# Stereo Tube Preamps?



## Vincent (Nov 24, 2007)

Someone mentioned to me that if you use a stereo tube preamp it will make your guitar/recordings sound better...is this true and if so are there any good ones around The $200 range.

I have preamps im my recording interface (m audio fast track) however i was looking for something to add to the interface to make recordings better.

Are there different preamps for vocals and guitar...just wondering.

Here are the ones im looking at so far

http://www.lamusic.ca/default.asp?szNav=Product&PID=7011

http://www.lamusic.ca/default.asp?szNav=Product&PID=7030

http://www.lamusic.ca/default.asp?szNav=Product&PID=7029


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

yes it will- itll warm up yur sounds, compress em nicely
will cost yu a lot tho-


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## Vincent (Nov 24, 2007)

Now that Ive done a bit of research on the net for the best tube preamps for the price I might get this one however im not sure if its a "stereo" tube preamp and if there is a difference if it isnt a stereo tube pre.

Also I cant find a canadian store that has this unit...does anyone know of a canadian music website that sells these...name of product is "Tube MP Studio V3" I think.

Link to specs are here
http://www.artproaudio.com/products.asp?id=58&cat=1&type=79


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## buckaroobanzai (Feb 2, 2006)

L & M carries the ART line, they should be able to get one if they don't stock it..

My bro-in-law recorded most of his guitar trax thru an earlier model of one of these...sounded great. Although rather than record stereo, he usually double-tracked the guitars one at a time and then panned them. Huge sounds that way...


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## Hamm Guitars (Jan 12, 2007)

ART used to make a stereo version that was rack mountable. I've never actually seen one myself though.

These things are all over e-bay so I assume that people buy them and the novelty wears off or they weren't performing like they expected them to.


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## Vincent (Nov 24, 2007)

buckaroobanzai said:


> L & M carries the ART line, they should be able to get one if they don't stock it..
> 
> My bro-in-law recorded most of his guitar trax thru an earlier model of one of these...sounded great. Although rather than record stereo, he usually double-tracked the guitars one at a time and then panned them. Huge sounds that way...


I did a google search on L & M and couldnt find a canadian site...just wondering if its canadian and if you have the time can you post a link...thanks


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## ronmac (Sep 22, 2006)

Musicstop was recently purchased by L&M, so they will be able to help you Vincent.

They currently have the ART Studio MP on sale for $39. Two of those will allow you to try and see if it is what you need.


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## Guest (Nov 30, 2007)

Hamm Guitars said:


> These things are all over e-bay so I assume that people buy them and the novelty wears off or they weren't performing like they expected them to.


That'd be the "you can't polish a turd" lesson being learned.


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## Vincent (Nov 24, 2007)

If you guys think that preamp is crap are there any preamps that are better in the $200 range...i know it wont be top of the line gear or anything however I need one to boost mic signal because my interface isnt doing the job...you guys mentioned that pre is like an overdrive...maybe I should just try an overdrive pedal and see what happens...wonder if it will work just as good as a crappy pre.


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## Vincent (Nov 24, 2007)

Yeah Ive seen the M-Audio Audiobuddy on a few sites I was searching however im not sure i want another M audio product just because my recording interface is an m audio product and the 2 pre's built into the unit dont seem to give a strong signal in regards to mics.


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## Guest (Nov 30, 2007)

Vincent said:


> Yeah Ive seen the M-Audio Audiobuddy on a few sites I was searching however im not sure i want another M audio product just because my recording interface is an m audio product and the 2 pre's built into the unit dont seem to give a strong signal in regards to mics.


This sounds strange. What mics are you using? Are you giving your mics all the phantom power that they need?


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## Vincent (Nov 24, 2007)

Im using a dynamic mic...not sure if they need phantom power do they?

Im sure I shouldnt be using a dynamic mic however until i buy a new mic thats all i have to record acoustic and or vocals.

Next mic im buying is a Shure SM57 microphone which is also a dynamic mic I think.


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## Guest (Nov 30, 2007)

Vincent said:


> Im using a dynamic mic...not sure if they need phantom power do they?


They do not.


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## Vincent (Nov 24, 2007)

Ok thanks...I will keep the audiobuddy open as an option to buy if I dont find anything better within the $200 range.


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## ronmac (Sep 22, 2006)

Vincent,

The inexpensive ART Tube pre can be called "crap", but I prefer to think of it as a handy little tool. It uses the standard starved plate design that 99.9% of any tube amp under $800 is going to have.

I own a bunch of preamps, tube and solid state, that are all over the map in terms of price and performance. I use them all (including the $39 ART), depending on the situation.

