ART Tube MP OPL... fried?

[-=T=-]

Greetings,
I'm strictly a hobbiest, and I'm using:

Shure PG58
ART Tube MP OPL

..into a PowerMac Dual G4

I've had the ART for probly six months, and in that time, I've occasionally experienced loss/decrease of signal-- not during use, but between sessions. In the past, unplugging/replugging the unit solved the problem... until now.

Now, I'm getting a very weak signal into the ART. The clipping/OPL light doesn't even blink regardless of the input level, and I need to have my lips on the mike to even register a faint signal on the Mac, with input level on the ART cranked all the way up. This tells me that at least some signal is going through the ART (just not enough to do anything with).

I'm guessing that perhaps a power spike fried something in the ART... just trying to confirm my suspicions-- I suppose this could be a mike problem, but I have no way to test that.



P.S.: Why on earth doesn't the ART have a POWER SWITCH on it?!?!? It seems ludicrous to have to unplug this thing when not using it.


P.P.S.: I'm having trouble finding a 1/4" - 1/8" mono instrument cable.. Any ideas?

Thanx for any "input"...

[bigwillz24]

Maybe the tube is going out....

BTW welcome to the board.

[-=T=-]

Originally Posted by bigwillz24

Maybe the tube is going out....

BTW welcome to the board.

Thanx...

This crossed my mind, but would tube failure really cause these symptoms?

I was under the impression that the tube simply added "warmth" and "fatness" to the signal, the amount of which is controlled by the output gain. It would seem to me that if the output gain is set to 0, the tube would be "bypassed", and it wouldn't effect the signal otherwise. Maybe not.

Any idea on the typical lifetime of these tubes (12AX7A) ?

[bigwillz24]

Originally Posted by -=T=-

Thanx...

This crossed my mind, but would tube failure really cause these symptoms?

Yes

Originally Posted by -=T=-

Any idea on the typical lifetime of these tubes (12AX7A) ?

Nope but the tube is the most likely to go out.

[gemsbok]

i have an art opl tube mp that recently went on the fritz . i tried to use it as a direct box for bass and i couldnt getthe 1/4 inch input to work. the mic xlr input worked fine. when i took it apart i noticed a slight white frosting on different areas of the circuit board.also the clear wire harness had a couple solder joints worn off. i think i got a bad unit but its a 2 years old and no warranty. the bad part is that art will fix it for a flat 50$ fee but i can get a new one for that price. guess i will have to take a loss .

[MadTiger3000]

I have the ART MP Studio V3, and I haven't had any issues (yet!), but I concur that the tube is a likely culprit in this case.

[-=T=-]

Follow up:
I spoke to ART, and the tech did NOT think it was the tube.

However, he said it should be covered by the warranty, so I'll send it in for them to check it out.