Pre-amplification User-reviews
- Short-cuts : Pre-amplification
- Solid-State Pre-amps (2)
- Tube Pre-amps (2)
- DIs (1)
Art Tube MP
By RickD on 04/24/2008 at 23:09 Serious about music, want to make it your profession.
By RickD on 04/24/2008 at 23:09 Serious about music, want to make it your profession.
See all user-reviews
+',height='+Math.min(screen.height,292)+',location=no,toolbar=no,status=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes');void(0);)
Characteristics 
-What Technology? (analog, digital, tube...)
Analogue, tube.
- What available effects, or type of effects, are there?
No effects, just a preamp.
- What connection types are there?
Jack & XLR, in & out.
- Is it rackable, or in rack form?
Not rackable, not a pedal, just a little box.
Has +20dB switch, input gain, output gain, phantom power, phase inverse.
So no high-pass filter...
Analogue, tube.
- What available effects, or type of effects, are there?
No effects, just a preamp.
- What connection types are there?
Jack & XLR, in & out.
- Is it rackable, or in rack form?
Not rackable, not a pedal, just a little box.
Has +20dB switch, input gain, output gain, phantom power, phase inverse.
So no high-pass filter...
Utilisation - Is the general configuration/setup simple?
Couldn't really be much simpler.
- Is the sound or effects editing easy?
No editing, just in & out.
- Is the manual clear and sufficient?...
Can't remember ever needing it.
Problem: one led, that changes colour, no meters. It's green normally, then changes to orange or red when you get to or above 0dB. So, needless to say, using this to set levels is a bit like playing the lottery.
Couldn't really be much simpler.
- Is the sound or effects editing easy?
No editing, just in & out.
- Is the manual clear and sufficient?...
Can't remember ever needing it.
Problem: one led, that changes colour, no meters. It's green normally, then changes to orange or red when you get to or above 0dB. So, needless to say, using this to set levels is a bit like playing the lottery.
Sound Quality 
- Is the sound of your instruments or your microphones faithfully reproduced?
Is the pre-amp transparent or does it color the sound?
I haven't compared this side by side with other preamps on the same source so it's hard to tell. I doubt it's very transparent, then again i haven't noticed any major problems.
I've recorded bass through this, and vocals, amongst others and they were all quite ok to me.
Is the pre-amp transparent or does it color the sound?
I haven't compared this side by side with other preamps on the same source so it's hard to tell. I doubt it's very transparent, then again i haven't noticed any major problems.
I've recorded bass through this, and vocals, amongst others and they were all quite ok to me.
Overall Opinion - For how long have you been using it?
About 8 years.
- What thing do you like most/least about it?
Most: it's cheap now, and still better than most preamps on cheap little desks. Can be used as a DI...can provide phantom power...you can go in with a jack and go out on XLR...so you can have looong lengths of cable even with an instrument.
- Did you try many other models before getting this one?
None. There were none at the time.
- What is your opinion about the value for the price?
The price i paid was very high (950 Francs / £95 / 143 €) but now it's worth about 39 €. So would i buy it for £95 again? Hell no! Is it a bargain at 39€ ? Hell yes!
- Knowing what you know now, would you make the same choice?...
It has come in handy so i can't complain, sometimes i would have been stuck without it...and i will use it again for a gig...
But i will sell it sooner or later, i suppose. The question is...if you want to buy something like this, what else is there? Would you buy Behringer over ART? I wouldn't...
Final word:
If you're playing a gig and going through a cheap desk then using this will definitely improve matters considerably.
If you're recording at home, i'm not sure this will of much use on its own.
About 8 years.
- What thing do you like most/least about it?
Most: it's cheap now, and still better than most preamps on cheap little desks. Can be used as a DI...can provide phantom power...you can go in with a jack and go out on XLR...so you can have looong lengths of cable even with an instrument.
- Did you try many other models before getting this one?
None. There were none at the time.
- What is your opinion about the value for the price?
