Vagodeoz
One-Man-Band
I have the Art Tube MP and it sounds pretty damm good IMO. However I wanted some advice about changing the tube. Which one do you recommend? And is it worth the investment?
Tim, how close will the Art Tube MP, with the tube replacement, sound to the real thing? Is the stock 12AX7 inside the Art Tube MP, the bottleneck, which prevents the product to be a lot more prized?
Tim, how close will the Art Tube MP, with the tube replacement, sound to the real thing? Is the stock 12AX7 inside the Art Tube MP, the bottleneck, which prevents the product to be a lot more prized?
The EI ECC83 will be a huge improvement over the Chinese 12AX7 that’s in there.
http://www.eierc.com/rc/ECC83.htm
Their ECC83 is about as close to the original Telefunken as you can get at a decent price. I use it in the PAIA tube pre that I built and moded. It originally had a Sovtek 12AX7, which is not much better in a vocal pre than the Chinese stuff.
Op-amps will help as well. The BB 2134 is a good choice if you want to try something else, but if the stock amps are NE5532 I tend to like those and leave them in place. Best thing to do is solder in an 8-pin DIP socket so you can try different op-amps. Give the 4580 a shot… I like those for some things.
TL072 as I recall. And I don't like 4580 for anything But once you go fast, it's hard to go back . . . .
Can you order these ECC83's directly from EI and if so, will they also fit in the Cheaper ART TUBE MP studio model pre?
A.A.
It's hard to go anywhere once you're self-oscillating.
The 4580 is good for swapping out the ubiquitous 4558 or 4560, and I think it's pretty clean where I've used them... but you know, op-amps are like a religious thing. The 4580 and NE5532 are safe bets for drop-in without worrying about oscillation, or PS issues with a mass swap in a console.
But hey, that's why we put the sockets in first... you can experiment to your heart's content.
So all you have to do is replace the tube and the mic pre will sound better? Is that all there is to it?
Aaron
Thanks everyone! I think I will only switch the tube for starters.
I found in musiciansfriend some ECC83 but I'm not sure if it's this, since in the review most people use them for Marshall AVT50.
So can anyone please post a link to where to buy those tubes? (would be nice if they have international shipping)
Just want to drop my BIG WORD of disapproval for those IC sockets that are available currently at RadioShack. And I mean specifically those sockets, as I can't say much about maybe some different sockets of similar type.Beck said:Also spend a little extra on machined DIP sockets (See photo) rather than the tension type available from Radio Shack.
Just want to drop my BIG WORD of disapproval for those IC sockets that are available currently at RadioShack. And I mean specifically those sockets, as I can't say much about maybe some different sockets of similar type.
I could write a nightmare novel bigger than Tolstoy's "War and Peace" just about how RadioShacks IC sockets SUCKS