A
N
notCardio
I walk the line
That depends...
As much as I hate it when those who don't know firsthand respond, I guess it's my turn.
It would probably help those who DO know to help you if you spelled out the following:
a) What kind of sound are you looking for? Clean? Warm & tubey? Kinda gritty? All sparkly?
b) What are you going to be plugging into it, and where does it go from there? sm57-pre-SBLive-N-tracks? Neumann U67-pre-Apogee converters-ProTools? (doubtful)
c) What kind of music is it going to be used for? Acoustic jazz? Death-metal? Smooth soul? Neo-punk? Male, female, choir?
You will find those who love and hate all 3 of your choices. Ultimately it will be up to your preference.
If you look around in the other preamp threads here, you'll find plenty of opinions.
To summarize what I've seen so far:
Those who have the Audio Buddy seem to love it, describing it as super-clean, cleaner than pre's costing much more, and an absolute steal at the price. However, there seems to be an issue with the voltage of the phantom power being less than the stated 48v. If your using a dynamic that doesn't need phantom, then it's a non-issue. If you've got an expensive condensor, buy it from a place that you can return it if you're unhappy with the sound. (Good advice for any gear).
The ART camp is divided. Almost all say it's not what you want for clean, but some like it's particular flavor, others do not. Many, if not most, say it's fairly noisy.
The Presonus people seem to generally like it, but I can't really remember the particulars. Sorry. Do a search for "Blue Tube".
Anyway, sorry to ramble, especially when I didn't have anything really to contribute. But if you let people know what your going to use it with and for, they'll be able to help you. Great bunch of people here.
As much as I hate it when those who don't know firsthand respond, I guess it's my turn.
It would probably help those who DO know to help you if you spelled out the following:
a) What kind of sound are you looking for? Clean? Warm & tubey? Kinda gritty? All sparkly?
b) What are you going to be plugging into it, and where does it go from there? sm57-pre-SBLive-N-tracks? Neumann U67-pre-Apogee converters-ProTools? (doubtful)
c) What kind of music is it going to be used for? Acoustic jazz? Death-metal? Smooth soul? Neo-punk? Male, female, choir?
You will find those who love and hate all 3 of your choices. Ultimately it will be up to your preference.
If you look around in the other preamp threads here, you'll find plenty of opinions.
To summarize what I've seen so far:
Those who have the Audio Buddy seem to love it, describing it as super-clean, cleaner than pre's costing much more, and an absolute steal at the price. However, there seems to be an issue with the voltage of the phantom power being less than the stated 48v. If your using a dynamic that doesn't need phantom, then it's a non-issue. If you've got an expensive condensor, buy it from a place that you can return it if you're unhappy with the sound. (Good advice for any gear).
The ART camp is divided. Almost all say it's not what you want for clean, but some like it's particular flavor, others do not. Many, if not most, say it's fairly noisy.
The Presonus people seem to generally like it, but I can't really remember the particulars. Sorry. Do a search for "Blue Tube".
Anyway, sorry to ramble, especially when I didn't have anything really to contribute. But if you let people know what your going to use it with and for, they'll be able to help you. Great bunch of people here.
Gidge
Lapdance Test Dummy
ill go with all Cardio said......
id skip the Presonus.......
if you want clean go with the Audio Buddy but keep in mind the issues he pointed out....
the Art can get a little warmer as it is somewhat of a tube preamp.......
if you can go to $189 for 2 channels and you are looking for clean, the Delta DMP3 is nice...its like the Audio Buddy on serious steroids........
id skip the Presonus.......
if you want clean go with the Audio Buddy but keep in mind the issues he pointed out....
the Art can get a little warmer as it is somewhat of a tube preamp.......
if you can go to $189 for 2 channels and you are looking for clean, the Delta DMP3 is nice...its like the Audio Buddy on serious steroids........
darrin_h2000
Banned
The blue tube is a two channel that you can use to close and distant mic with. Some say its a tad noisy but if you use it right you get the smoothest tone.
Gidge
Lapdance Test Dummy
if you 2 channels of tube, id go with 2 Arts.......
A
Abbott
New member
I am using it for garage rock. I'd probably prefer a kind of gritty, warm sound. I'd be using it with sm57 into my tascam 414 four track (nothing too fancy). Another thing is: If the pre doesn't have two channels can I not go preamp something like stereo micing (close up and room) that uses two mics. Also, if it has two channels, can I use it for two different apps, like for the mic'd bass and the mic'd guitar?
cominginsecond
Decentralized Media Mogul
Well, you can use one of the pres in your 4 track in combination with a single channel pre, but the "stereo" effect will be greatly diminished because the two pres in the four track are probably very different from any of those pres you mentioned.
Yup.
It sounds like you really want a dual channel pre. I can recommend the Presonus. I like it better than the Art Tube MP, and it doesn't have to be a noisy pre. If you only dial in a slight amount of the "drive" it actually seems very clean to me. Plus, for a two channel pre, you can't beat the price. You could get four channels for $200 if you buy on Ebay.
Although, on the other hand, lots of people around here like the audio buddy, which is less expensive than the Blue Tube and also has two channels. Plus, if you're recording to cassette 4-track, you probably have all the "warmth" you can handle.
darrin_h2000
Banned
I second that the Art is a noisy pre that quality varies from unit to unit. Good only for direct instruments. Bad on vocals.
R
Randy Yell
New member
A point about the Audio Buddy's phantom power being underpowered.I believe that problem is with most of the cheaper preamps.If I remember correctly the Blue Tube's phantom power didn't measure up either(and they actually claim 48v).
Slackmaster2K
Gone
I think the ART is decent on vocals. In some cases much better than cleaner alternatives in the "cheap" range. A lot of vocals need grit IMHO. I also don't think it's quiet enough to be usable in most situations (for pop/rock anyhow).
In regards to Midiman not explicitly stating that the Audio Buddy doesn't supply +48V -- I don't think that's really an excuse. I mean they could make a premap that put out ONE volt and then put "Phantom Power" on the box! Everybody assumes +48 in the application that the audio buddy is intended for. Now if it was a preamp explicitly designed for minidisc recorders or camcorders or something similar expecting "plugin power" electret microphones, it would be safe to assume "phantom power" would mean something like +5 to +15V. But the audio buddy is designed to be used with microphones in a home studio situation.
I'm probably going to buy an audio buddy, but I still think that's pretty lame.
Slackmaster 2000
In regards to Midiman not explicitly stating that the Audio Buddy doesn't supply +48V -- I don't think that's really an excuse. I mean they could make a premap that put out ONE volt and then put "Phantom Power" on the box! Everybody assumes +48 in the application that the audio buddy is intended for. Now if it was a preamp explicitly designed for minidisc recorders or camcorders or something similar expecting "plugin power" electret microphones, it would be safe to assume "phantom power" would mean something like +5 to +15V. But the audio buddy is designed to be used with microphones in a home studio situation.
I'm probably going to buy an audio buddy, but I still think that's pretty lame.
Slackmaster 2000
darrin_h2000
Banned
I kindof like the tube thing, My art in my opinion sounds good as an instrument direct in box but is noisier than the presonus piece,which by the way does put out 49 volts to the mics, the specs should say + or - 3 volts. As long as it sounds smooth and my mics dont burst into flames when I turn it on its fine for me.