Presonus TubePre

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amra

amra

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A post that SonicAlbert made on this thread regarding the TubePre:
https://homerecording.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=152940 made me think that this topic might be worth a whole post.

I've read the pretty scathing reviews on the TubePre here for a few months. I picked one up for what amounted to about 20 bucks a couple of weeks ago in a promotional pack with a Studio Projects B1, a and 2 Shockmounts for the B1. I would never have gone out looking for one, because I am really hoping to step up to a Brick or a FMR RNP. But I am still using the pres on a Soundtech mixer right now, so I thought it might at least be worth a comparison for that cheap of a price. Ok, I was expecting it to sound like total crap based on what I have been reading here. And really, it didn't....

Now before everybody rips me a new one, I will readily admit I am a noob when it comes to mixing and recording. Having said that, I have been a musician and a music fan for about 20 years so I have a pretty decent idea of good "tone" and what sounds good. Based on my previous experience with tube gear (pre and power amps) for guitar, I started out using the TubePre with the "drive" at about 2 or 3 O'clock, and the gain at about the same. On (guitar) tube amps, this kind of setting usually gives you a nice, full, moderately saturated sound. On the TubePre there was no sign of hiss, or anything that sounded bad. Just plain old gain - not really 'warm' or anything, but, IMO, nothing bad. More or less transparent with just a tiny bit of 'smoothing out' of the sound compared to my mixer pres. No nasty sounding distortion. No hiss, no hum, really no added noise at all. What gives?

Anybody that has a TubePre laying around and feels like checking my ears, feel free to post up. Set the drive at 2-3 O'clock and the gain where you need it, but not past 3 O'clock or so and see how it sounds. I would be interested in anybodies opinion here. Am I crazy?

Amra
 
I think that a long time spent playing and listening to music for enjoyment doesn't really compare with time spent having to mix recordings and make objective decisions regarding relative levels, eq, compression, where seperate elements are panned etc.

I don't wish to sound condescending here because I'm not massively experienced myself in recording. Like you I've played and been a music fan for many years and have listened to a lot of music but before I got into recording I always listened out for things like the melodies and the lyrics etc. Possibly the tone of some instruments too but not really the finer detail of how that sound was reproduced.

Nowadays I listen to stuff and think "they've obviously used a mic with a presence peak on the vocal there" or "I think the bass is a bit over-compressed on that song". It's a very different skill and despite many years of listening to music for pleasure I still consider my ears to be very naive when it comes to recording.

That's just my take on it anyway, for all I know you may be blessed with great ears.

If your getting some sounds out of the tube pre that you're liking then just go with it and enjoy.
 
Kevin DeSchwazi said:
If your getting some sounds out of the tube pre that you're liking then just go with it and enjoy.
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There ya go! Best advice on the board today.
 
I don't think you are crazy. While I don't own my TubePRE's anymore, I did notice that they sounded *a lot* better when splitting the gain between the gain knob and the tube drive knob. I recorded my cello with that and thought I got a really nice sound. In fact, I used the tube drive as the main volume control, and added the rest of the volume with the gain control. Probably the opposite of how one might typically approach it with a box like that.

What didn't work so well with the tubePRE was trying to get most or all of the gain out of the gain control, and not using much of the tube drive. The tube drive is so clean on the TubePRE that it is absolutely legitimate to use it freely as simply a volume control. The box is not a distortion machine by any means, and doesn't have that dark flabby sound you might associate with cheap tube gear.
 
Considering what else is available for around the same cost or a little more ... it's basically a cheap, worthless piece of garbage.

Don't see any real reason why not to use it, though, if it's working for you and you don't have a problem with it.
 
chessrock said:
Considering what else is available for around the same cost or a little more ... it's basically a cheap, worthless piece of garbage.
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Yeah, and at $20 it's a killer deal on a useable preamp.
 
jake-owa said:
Yeah, and at $20 it's a killer deal on a useable preamp.
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It's not 20 bucks by itself. You pretty much have to get that junky mic with it, too. And two shockmounts (don't ask me) .
 
chessrock said:
... it's basically a cheap, worthless piece of garbage.
Click to expand...

You'd be amazed at how much better it sounds if you split the gain between tube drive and the gain knob like I described. Approached like that, it sounds as good as any of the other better units in that price range. Not better than the price range, mind you, but as good as the better stuff in that range.

Anything costing just a little more won't be much of an upgrade. I don't believe in little upgrades, anyway. Little upgrades are really just side-grades. So to say that something like the VTB-1, which costs $29 more is an upgrade over the TubePRE is just silly in my book. They are basically the same.

Perhaps the formula for a real upgrade that you can hear is something like:

Take the gear you have now and multiply the price by five, then buy a replacement with that money.

So the formula is: cost of preamp x 5($) = upgrade.

Or: cost of compressor x 5($) = upgrade.

So if you have a $500 compressor that you want to upgrade, and have it be an upgrade you can really hear, then according to my formula, you'd spend $2,500 on your next compressor. I think that with a few exceptions that formula would work pretty well.

Flame away...

:D
 
... Or you could just get something that either sounds better, is more intuitive, or that fits what you're doing better. That would be considered an upgrade, however that is achieved (mathematical formulas aside).

In the case of the Presonus stuff, I'd say chucking it out the window might be considered an upgrade.
 
chessrock said:
... Or you could just get something that either sounds better, is more intuitive, or that fits what you're doing better. That would be considered an upgrade, however that is achieved (mathematical formulas aside).

In the case of the Presonus stuff, I'd say chucking it out the window might be considered an upgrade.
Click to expand...

I traded mine in for $40 and was thrilled to get that much. Although, would it have been worth $40 to see that little red tube flying like superman from the top of my 23 story building? Hmmmm...... :D
 
chessrock said:
... Or you could just get something that either sounds better, is more intuitive, or that fits what you're doing better. That would be considered an upgrade, however that is achieved (mathematical formulas aside).

In the case of the Presonus stuff, I'd say chucking it out the window might be considered an upgrade.
Click to expand...

I chucked mine on eBay. :rolleyes:

The "sounds better" part fits in with my formula. But you are absolutely correct in the other regards. An upgrade is indeed something that fit in better or is more intuitive. I've actually done that kind of upgrade recently in my studio. Smaller, better, more in tune with the way I work. That's definitely an upgrade.
 
amra said:
Anybody that has a TubePre laying around and feels like checking my ears, feel free to post up. Set the drive at 2-3 O'clock and the gain where you need it, but not past 3 O'clock or so and see how it sounds. I would be interested in anybodies opinion here. Am I crazy?

Amra
Click to expand...

I have 2 of them and I always had the drive all the way down. I am going to dig them out and give it a try. I also have a bluetube stereo pre that I will give it a shot on. ( I got them all before I found this board ).
 
i find it hard to clip. I can pin the needle and really try. it has gain, but some hiss up high, i never push it that much for any reason, i find the art v3 maybe a bit cleaner and better if you want to distort w/ tube, and more gain - in the noisy range, and the vtb1 is clean, but less total gain - tho the useable gain is the same as others before distortion.
 
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