to buy the pre or not to buy the pre

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The Flame

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hey guys, i am using the presonus firepod. a cool engineer around my neighborhood told me to go for a pre-amp for my recording setup. his bass sound was amzing, as well as his vocals. he showed me his art tube mp and said that is what he used. it was cheap and looked good. some people hate that thing! so i decided to look into better "tube pres". i need something for no more than $100, and i know i wont ever get that $3000 "tube sound" but i want to know what can be better. in the last post i made, i had two chocies, the project series vtb-1, or the art project series. one guy told me that they might not be better than the pres i have right now on the firepod. any suggestions? thanks guys.
Josh
 
You may not notice a huge difference between an inexpensive pre, like those you're considering, and the firepod pres. The tube mp and vtb1 may offer you a different "flavor," but I don't think either will blow you away. If I had to choose, I'd go with the vtb1, because I think it's more versatile. However, the tube mp does get props as a good bass DI. Personally, I'd build up my mic collection and save up for a couple of really nice pres.
 
I'd say go with the ART. The reason is the Firepod pres are of the clean variety, and the ART is much darker with a very different tone. This would provide a nice contrast and give you some differnet sounds to work with.

Also, the sound you liked that your friend did was done on the ART. So if you liked that sound, get that gear.
 
Art made a 1RU Tube Channel (pre/comp/EQ) that is much more versatile than the Tube MP and can be picked up cheap on eBay (usually $90-150).
 
I don't think you will see much of a difference between the firepod pres and a $100 pre. Save up $500 and get a RNP or something like that. You need to take a step up if you want something better.
 
They will sound different but they won't sound ' technically better ' ..
i agree you should save up for a better or higher end unit.
you could look at the brick if you are on a tight budget.
 
The Flame said:
hey guys, i am using the presonus firepod. a cool engineer around my neighborhood told me to go for a pre-amp for my recording setup. his bass sound was amzing, as well as his vocals. he showed me his art tube mp and said that is what he used. it was cheap and looked good. some people hate that thing! so i decided to look into better "tube pres". i need something for no more than $100, and i know i wont ever get that $3000 "tube sound" but i want to know what can be better. in the last post i made, i had two chocies, the project series vtb-1, or the art project series. one guy told me that they might not be better than the pres i have right now on the firepod. any suggestions? thanks guys.
Josh
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Josh, if you liked the sound of the Tube MP, by all means, get one. They're dirt cheap, really do sound great on bass, and can sound good on vocals when a more colored pre is desirable. I would just get the cheapest Tube MP you can find, be out very little money, and then start saving for a nice transparent pre.
 
Save a bit and buy a Tube condenser mic. Most authentic tube mics are worth the time and money.
 
The presonus tube pre $99 and swap out the tube for a telefunken or mullard. You will be shocked at how good it will sound. (you can usually get telefunken or mullard tubes on ebay for around $30-40) You should be able to do the swap yourself, just make sure the new tube is a 12ax7 like the tube in the unit. I can pretty much bet that the presonus will sound better than the ART and alot less noise.
 
the tube mp adds ALOT of color, which can be good for some things. unfortunately, it's pretty damn noisy too. if it will be used as an effect, i'd go ahead and get one. if it will be the main pre in your recording setup, i'd skip it. the vtb1 is a pretty decent pre for the money but does'nt add as much or as nice of a color when the tube circuit is blended in. it's a good low budget all rounder though and you have the option of turning the tube circuitry off and using it as a solid state pre. something else that might interest you is the bellari mp105. it's noisy and clips pretty easily in it's stock form but by changing the opamp and tube, the noise level goes down and it won't clip. the opamp and tube are both socketed and easy to change. some people claim that it's a very nice pre after the chip/tube change. i have no experience with expensive pre's so i could'nt tell you how it compares.

hollowdan, do you have any idea how the new jj 12ax7 compares with the nos mullard and telefunken tubes?
 
vtb-1 didnt have enough character when i used it. the tube mp has a hint of color to it. ive never found it to be noisey though. i tried jj-s and bugle boy 12 ax7-s and to me its just a different shade. i dont think changing tubes in these toob dealios makes a big difference. maybe changing op amps.if you liked the sound of your friends why not get what he got.
 
TravisinFlorida said:
the tube mp adds ALOT of color, which can be good for some things. unfortunately, it's pretty damn noisy too. if it will be used as an effect, i'd go ahead and get one. if it will be the main pre in your recording setup, i'd skip it. the vtb1 is a pretty decent pre for the money but does'nt add as much or as nice of a color when the tube circuit is blended in. it's a good low budget all rounder though and you have the option of turning the tube circuitry off and using it as a solid state pre. something else that might interest you is the bellari mp105. it's noisy and clips pretty easily in it's stock form but by changing the opamp and tube, the noise level goes down and it won't clip. the opamp and tube are both socketed and easy to change. some people claim that it's a very nice pre after the chip/tube change. i have no experience with expensive pre's so i could'nt tell you how it compares.

hollowdan, do you have any idea how the new jj 12ax7 compares with the nos mullard and telefunken tubes?
Click to expand...

I have no idea my friend. I would definately give it a shot if I knew anyone who had one, however I went on a massive tube buying ebay spree a couple years back and got about 30 12ax7's (all telefunken, mullard, amperex bugle boy, and some tung-sol's) So I am set for quite a while on pre-amp tubes lol. It is literally shocking how good Phonic T8100 sounds with a telefunken in one side and a mullard in the other with no other alterations :D
 
One piece of advice for EVERYONE when changing out tubes. ALWAYS have the tubes tested bye someone who knows what they are doing, no matter what the person you bought them from said. I have bought tubes that were "guarenteed tested good" and they had dead shorts (which could completely fry a mic pre) "practice safe tubing!" lol
 
don't buy any of these two...they suck!!!
there isn't any difference from the firepod pre and those chinese pieces of crap

There is a golden rule that must be folowed
in the pro industry "the sound" begins from 1000$
in the amateur industry "the sound" begins from around 500$

go buy at least a focusrite voice master or something
 
U might give the Groove Tubes Brick a try, I recently bought a new one at GC for $359. Retail is 499 and store price is 399. Just ask a manager what is on sale, he'll most likely say "everything". It is actually a real tube amp, not one with a backlit tube with an underfed plate.
 
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