ART studio MP faulty or just lousy?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ambi
  • Start date Start date
A

ambi

New member
I've had an ART Studio Mp for a little over a year now and i've never really used it due to the fact that it sounds terrible. I just assumed that was the way it was supposed to be, or that because i was using a sblive it just sounded bad. But after using some mackie boards, and doing TONS of reading on this board and other sites, i've discovered it may just be a bum preamp.

People on here have talked about a lot of these being faulty. My first indications was that the VU meter on the front doesn't really do anything. If i put the gain to +60dba (the max), and shout in it, i get some decent VU meter movement. but i if i turn it up to a level where my shure sm58 is picking things up nicely (usually around 40dba gain) it doesn't even move unless i really shout.

The main thing after using it compared to the mackie is that it is unusable due to the ammount of noise it generates. If i turn the gain up enough so that the signal from a sm58 is amplified enough to record at a decent level, i've had to turn the gain WAY up, and it's super noisy. Now i KNOW this is not how it is supposed to be. No matter how shitty people claim the preamp is, this has to be a faulty one.

Is this a common thing? I've heard that if you replace the tube in it, it can help the sound. But i think that was mainly to improve the sound, not fix a broken one. Problem is i've been lazy and haven't really used it, and i didn't really figure out until recently that it might have been a faulty one. I've had it for over a year so i think i have no warantee. I'm going to call my local long and mcquade where i bought it from and ask about it.

You think it's broken, am i doing something wrong?

The stupid sales person i talked to about the VU meter not moving said it was normal or something. He just said, turn the gain all the way up and shout into it, is it moving? yes? ok should be fine. Dumbass.

Anyways do i have a chance or am i stuck with a doorstop?
 
ambi said:
If i turn the gain up enough so that the signal from a sm58 is amplified enough to record at a decent level, i've had to turn the gain WAY up, and it's super noisy.
Click to expand...

It's probably a faulty unit, if that's the case. The Tube MP's aren't made to sound good with the gain turned all the way up. I use a Tube MP OPL with dynamic mikes with no audible noise. In my opinion it should sound just as good as the Mackie boards you have used.

I use solid state preamps 90 % of the time. Tube devices are a pain in the ass and it's easy for them to become defective from my experience or get a bad one from the factory, and I don't think they have much sonic benefits when you are talking about the inexpensive ones. I like them for adding distortion to synth and drum machine sounds but that's the only reason I own them.

When I want a "fat" sound I use an optical compressor and skip the tube preamps.

If it's defective, I don't think getting it repaired makes sense financially. I would buy or start saving for something else. An M-Audio DMP3 for example. Good luck ambi
 
The clipping light on my regular Tube MP has never worked right, and I have heard this claim a few times that the Studio MP's VU meter doesn't seem to work. It wouldn't suprise me if that feature was indeed just broken.

As far as noise goes...yeah it's noisy but what do you mean by "unusable"? Often times noise is only a problem when you're sitting there listening directly to it....it may not be as apparent in your mix.

With an SM58 you'll have to engage the +20db switch and probably crank your input & output a bit. There should be a very audible "hissing" from the ART, but the signal you get should be much higher than the hissing.

I replaced the tube in my Tube MP and it improved the sound a whole lot. Granted the Tube MP isn't a "real" tube preamp, but the tube does play an important role in the sound. If you find that the sound tends to go downhill when you crank up the input gain, then try replacing the tube. In my case, the preamp had a sort of tin box/bad transistor radio sound to it when I'd turn the input gain past 50%...after replacing the tube that sound was gone and now I actually like the sound of this little unit...much more flattering to vocals than more transparent preamps in the same price range IMO.

If your unit is truely producing an awful lot of noise, then it probably is defective. If you want to throw another 10-15 bucks at it you could replace the tube and see if that helps any....otherwise, if it's out of warranty you're probably out of luck :(

Slackmaster 2000
 
I called the store i bought it from and they don't even have the record of it's sale in the computer for some reason. the reciept is missing, so i guess i'll just buy a replacement tube and use it for whatever things i can. What tube should i buy? They said they had one for 13 dollars, but i think it may be a direct replacement, as in the exact same tube already in it.

What brand of tube should i get?
 
tube pre

make sure the preamp works without phantom power up so check it with a non condenser mic too. also just bring it in to long and mcquade to test it with a tec there they should examine it quick with their gear to see if its okay then go get a rnp if you want to get something to replace it mind you you have waited a year so you dont seem to need it much maybe e bay is your best bet sell it or trade.
 
they have those 12AXL tube replacements i think those are the ones that people are talkign about. 13 dollars canadian, so i think i'm gonna pick one up and see how it works. hopefully it will help. I'll just leave this sucker around for bass or something. It's not really worth selling and it's not really worth throwing in the ocean so i might as well just keep it around just incase. If nothing else it will make it look like i have more stuff to someone who doesn't know anything.
 
Any 12AX7 should work. I used one from groove tubes...it cost maybe $15. They had cheaper ones for $10. (this at a local shop) Whatever you're seeing there seems to be in the right price range.

Slackmaster 2000
 
that's right, 12ax7. That's the model. I think i'll pick one up tomorrow and see how it works. That reminds me i need my damn cables back from my friend so i can test it out.
 
If you want to get fancy, get a Mullard tube or a telefunken NOS 12ax7 off of Ebay. they average about $20. My blue tube was alot less noisy after I switched.
 
Hmm mullard or telefunken. That sounds interesting, i wish i could get one locally though.
 
The problem with the Tube MP, and all of the other cheap "tube" preamps is that they are NOT tube preamps. They are, without exception, IC preamps with a starved plate tube put in line. When you starve the voltage to a tube, it distorts at a much lower lever (even if it is not amplifying). They do not make things sound warm and "tubey." They sound distorted. Not a good thing at all. Good tube preamps (which start around $2000.00) do not use the tubes to distort anything. You would be much better off with a good, all solid state, class A pre-amp.

Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
I disagree. While it is common knowledge that cheap tube preamps do not use the tube for amplification, the character that the starved tube adds to the sound can definately be rewarding, especially on bass & vocals....they can be much nicer than similar cheap solid state preamps.

The controversy over these units, IMO, stems from the age old "tube vs. solid state" arguments. Any time tubes are used, for amplification or effect, or any time a device claims to have a tube sound, people are going to argue about it :) I don't think the ART has a "tube" sound, but it does add pleasing flavor.

Slackmaster 2000
 
You get more for your money from a purely solid state pre-amp, because you are not paying for a tube which does nothing but distort the signal. Once you have heard a real tube pre-amp, you will never use a starved plate pre again, I promise.

Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
True, but we are talking $90 per channel vs $600 per channel. :)

If we're comparing the tube MP to the audio buddy or mackie pre or an SX202 or any other cheapo solid state, I'll take the tube MP on a whole lot of sources.

I'm not disagreeing anymore, I just think we're talking about two completely different classes of preamp.

Slackmaster 2000
 
All they had was a Groove tubes tube. It was more money than the other ones (20 canadian) but it was all they had. I figure it's at least a bit better than the one i have now. and if it is infact faulty then a lot better
I can't test it yet because my friend still has my cable. I'll let you know how it turns out. Maybe i'll see if i can post an A/B comparison
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top