Opinions on Presonus TubePres

[Seafroggys]

So I was browsing Craigslist when I came upon a guy selling two of these for $120 ($198 for the pair brand new) and while I'm not in the market for preamps right now, especially cheaper ones like this, I did notice that he was willing to trade them for a ride cymbal. I've been trying to sell my old ride for over a year now, so this may be an opportunity to get rid of it. One of the units had a tube replaced with a Grooves Tube (no model or anything) and the seller says it sounds better.

So I'm using the Presonus Firestudio's preamps right now. Are the TubePres significantly better? I'm not one of those "OMG its tubes it must be good!" sort of people, I just want an honest opinion on the matter.

[Minion]

Well those aren"t really Tube pre"s, it is mostly Solid state...They have a Tube in them but it is just used to add distortion or a bit of color...Tubes need to be run at High Voltage to use them properly as amplifiers and this unit runs off of a 16v AC supply which isn"t nearly enough to actually use the tubes as Preamps.....

I hear they sound OK on Vocals and other instruments with the Tube drive all the way down ,and you can get some OK sounds with Guitar with the tube drive on but overall it probably isn"t much or at all of a step up from the pre"s in the Firestudio so I wouldn"t get them if you are looking for a big upgrade but they might be good to add a bit of variety to your setup....


Cheers

[Seafroggys]

Hmmm okay that's good to know. Any other opinions? I really want to make the smart decision here.

[tmix]

I have mixed tracks for a guy who uses one for everything.

I don't like the sound of it coupled with his choice of cheap bright mics.Then result is a nasty hashy bright sound with no depth of sound.

Yeah he is probably running it too hot, but I think he (and you) would do better to get a DMP3 for the same money.
On the other hand, if the cymbal is basically a dead cost issue with you and you are willing to take a chance to have something equally not used in some preamps... go ahead. You really don't have anything to lose.

I would almost think that a cymbal would be easy to move though......

[Seafroggys]

Yeah I don't know. I think I'm charging a good price for the ride but maybe no one else is convinced.

I read one review on Harmony Central saying they ran a Rode NT2-A into it (which I have two of) and says it sounds great.

If there's not much a difference between my Firestudio preamps and this I probably won't bother.

[AMcB]

I have a FirePOD and I use to have 2 TubePREs also with GrooveTubes tubes in them (ended up selling them for $25 a piece) and I use to use them but then came to realize, that in my opinion the FirePOD Pres sound better. Yeah they have more features like a PAD and what not, but definately not worth it in my opinion, just buy something better.

[tmix]

Honestly.....
To me they are really low end.
You might could use one for tracking Bass Guitar where a little grit might add some Rock and Roll similar to an ARt MP.

But if you value your Ride I would not make the trade.
My opinion obviously.

[Seafroggys]

Yeah I told him I wasn't gonna get it.