Mic preamp question (a silliy one)

B

bamboo

New member
Sorry if it was addressed before, but here goes anyway.

I have an ART TUBE MP OPL preamp. It has 2 controls - input level and output level. Both affect the volume of the signal. What's the difference between the two from the practical viewpoint? Furthermore, I read somewhere that one of these controls affects the tube drive, i.e. if I want more of that "tube warmth" I should turn it up. Is it true? I wish I had the schematic of the darn thing - there would be no such lame questions then.

TIA
 
should be kinda like pre- and post-gain on a guitar amp.
Input stresses the tube, output is adjusted to make a nice output level.
 
It isn't a silly question at all.

On the ART, the tube is actually at the output stage, so in that case, one might even think the tube would be driven at the output? I don't know, myself.
 
Hi - What you want to do is adjust the input level first while watching the green LED with the source playing or singing at the level he/she will record at. If you want the most transparent sound, adjust the input level to where the green LED just flickers to red on only the loudest parts, and then back it off just slightly , or turn it up till the LED is spending more time in the red for more toob warmth. Then adjust the output level while watching your soundcards input level, or recorders input level, till that's just below 0db.
Regards, RD
 
With the Tube MP's you can't trust the LED's. You need to trust your ears. The manufacturing is very uneven, and some preamps, like mine, distort before the led goes red. And the Tube MP's distortion is not a nice thing.
 
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