My suggestion to try one of these was based on my personal experience, the fact that you really aren't going to get anything better (in terms of pure sonics) for less than several hundred, and the fact that it is only $39 and practically disposable if you find out it doesn't do anything for you.

What it can do for you:

1) Provide full 48v phantom for mics that need it
2) Offer all the gain you will need for mics, instruments or line level sources
3) Give you a nice little impedance matching device (it has both high and low impedance inputs and outputs)
4) Can be used as a signal splitter (Both outputs can be used at the same time)
5) Can be used to change phase of your signal
6) Prudently adjusted it will offer some mild compression and tube "warmth"
7) Cranked it will offer some interesting, and possibly useful, distortion effect
8) It has a high KPD factor (Knobs Per Dollar) :banana:


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

hi
looks like you already have been steered clear, but just thought id say that i tried both the art preamp pictured on page one, as well as a more expensive 2 channel art one- although they sounded ok, they had an inherent hum to them, you could hear it quite audibly, tried with both condenser and dynamic mics, bunch of settings etc- played with them for 4 days, and the signal to noise ratio with them was really kinda bad- it didnt make sense to use it with my expensive mics and soundcard, cuz it just degraded the sound so much, i compare the noise level of it to the tape noise i got with my 4 track cassette.
and no amount of tweaking would remove it- it was there even with the mics off.

maybe if i only had say a cheap soundcard, and a single decent mic, it wouldve been acceptable, but not for me at that point. i bought em both from a music store brand new, on the promise that i had 30 days to return em if i didnt want em- so it was ok-

having said all this tho, all the ones i tried for under a few hundred bucks were unnacceptable to me, everybodys experience will vary-


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## SkunkWorks (Apr 12, 2007)

Vincent said:


> Now that Ive done a bit of research on the net for the best tube preamps for the price I might get this one however im not sure if its a "stereo" tube preamp and if there is a difference if it isnt a stereo tube pre.
> 
> Also I cant find a canadian store that has this unit...does anyone know of a canadian music website that sells these...name of product is "Tube MP Studio V3" I think.
> 
> ...


I just sold one of these cheap... I wish I had seen this post earlier, I might have just given it to you. It had been collecting dust for a year. Don't buy a cheap "starved plate" tube pre just because it has tube in it. The tube doesn't run at true plate voltage and the tube isn't part of the actual preamp circuitry... it's just stuck in the signal path following a solid state preamp circuit and is pure marketing crap. I bought one of these as an entry level unit to get me going... it wasn't bad for what it is and will do the job if your just mucking around, but I eventually became more serious about my recordings and it wasn't long before I upgraded. By the way, stuff doesn't have to be "tube" to sound great. A decent solid state pre will give you way better recordings than a cheap starved plate tube pre. Alot of the warmth of a decent pre comes from having "iron" in them (transformers), not necessarily tubes. I highly recommend spending the extra dough and getting something like the Groove Tubes "The Brick" and you''ll have a pre that will be a lifetime purchase that will never need upgarding... it is loaded with both "iron" and tubes and is an amazing Bass DI as well as mic pre... it's a mono pre and they go for about 400 bucks which is an amazing price for a truly professional product that gets extensive use in high end recording studios.

By the way, regarding what I was saying about recording gear not needing to be tube to be warm... my Great River (which is based off a Neve 1073) is all solid state and is one of the sweetest warm pres I have ever used, but that is a pretty high end piece and sort of out of the scope of the kind of stuff we're talking about here for home recording. But most of the warmth and "bigness" on the commercial cd's you listen to wasn't necessarily done with any tubes in the circuit... there are no tubes in an SSL, Neve 1073, Neve Portico, Great River and a dozen other "go to" pro studio pieces I could mention.

Bottom line... if you're buying an entry level product or anything under 400 bucks stay away from the "toob" stuff. If you're willing to spend 200 bucks on something like a Presonus Bluetube DP that you will probably eventually sell once you are ready for something better, then try to find a way to double that budget and get The Brick right from the get go if you only need one channel... I want to say "trust me on this" but I realize you don't know me from a hole in the ground and there's no reason that you should. But trust me on this 

By the way, the same stuff goes for tube mics for vocals... it's more important to just get a *good* mic than for it to be a tube mic. A great non tube condenser will blow the doors of a cheap tube mic. There are however some really decent tube mics under 4 or 5 hundred bucks.

If all you are doing is messing around and learning this stuff and don't think you'll have a need for something better for quite some time, this Studio V3 will do you fine... it is actually one of the better el cheapo entrey level pres. You can get 'em brand new at L&M (Long & McQuade) for 60 bucks so don't spend more than $40 used


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