Sorry, an Art tube MP is *not* a nice preamp. Of course we are opinionated about gear. That is why people come here, to get the opinions of people who use recording gear. Tubes (valves) used to be used in all amplifiers, because it's what they had. Then the transistor was invented, and solid state gear was born. In real tube-based gear, big tubes are used in the power section of the amp to introduce selective distortion. In a guitar amp, that distortion is obvious. In a mic preamp, it is subtle. It's like airbrushing a centerfold, so we can't see her stretch marks. It glosses over annoying detail, and is hopefully flattering. It's not supposed to tell the truth, it's supposed to sound *better* than the truth.
When we like this effect, we call it "warm". When we don't like it, we call it "muddy". And- we don't always agree. Two professional engineers can listen to the same track. One of them will call it "warm", and the other one "muddy". In modern inexpensive tube based gear, often called *toob* gear, a small tube is inserted into the front end of the amp, often with adjustable tube distortion, but the power section is solid state. Real tube preamps are not cheap. The cheapest ones, such as "The Brick", start at about $500, and good ones cost thousands. Is it better than solid state? No. The best solid state amps also cost thousands. And- some solid state amps *also* produce the subtle distortion we call "warmth", such as Neve or Great River.
I'm sorry- if you think that all the professional engineers in the world who shelled out the big bucks for a Martech or a Pendulum, or a DW Fearn are confused, because they could have gotten that cool tube sound from an ART MP, it probably indicates that you have some learning to do before you call yourself an audio engineer. Massive Master is correct. The mere presence of a vacuum tube somewhere in the signal chain is virtually always marketing hype, and doesn't produce a great preamp. And- some of the greatest amps in the world are solid state. The truth hurts, but no amount of wishful thinking or delusion is going to make cheap Chinese gear equal to top notch professional recording equipment. This applies to mics, preamps, compressors, FX, all of it.
The only thing that we can do is get the best equipment we can afford, and not one person on this board owns all the equipment they would own if they won the lottery. My studio, like most project studios, is an unholy alliance of some cheap gear that works, some mid-priced gear that works, and a handful of overworked pieces of gear that really are world-class. I have to work around the limitations of some of my cheap gear, and I can't do that by deluding myself into believing that it is top of the line. Get over it. If a mic, or a preamp, or anything else, costs thousands, and professionals are willing to pay that price, there's a reason, and it's not that the engineer is trying to impress somebody with how much he can afford to pay for his gear.
The best take-away from this rant is that if a real professional, such as Massive Master, who *does* have thousands invested in gear, tells you that a piece of cheap gear does not live up to the hype, and recommends another piece of cheap gear, or a somewhat more expensive unit, he is trying to help you. He didn't spend the time to type it out to make himself feel good about how pricey his gear is. So- maybe you should listen to him, because believe it or not, he probably knows more about that gear than you do.-Richie
