samples?: tube vs. no tube

[tomleblanc]

I've been searching all over but I can't seem to find any staged comparisons that would allow me to hear the difference between a tube and a no-tube sound. Has anyone who has a tube-pre done this? Also, would using a tube pre on my SM58 be noticeable/appealing/worth the $ (or on guitar too I guess), or is it just a waste of time unless I'm using a condenser?

Basically, I'm debating whether or not to buy a tube pre-amp first (something like the SP VTB-1, or the PreSonus Blue Tube, or maybe even an ART??), or if I should just go with standard pre's in the Mackie mixer I'm planning to buy eventually (the DFX-6).

If anyone has a Studio Projects C1 I'd especially love to hear the tube vs. no tube difference, as I think that's the mic I'll be buying.

Thanks for reading

 

[jslator]

I've been searching all over but I can't seem to find any staged comparisons that would allow me to hear the difference between a tube and a no-tube sound.

No such thing. An Avalon VT737, Demeter VTMP-2b and UA 2-610 are all really good tube pre's and sound nothing alike. The cheap solid state/tube hybrids (Art Tube MP, Studio Projects VTB-1) sound nothing like the high end ones either. Nor do Neve 1073's, API 312's or Trident A-Range's sound anything alike. Those are all solid state. In fact, in a blind test, I'll bet more people would pick a Neve 1073 as having a "tube sound" than would pick a VT737.

I wouldn't worry so much about tube vs. solid state. Whether a pre sounds good and gives you the sound you need is far more important than it's design topology.

If you want to hear a bunch of different pre's, you could check out Dot's listening sessions. I think the URL is http://www.thelisteningsessions.com I wouldn't make any purchase decisions based on that site, but it's good for getting a very general idea of what some pre's sound like in certain circumstances.

 

[Fletcher]

Bro... don't buy into the "toobs is good" marketing bullshit. It is just as easy [maybe even easier] to perpetrate a seriously shitty design with 'glowy things' as it is to perpetrate a seriously shitty design in 'squalid state'.

The only thing you should give a shit about is whether the pre performs in a manner that is complimentary to your music... not how the 'engine' is built.

Tubes, transistors, IC chips are different ways of building amplifiers. Every amplifier design sounds different. Often, the 'engine' part of the design ["toob", "transistor", etc.] is no where near as important as to whether the unit has an input transformer [or not] or an output transformer [or not] and how the transformer [or lack thereof] works with the circuit.

The whole "toob" fad is on the level you're talking about is 99.995% bullshit. The "toobs" ain't gonna warm up shit... well, maybe the ambient room temperature, but not by much.

Use your ears, not your eyes when evaluating audio hardware... and most importantly, never forget that we're kinda in 'show business' here... and the first word in 'show business' is
"show"... which is often the only thing you're gonna get for your money.

Best of luck with all you do.