Thinkin about buying the ART Tube Microphone Preamp

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M.C.Abrams

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Hi, i've been looking for a mic preamp for hip hop vocals since the weekend. I first went to the local guitar center and was shown the M-Audio Mobile PreUsb which was selling for around $170 (too much considering that I wanted the cheapest setup that I could get at the moment). I looked more since the weekend and found out about the ART Tube MP. I know it is a preamp, and i know it has XLR inputs and outputs. I'm going to be using my PC (with Ableton Live) to record the vocals. I have a FireWire input on my sound card, and USB inputs just for my computer. My question is this: What will I have to buy in order to hook the ART Tube MP to my PC? A XLR-FireWire Cable (assuming there is such a thing), or am I better off buying a different preamp?
I know that the Mobile PreUsb acts as an external sound card and that this in turn "helps convert analog signals a.k.a. the mic to digital signals" (according to the Guitar Center guy). Is this is a big deal? I have a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS (good for gaming, fine for ableton live, reason and fruity loops). Well any help is very appreciated, thank you in advance.
 
The ART Tube MP with its stock tube is a crappy mic pre but makes a decent bass DI. You can replace the tube with a better one, but it's still a cheap pre.

Sound Blasters are fine for gaming, but they are only adequate when it comes to recording.

"You get what you pay for" applies to audio gear, too.
 
Thanks for the reply MadAudio, but remember i'm a newbie. When you say i could replace the tube what exactly does that mean, and what exactly is a tube? Sorry, i know it's called a ART Tube Mic Preamp, but I don't know what the "tube" refers to. Also does that mean I would be able to hook up the mic preamp to the computer with no problems (other than less quality in the sound). Is their latency issues with using a sound blaster with a mic? When I use midi the latency is less than 10 ms which is fine for me. Is that what it would be around?
 
Hehe, sorry - I forgot this was the newbie section! :o

Before the invention of the transistor, vacuum tubes were used in several electronic devices including radios, amplifiers, and microphones. The tube gives a more smooth sound. I've read of and been meaning to replace the tube in my ART Tube MP with a higher quality tube which is told to improve the sound quality.

Seeing as how you're starting out, this pre might be alright for a little while, but if you really get into it you'll soon be craving better. I'd suggest saving up a little more and getting something like the M-Audio DMP3 or perhaps the RNP.
 
EDIT! FireWire and USB will be of no use here. All of the preamps I mentioned are analog only. They do not have digital outputs. You'd need to use the analog line input of your soundcard for the audio. END EDIT!

The latency is going to depend on your soundcard. The pre has nothing to do with that.
 
Thanks MadAudio, your information was very helpful. Well, I haven't bought anything yet, so I guess I'll just sleep on it tonight and make some decisions tomorrow, thanks again. Peace.
 
I picked up an ART Tube MP the other day and immediately replaced the cheap tube with a vintage GE Long Plate 12AX7 which tested 98/98+ on the triodes so it's essentially brand new for all practical purposes. Next I want to upgrade the opamps which are on the board with something sweeter.
 
Your biggest step up in sound right now is to quit using the computer's sound card, and get an audio interface designed for recording. Use the preamps on the interface until you decide what you don't like about them, then buy external pres accordingly.
 
Cheap tube gear isn't worth it, even if you replace the tubes. They don't run them at high enough plate voltages to get what's really good from the tubes. Get an interface with decent built in preamps.
 
nittany1 said:
I picked up an ART Tube MP the other day and immediately replaced the cheap tube with a vintage GE Long Plate 12AX7 which tested 98/98+ on the triodes so it's essentially brand new for all practical purposes. Next I want to upgrade the opamps which are on the board with something sweeter.
Click to expand...

Nice to know, but you don't need to relaunch a 6 year old thread to tell us, do you?
 
I to have started to think about getting a pre amp and have been looking real hard at the Art TPS ll. Obviously this is a little more than the Art Tube MP. Its going for $185.00 at Sweetwater. Now I know you tend to get what you pay for but I'm really not ready to spend $1000 on a tube amp at this point. So this leads to a couple of questions.
1. Is this worth the $185.00?
2. As I build my studio one piece at a time will it be possible and or practical to have more than one tube pre amp in my rack?
3. At present time my studio is a personal project studio and I have no intentions of recording any one but myself BUT you never know how things might develop in the future and I just kind of figured a dual channel would be better down the road than just one channel. Is this the right logic to be using?
BTY I am running a new Dell I5 620 desk top with ProTools LE8, Sonar X!, BIAB 2011.5 and Reaper.
 
I have used both, and still use the TPSII. In my opinion, the Tube MP is basically worthless if you are trying to get good, clean tone. It can dirty up stuff, but you can do that with a much less noisy plug-in. The only reason I use the TPSII, is to run the other line input channels of my interface when I need more channels. Not for 'sweetening' of tone. If you must limit yourself to that price range, I would recommend spending the extra $20 and go for the DPSII. It has a variable impedance control, which actually has some use to giving character to the sound of the starved plate type of preamp that it is. Once again. my opinion, but I have not found anything really great about the TPSII that is better than my interface preamps, that I cannot just find better with built in DAW plugs or free ones. The DPSII however, has some interesting qualities that I would consider very usable. Plus it has converters built in, so you could use it on an interface with s/pdif inputs to add to your input channel count.

Once again, in my opinion. Tube MP=noisy DI maybe. TPSII=worthy of enabling extra input channels at decent, fairly clean quality. DPSII=has a bit of character than can be useful. Still, the level of quality that can be achieved in this price range, is very limited. You would be best suited to saving for a pre in the 1 to 2G range. But if you need them to get by, you can always sell them later. DPSII will have a bit better resale value as it has something to offer. Less so for the TPS. Might as well give away a Tube MP.......

Jimmy
 
So, in 2005, did people only think about purchasing stuff since the weekend? Do we tend to waste months researching things now? I may need to reconsider how I buy gear. lol. :D
 
Well first off...congrats on reviving a super old thread.:rolleyes:

Now on to business.

I used to own an ART Tube MP and honestly it did nothing for me and made no improvements in the sound. And you really should try to get away from using your computer's soundcard. If you're using cheap tube gear going into a cheap soundcard, you're not likely to get satisfactory results. You would be better off investing the money in an interface with built in preamps. You can find some good used ones for around $100.
 
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