Art tube mp as a DI box

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mr Blues
  • Start date Start date
M

Mr Blues

New member
I have an ART active direct box which is ok but I am thinking of investing in an ART Tube pre amp which can also be used as a DI box., I hear they have a lovely sound they also have the ART MP Studio version which is a bit more expensive .

Is anyone here familier with the ART Tube MP ?, I went to a guitar shop a year ago and the guy didn't have any he sold be a Behringer ultragain one instead , I was'nt too impressed with that one.

Dave
 
Too bad you don't live in the states. Musician's Friend is blowing out the Tube MP Studio for $30 (normally around $50-60). It's a decent budget preamp. It won't blow you away, but it's functional. I picked one up in this recent sale and haven't had a chance to test it as a DI, but it has a reputation of being very usable in that regard (as does the original Tube MP). You can push the tube (starved plate) for a little grit on your bass tracks if desired. The output limiter seems like a good idea, but in my brief testing, I didn't like the way it sounded.
 
I think it's primary reputation is that of

a somewhat useful bass DI. Not the best, but not too shabby. Pretty good for certain situations.

I haven't really heard of too many favorable comments on any other uses, like guitar or as a mic pre. I would only consider it if I were really looking for a different bass DI, or one that was pretty cheap.

I still might get one, mostly to just see what it's like, but I have a deep-seated need to buy stuff I'm not going to use.
 
Id say it would sound better as a DI box than your average non tube DI box.
Ive used it for vox wich sounds nice and clear, although mine had a fault in it.
Whenever it got hot it started to crackle.
The guy is replacing it though.

Eck
 
As a bass DI, they're more than up to the task.

In fact, I'd say they're rather excellent in that capacity.

I just wouldn't put a mic anywhere near one.

.
 
chessrock said:
As a bass DI, they're more than up to the task.

In fact, I'd say they're rather excellent in that capacity.

I just wouldn't put a mic anywhere near one.

.
Click to expand...
Wny woudlnt you put a mic near one?
They sound good for their price.

Eck
 
ecktronic said:
Whenever it got hot it started to crackle.
Click to expand...

Mine worked for a year before it started doing the same thing. Crackle and sometimes a complete cut out of the signal for no reason.

It's sitting in my studio collecting dust. I decided to just use the preamps on my analog desk instead.
 
Cyrokk said:
Mine worked for a year before it started doing the same thing. Crackle and sometimes a complete cut out of the signal for no reason.

It's sitting in my studio collecting dust. I decided to just use the preamps on my analog desk instead.
Click to expand...
Bah, that sucks.
I just got one today!
Hope it lasts more than a year!

Eck
 
I've had my Tube MP Studio for five years. It still works as well as it did when it was new. Certainly not the best mic preamp; but, as others have said, it sounds pretty reasonable on bass and piezo guitar.
 
Can't comment on the DI of this thing.

But you can buy a radial passive DI for less than $150 with a Jensen transformer. I've built passive DI's with Jensen, Lundahl, and Cinemag transformers and they all sound great. If you had a good sounding preamp, I buy a transformer balanced passive DI and run it into this preamp.

If you don't have a good preamp, try a Tube MP to see if you like it. If it sounds good, great. But I can confirm that as a mic pre the device is incredibly noisy and as you record more and more tracks with it, a cloudiness will become audible in your recordings. This is not the pleasant tube distortion that these devices claim to impart.

To call the Tube MP or Ultragain a tube device is incredibly misleading, as is anyone who says that the only advantage to a tube device is to add distortion to a signal.

As far as cheap goes, a JoeMeek 3Q has a nice sounding DI and also has a very good mic pre and very usable compressor and EQ.
 
ecktronic said:
Wny woudlnt you put a mic near one?
They sound good for their price.
Click to expand...


That I will agree with. For the 30 bucks they're going for ... if it merely passes audio, then I'd consider it at least decent "for the price" ... which isn't exactly saying much.

.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top