ART Tube preamp tips and tube replacement

[ToneTaster]

Hi,
I know a lot of home recording enthusiasts use one of the various models ART brand tube preamps. I made a series of 5 review videos of the most basic ART Tube MP on YouTube that include some interesting and potentially myth busting audio examples. Here is one of the videos where I change the tube brand inside the Tube MP numerous times and you can clearly hear the differences. This proves that the tube does indeed do something and that the brand of tube does indeed matter.
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[kcearl]

Hi,
I know a lot of home recording enthusiasts use one of the various models ART brand tube preamps. I made a series of 5 review videos of the most basic ART Tube MP on YouTube that include some interesting and potentially myth busting audio examples. Here is one of the videos where I change the tube brand inside the Tube MP numerous times and you can clearly hear the differences. This proves that the tube does indeed do something and that the brand of tube does indeed matter.
[video=youtube;d1XTju2m7HI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>]video[/video]

fixed it for ya

 

[mshilarious]

Yep, I'm done that in the years before Youtube as well. It does help to find a good tube; it makes the MP a useful color box.

My recommendation is not to spring for an expensive NOS tube, just buy a box of vintage tubes from somebody on eBay, try a bunch, keep the one you like best, toss the ones that don't work, and resell the rest as "tested working" individually. You should be able to get a free tube upgrade that way . . .

 

[MOFO Pro]

I liked the tubeless reference through the MOTU the best...

 

[ToneTaster]

My test was not ideal because my source material was one side of a stereo piece of music I created that was originally not recorded to well. Furthermore it was stored in and then played out of Jamman loop pedal into the Tube MP and this added a very artificial sound. This was not very smart of me.
Nevertheless, with repeated listenings you can clearly hear the difference in the tubes. I like the G.E. 5751 tube sound the best. This tube actually came with my Tube MP many years ago. I can certainly understand someone preferring the sound without the tube though. I don't think Ive ever used the Tube MP versus the Motu and not thought of there being some kind of trade off in sound quality.
There is definitely a difference in these consumer grade preamps. I used to own a Tascam US-122 and it did not sound as good as this Motu 828. So, someone with a lesser preamp my derive more benefit from the Tube MP.