what preamp for mic-ART tube?

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altcountry

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Trying to pull together a first-time digital recording set-up and I've about narrowed all my purchasing desicions down except for a preamp. Any suggestions on a decent, affordable unit. How about the ART tube MP studio preamp. Are these things any good, they sure are cheap? Any other preamps worth a look in the $50-$150 price range. (I know that's not a big budget but I can always upgrade later, I just want a decent sound for cutting demos). Thanks in advance.
BTW-I'll just be recording vocals mostly
 
If you're looking at budget preamps, check out the Audio Buddy (around $80); it's a good first "clean" preamp for very little money. I've had good results with the ART Tube MP (around $70), although it's not very popular at this forum. IMHO, it makes a good direct box for passive basses, and as long as you don't go overboard on the tube gain, you can get a decent "warm" mic sound when used with a LDC mic. Both preamps provide phantom power for condenser mics; the Auddio Buddy is a two channel preamp, the Tube MP is a single channel preamp. Either one can be had for way less than $100. Both work well for many sources, but I wouldn't use either for acoustic drums because they don't have the headroom to handle the dynamic range.

The next step up in price (starting at around $130), flexability and sound quality would be the SP VTB-1 and the DMP-3.

I'd also recommend doing a search at this forum for all the preamps you're interested in, so you can see how others feel about those specific preamps.

That's my two cents.
 
Keep an eye out for the "demo" units available sometimes at www.pmiaudio.com

Saw the VTB-1 (demo) priced at around $100 there not too long ago.

Chris
 
Depends a little on the mics...

The potential problem with the Audio Buddy is that some people have reported it as not being able to supply enough voltage from the phantom power for certain condenser mics. Unfortunately I couldn't tell you which mics those were. Other people said they had no problem at all. You pays yer money, you takes yer chances.

The ART tube MP and its siblings are generally regarded as substandard as mic pres, but decent as a bass DI. Since I have no experience with it, and kid klash does, I would definitely give more weight to his opinion. I'm merely reporting what I've heard from others here.

Opinions vary on the VTB-1, but it sounds like it would probably work for your purposes. Some love it, some think it's merely average for the money. I don't think anybody hates it, but I could be wrong.

I can't remember anyone disliking the DMP-3, and most who've had it really liked it, especially for the money.

I'd say, if you're looking for a safe bet for vocals, go with the DMP-3 if it's in your budget.

Or, you could try the Tube MP and at that price, if it works, great. If it doesn't you've got a cheap bass DI.

Of course the best thing would be to buy from a place that will let you return it for something else if you don't like it.

Good luck and have fun. (Remember fun?)
 
Hopefully, luck will be on my side. I ordered the Behringer UB802. It's got the phantom power I need plus EQ . It was recommended in another post I made concerning sibilance, and it was cheap. I've always been a 'you get what you pay for' kinda guy, so If I don't like it, maybe I squeeze $50 worth of use out of in 6 or 8 months time and upgrade before the years out. Thanks for all the help.
 
Hopefully, luck will be on my side. I ordered the Behringer UB802. It's got the phantom power I need plus EQ . It was recommended in another post I made concerning sibilance, and it was cheap. I've always been a 'you get what you pay for' kinda guy, so If I don't like it, maybe I squeeze $50 worth of use out of in 6 or 8 months time and upgrade before the years out. Thanks for all the help.
 
I personally like my ART Tube MP...perfectly usable, though I think all of my other preamps, including my E-mu sound card preamps and my Behringers, are generally better.

But it works in a pinch, and my particular unit stays relatively gunk free at high gain settings. it's more an issue of QC than the MPs generally sucking or not sucking...
 
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