The price i paid was very high (950 Francs / £95 / 143 €) but now it's worth about 39 €. So would i buy it for £95 again? Hell no! Is it a bargain at 39€ ? Hell yes!
- Knowing what you know now, would you make the same choice?...
It has come in handy so i can't complain, sometimes i would have been stuck without it...and i will use it again for a gig...
But i will sell it sooner or later, i suppose. The question is...if you want to buy something like this, what else is there? Would you buy Behringer over ART? I wouldn't...
Final word:
If you're playing a gig and going through a cheap desk then using this will definitely improve matters considerably.
If you're recording at home, i'm not sure this will of much use on its own.
+',height='+Math.min(screen.height,299)+',location=no,toolbar=no,status=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes');void(0);)
Characteristics This is a tube microphone preamp. It comes with a 12ax7 tube. Because it has tube technology, I bought this to add some warmth to my live rig. It has 1/4 inch inputs and output as well as a balanced XLR input and output. This means you pretty much have a stereo input and output capability with this unit. You can also go direct with an XLR input into a mixing board with this unit. I would call it rackable, as it is definitely not a floor unit. It is very small, so it can go on top of your rack, but also on top of your amp,preamp, power amp, or speakers.
Utilisation The configuration is fairly simple. There is an input and output knob. There are also buttons for gain, p.power, phase reverse and OPL. Basically, you turn the input knob to adjust the volume of your input, and turn the input knob to adjust your output volume. The effect of both can be heard through your speakers. The manual is clear and sufficient. There is really nothing much to this unit to understand.
Sound Quality 
I bought this preamplifier to add more warmth to my rig, as my Fender Stage 185 tends to have a harsh treble. So I really did buy this unit to "color" my signal in that respect. Unfortunately, I have to realize that this is a microphone preamp, so running my guitar through my pedals, then through this unit before going to the board will not make my "house" tone sound good. As a matter of fact, it sounded very weak. So I broke down the next week and mic'd my amp then sent that signal through this unit, then to the mixing board, and I sounded much better through the house speakers. Don't know for sure if I sounded warmer than through my amp, but at least the sound through the house was decent. I think this unit will also make miking my acoustic guitar sound great.
Overall Opinion I have had this unit for about 2 months. I like the fact that you can go direct to the house. Unfortunately, you have to go direct with a microphone, so technically, you're not going direct anyway. I do like having an xlr and 1/4 output, so I really have a stereo capability there, so I can add yet another amp to my rig. (Forget bi-amping or even tri-amping, I want to quad-amp!) Also having "stereo" inputs allows me to put my electric through the 1/4 inch input, and a microphone for my acoustic guitar through the xlr input, without having to switch around instruments, inputs, cables, etc. It's great for microphones, but this is NOT a guitar preamp. (Obviously!) This is the only model I tried because it was the specific model I needed for my needs. For $39, I don't regret my choice at all, because it has its uses
+',height='+Math.min(screen.height,127)+',location=no,toolbar=no,status=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes');void(0);){kind=small}
Characteristics 
This 100% analogue, there is no digital circuitry involved at all.
And so it's perfect if you have a digital recorder: compress the signal and add the gate before you go into the digital domain and you end up with optimal use of the dynamic range in your recorder and pretty much no noise at all.
XLR and TRS input.
XLR and TRS output if i remember correctly.
Preamp, compressor, deesser, enhancer, gate. It does all of those very decently for the money, by the way.
It's a normal 19 inch 1 unit rack.
And so it's perfect if you have a digital recorder: compress the signal and add the gate before you go into the digital domain and you end up with optimal use of the dynamic range in your recorder and pretty much no noise at all.
XLR and TRS input.
XLR and TRS output if i remember correctly.
Preamp, compressor, deesser, enhancer, gate. It does all of those very decently for the money, by the way.
It's a normal 19 inch 1 unit rack.
Utilisation You can't get much simpler than this: compressor has only 2 settings but in 7 years i never found that a problem. Used mainly on vocals and acoustic guitars, the unit did a good job and the gate worked great.
