stuff (well tube guitar amps anyway) is pretty dangerous to open up and play with ... did you do anything to drain the voltages before swapping the tube?
Click to expand...

After 3753 days with no reply from Slack regarding Dolomite's question, I am thinking Slack may have drained the voltage manually. R.I.P. Slack. I guess we will never know.
 
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