Well...I purchased a Presonus TubePre..Don't laugh

[adclark]

I listened to a DMP3...very good...but....It really didn't sound much better than the Firebox pre's (I use Firebox with Logic). I want the ability to add a bit of color. Right now I can't afford much (wife's in graduate school). I considered the ART V3, but ART has never impressed me. I know on this forum, Presonus gets knocked around a bit. We'll see how it goes. I have a 30 day return policey from GC. The sales person was really helpful. He actually recommended the Brick (which he would have to order) but I told him cost was the main factor here. He said hands down the Tubepre over the other tube pre's he carried in this price range (Art, Berringer). I hope I can find some good qualities. I'll post some MP3 samples this week.

 

[Ben Logan]

Looking forward to giving those a listen. A good piece of gear is one you like the sound of.

 

[SonicAlbert]

The trick to the TubePRE is this: split the gain you need between the tube drive and the gain knobs. When I owned a couple TubePRE's I found that the way to get the best sound was to use the tube drive first as the main volume control, and then add more on to that with the gain knob. So I'd turn the drive knob up to maybe 12 o'clock or so, then add the rest with the gain. Really got the most out of the unit.

The thing about the TubePRE is that the tube drive is really clean for most of the way. It's not a distortion box at all. So you can use that gain freely without worrying about overly coloring your sound.

 

[jeffree]

Be sure to check out the latest SOS mag for a review of the Tube Pre--a pretty good one at that. You'll find a few suggestions there for setting the tube gain.

J.