Tube Preamp

[amzavareei]

Track down a nice old Bogen tube PA off ebay. I use it and LOVE it.

Damn right brother! Mine sounds amazing. I've got one in in the middle of modding the F$@# out of! Sounds simply amazing with new filter, bypass and signal caps. Auricaps, cardas, sprague atoms, a sonicap, jupiter on it's way! Mullard tubes... It's a model LOM mixer. 5 in 1 out. Modded it's 3 discrete outs now. Two channels share 1 tube, but there was leakage between channels. So 1 channel per tube. Besides, only 3 of the transformers worked. But I'm going to put the outputs back into the second half of the tubes. I'll be able to switch between 1 stage and 2. For double extra gain. And one of the channels will be going through the rest of the mixing circuit, if I choose. And I'll put a 1/4" jack on the front to bypass the rca on the back for a high z input! DI city, here I come. Oh, and it's got a high pass on every channel. See if that comes in handy. Crazy 9 pin transformers though. Might want to replace those. They don't exist! I'll just have to hard wire some new one's in, if I figure I want to upgrade them. Will have to figure out a good winding I guess...

 

[Kevin Deschwazi]

Hey, I'm looking for a decent tube preamp

something not overly expensive at all.

Contradiction in terms.

Why do you want a tube preamp?

I'm not a gear snob or anything (if only I could afford to be!) but if your budget is low I'd go for clean. Some decent clean pres out there for not much money (DMP-3, Symetrix SX202 etc.). Most of the tube pres in the budget range don't sound anything like a 'proper' tube pre (although I have to say I've never used any of the Art stuff, personally I'd steer clear! ). Some of them can sound ok but still nothing like the real thing. The EH pre gets close and is cheap, it's fussy about what it gets plugged into though (needs to be balanced).

If you can pick up one of those Peavey's then I'd say that's your starting point price wise for the real deal.

 

[ridgeback]

There's also the ART Tube Channel (I think that's what it is called). The channel strip with a preamp, eq and compressor.

Solid state isn't so great in the low budget area either. Let's face it, if you buy cheap you are making compromises, there's no way around that. But you can find gear that is usable and you can make good recordings with.

That's the PRO Channel Albert and yes as a owner of two I like them. You can dial in how much tube you want in the sound, built in compressor, and EQ. For the buck I believe you can't beat it. If you want just straight pre, then the MPA should fit the bill nicely. Note that these are low end pres but great starter units. Once you learn how to use them correctly, you'll want to save for something better but, you'll know what to listen for and how to use it.
Good Luck