Can I record 2 mics at the same time with the Presonus blue tube preamp?

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frank_1

frank_1

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Can I record 2 mics at the same time with the Presonus blue tube preamp?
 
Sure, that's what there's two channels for. :)

Not that I've got a blue, mind you, but that's my understanding. I mean, you wouldn't have two channels for just one mic, would you?

The strange thing about the Blue Tube is that there's one tube and two channels. This is really interesting. How does that work?
 
Many types of tubes,including the ones in devices like the Blue Tube,are Pentodes,so you can use each "side" of the tube for something,as opposed to Triodes,where you can't.
 
Is the Presonus any good? How much difference does it make in your recordings? Is it significant? I am thinking of getting some kind of tube preamp to record Tablas, etc. You think it will help?
 
It's inexpensive, and you generally get what you pay for when you buy gear (with some exceptions). Opinion on the Blue Tube ranges from 'okay' to 'good'. Informed opinion says it sounds better on some things (eg electric bass) than other things, so try to listen to it and see how the tabla sounds through it. The mic you use will make a bigger difference to the sound you get than the pre.
 
I use the Bluetube on percussion and I would describe the sound as "thicker" than a solid state pre. I prefer a transparent pre when recording bongos and dejembe because the attack transients seem more present. Those instruments are kind of similar to the tablas. When I record shakers, tambourine, chimes, and cymbals I love the Bluetube because it takes away some of the brightness and I like that effect.

I've never used another tube mic preamp so I can't compare it to anything else. I think it sounds good but I also think they cut some corners to make these so cheap. You can record with two mics at a time with it and it has independent controls for each channel.
 
Hey,

I use Blue Tube and like it much better than the Art I tried out. Not nearly as noisy.

Funny about the bass comment. I go direct with my active bass. The BlueTube just seems to be overkill with active pickups.

I am still having a little trouble with settings. I usually keep both drive and gain down to a minimum. The more you crank the more noise seems to come into the track but I'm not sure at all about this. Could someone enlighten me a bit on how to get the most out of it with my settings.

All in all for $150 Bluetube is pretty good.

Rusty K
 
Yes, you can . . . it's great for stereo pair on vocals or acoustic guitar. I bought a Blue Tube a few weeks ago and was impressed with the results. I was even more impressed this week when I replaced the standard 12AX7 tube with a 12AX7EH from Electro Harmonix ( $20 ). I bought this thing bkz I wanted a twin channel tube pre and I read the review in EQ (March ) . . . got 5 out of 5. The article also mentioned that Presonus recommeded experimenting with different tubes ( it's in the manual ). I saw an ad in GT for the Electro Harmonix tube and decided "what the heck . . . it's only $20". One other note, the article said that older Blue Tubes had noisey gain pots. Presonus has since changed them out.

Regards,
PAPicker
 
PAPicker.

Say where did you get the tube? Off the internet? Also could you tell me how you mic for stereo recording for the acoustic guitar? I have a Senn. 421, not that great so I just got the Marshall MXL 2001 condenser, works much better but damn I want that huge fat clean acoustic guitar sound.

Thanks,
Rusty K
 
pratt,

Thanks for the link. I've got friends that I'm going to pass it along to. The 12ax7eh was priced at $11.95 way less than what PAPicker paid for his, $20.

Thanks again,
Rusty K
 
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