You have to be careful with your settings or you'll bring up hiss (enhancer and compressor). The unit is not exactly silent when you turn everything up but if you stick to the preamp then there's not much you can complain about.
Never needed the manual and when i sold this on, just recently, i realized the manual was perfectly new. I doubt the new owner will need it either...
You have to be careful with your settings or you'll bring up hiss (enhancer and compressor). The unit is not exactly silent when you turn everything up but if you stick to the preamp then there's not much you can complain about.
Never needed the manual and when i sold this on, just recently, i realized the manual was perfectly new. I doubt the new owner will need it either...
Sound Quality This is budget product so don't expect miracles, but if you can't produce decent results with this then you need to learn how to use it! The sound is fine, it's just not going to rival with much more expensive gear, which is obvious anyway.
Overall Opinion Took me a looong time to outgrow this!
It's an excellent swiss knife, it's just not the best knife or the best corkscrew.
If you want to upgrade from this, the only thing i can think of is the SPL Channel One...and that is about 7 times more expensive...
I would think the DBX286A is a very very good starting point and i don't regret the purchase at all.
It's an excellent swiss knife, it's just not the best knife or the best corkscrew.
If you want to upgrade from this, the only thing i can think of is the SPL Channel One...and that is about 7 times more expensive...
I would think the DBX286A is a very very good starting point and i don't regret the purchase at all.
+',height='+Math.min(screen.height,327)+',location=no,toolbar=no,status=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes');void(0);){kind=small}
Characteristics The Focusrite ISA 428 is a solid-state analog external preamplifier. There are both XLR and 1/4'' inputs and outputs and has inserts for instruments on the front of it. It is a rackable unit.
Utilisation 
While one might get lost looking at all of the knobs at first glance, its a pretty easy unit to get used to with a ton of control. It has both a fixed gain knob which you can move to certain fixed levels and a free one to adjust smaller increments for total control. I've never had access to a manual for it.
Sound Quality While it certainly doesn't have the warmth that a tube preamp would have, it does have a very clear sound and sounds great both with mics and directly plugged in. It doesn't color the sound too much, depending of course if you use the filters or some of the other features. If you go straight through with the preamp it will give you quite an accurate sound.
Overall Opinion I've been using this for about 6 months and the thing I love most about it how many different options you have to shape your sound. Its also great to have 4 separate preamps at a very reasonable price when you break it down to price per preamp. It is a great all in one solution if you need a few extra high quality preamps. However, if you are looking for a top end preamp, I would look elsewhere for a single or dual channel preamp that will run you around the same price, but the preamps will be higher quality.
+',height='+Math.min(screen.height,451)+',location=no,toolbar=no,status=no,menubar=no,scrollbars=yes,resizable=yes');void(0);)
Characteristics The Countryman DI Type 85 is an analog direct input box with class A circuits. It has a 1/4'' input for the instrument and 1/4'' out to go to an amp. It then has a microphone output to send to your board or audio interface. Its not a rackable unit, its just a small box.
Utilisation There is really no setting up the Countryman beyond plugging your instrument in and sending it to your board or interface or an amp. There are no real effects as it is merely a direct input box. I have had no need for the manual.
Sound Quality I would say that beyond using a top of the line preamp as a DI, this is the best DI box I have used. It really doesn't color the sound and just serves as a clean and clear DI box. I use it mostly for bass guitar and keyboard, but is also great for guitars if you are looking to record a clean tone and then add effects later.
Overall Opinion I've had mine for about a year but I had been using them in studios for a few years. The price is very reasonable for a top of the line DI box. You never know when a DI box will come in handy and it is great to have a good option for going direct if you don't want to use your on-board instrument inputs on your interface and if you don't have any external preamps. I looked into some Whirlwind and Radial direct boxes but I decided to go with the Countryman because I had used it before and was comfortable with it; it was also a bit cheaper than some of the higher end Radial models. Overall, this is a great DI box for your buck.
Page : 1 
