I got really good results with a modern EHX 12AT7. Granted, mine came out of the box with a microphonic tube so pretty much anything would be an improvement.
a bit of feedback, it wouldve been nice to hear samples of each tube so we can hear the difference/lack thereof for ourselves. still great information/great video, keep it comin
0:14 - 0:32 are samples of what the different tubes sound like on that voiceover. There probably could have been more examples in the video, though. Thanks for the feedback, antioch!
Oh yes and for me the 12AX7 Electro Harminex used in Fender preamps sounded the best. Vs a handfull of decent options . and the Art mp mic preamp with the 12ax7 Electro Harminex sounds great between a guitair any decent solid atate pa or guitair amp. . just dutch the harsh sanjeing that it comes with... Give the pre amp some gain and you start to really notice the difference. . liked my setup riding the line between distortion and clean just barely on the clean side. So playing soft was crystal clear. And a littke rough had a nice sprinkle of distortion. And my distortiin pedal just hot enough to carry me well into distortion just below that muddy maxed out sound . . i was on a esploaded with emg 85/81 active pickups. Boss metal zone. Artmp Preamp... mini crate fullstack stuffed with 4 marshall type celestions and 4 emminence wizards. . .
How did you have the knobs set. The more input volume you use, the less tube you use. Turn the INPUT gain ALL THE WAY DOWN. The higher you put the volume knob the more tube you'll hear. That's where the hiss comes from when you turn up the OUTPUT. It's the tube. If you set the INPUT at 12 O'Clock and the OUTPUT at 12 Oclock you're not hearing much of the tube. Hence you're not hearing much of a difference between the tubes. Because think about it. If you're not hearing the difference between those awesome tubes and the cheap ones you are doing something very wrong. Increasing the INPUT signal strength should only be used if absolutely necessary. If you are using a condenser mic and the +48v turn the INPUT all the way down. Turn the OUTPUT all the way up. Then tune in the right volume with your audio interface. Put on headphones. What you will hear is some hiss. That's the tube. Now retest all those tubes and I bet you'll find a big difference between them. Personally I like the quieter tubes because its the one thing that's not really subjective. At that point if you want to turn the OUTPUT down a little to get rid of the hiss and make up for it by turning up the INPUT on the TUBE MP go for it. But remember, you always want the OUTPUT to be as high as possible and then adjust the INPUT up. Turning up the gain and decreasing the volume is like bypassing the tube!
I'm not even sure you can push the tube that hard in this preamp. The tube runs at a low voltage, as the sound/design of the preamp is starved plate. Maybe an updated vid would be in order on different sound sources. Cheers, Hugh. Thanks for the info!
I have a Tube MP that I've run since maybe 2012? And I honestly don't know if it's just me or if it needs a new tube. I feel like it has lost a ton of it's gain recently. How many hours I've put on it has to be way up there....how long before you recommend replacing tubes in a DI like this?
I got one of those from guitarcenter for $29. new,.. yeah, I couldn't imagine putting a $200 tube in a $29 device. BUT, I am silly in another way as I'm using a SHURE KSM32 large diaphragm condenser,.. although I did get that mic used real cheap.
Interested to know if you could change the type of tube? I've seen people say that a 6SN7 (possibly need a pin adapter) works better at these lower voltages, 'gives more tube colour', then the 12ax7. Would it cure 'starved plate syndrome'?
Escuse me do you know if I are any difference between use a tubes with different gain than ones with the same gain??? I bought separately two tubos, But I don’t know if can I use them like this or maybe those can affect my sound quality one is gain A: 94.7 gain B 97.5 and the other is gain A: 104.4 GainB 94.1.
Short answer: not really. From what I hear with the demos at the beginning, the stock tube and Amperex were pretty close, while the Sovtek and RCA had slightly more midrange. In total I don't think it's worth the cost and effort for this preamp. This unit is unique in its form factor, so it's hard to recommend a competing product, but another microphone or preamp would probably make a bigger difference in frequency response. This unit is *great* as a guitar DI though. It vastly improves amp modeling.
The Chinese tubes sound bright and harsh, and since the ART Tube preamps don't have an EQ, swapping tubes makes sense. More bass, better dynamic range.
hi, i have an art tube pro mp2 pream. I'm recording a vocal microphone, but there is a very scratchy bottom sound. I think the tube is of poor quality. How many tubes are in this tool? Which tube would you recommend me! urgent please. thanks.
Very useful. I would have expected more difference, but perhaps that’s the case with more expensive preamps, the ones that have high voltage, I don’t know. Anyway thanks for posting this!
Yeah, not too much of a difference but enough to swap the tube. Also the cost. Also, a lot of the sound comes from starved plate design, which from what I understand, is independent of the tube. Thanks, Dennis!
good evening I want to ask you a question please. I have the studio V3 and I want to change the lamp at the moment it has the 12AX7A China which one can I put for better result and warm sound? Thanks a lot
Ive Sourced some Electro Harmonix 12AX7's are they the same as SOVTEK'S?? Thinking to do a swap on a unit: ART TPS ii Preamp Thanks for the great review HappyNewYear!
I’m curious about this, because ART claims the tubes they use are “hand picked”. I bought (and subsequently returned) a Tube MP/C because it was so damn noisy. Tubes are virtually impossible to get now that Russian exports are sanctioned.
It’s funny, I bought Shure SM7B for live gigs, needs an amp so I had to leave store with one but was low on funds. Subsequently got recommended art tube mp as inexpensive temporary solution… and same as you + a plethora of other reviews I’ve read- TOO MUCH NOISE! …. I didn’t give up, totally dead set on figuring it out, as was recommended by trusty friend/music store owner/band member from Musicians Discount Center Miami/homestead area 👏 🍻 🎉. After nearly two hours of research and adjustments and fidgeting…. 20+ decibel button (on left), absolutely produced LOUD humming, never use. Literally only had last button to the right pressed and active. Adjusted knobs so as to use as little from the right knob as possible, while cranking up gain from left knob.. using xlr everything going from SM7B to pre amp art tube mp to pvi 6500 portable mixer from peavey… I’m truly very sorry for all that, but the point is valid: I have never been so impressed by such an inexpensive combination. Such a deep, intricate grasp on the lows and excellent mids and SURPRISIGLY crisp highs and overall really and truly impressed. Mids and lows reminiscent, nearly impeccable imitation of Neumann U87’s low end capabilities. (I’m male country/rock/R&B and HipHop of this century)
It's funny cause the comments on sweetwater are full of people saying that changing the unit made it sooo much better. Probably the placebo effect! Love to see Jay in the vids, there always interesting videos! I don't think you added a link to Jay's channel though!
We did in the end decide to keep the LPS in there over the stock Chinese, but yeah, the difference is minimal. Def some placebo going on. Yeah! Probably could have put this one on Jay's channel Last 20 seconds of the vid on the end screen click on the pic of Jay! Thanks, David!
I really couldn't hear any discernible sound difference. You may get a different result putting music through it but nothing that a good E.Q. couldn't resolve as all tubes give you a tube sound. I used to swap the ECC83/12AX7 tubes in my guitar amps hoping to get a "better" sound. It was merely a bit different but not better.
That's a really good point. All this stuff is subjective so it depends what you want to do if you've got the time to try things out. I wish we had done more tests with it but I remember we were in a rush that day. Cheers!
i tried swapping in mine when i was 15. it broke. so i got this one and put a tung sol 12ax7 in it and never changed it 6 years later. Tbh it isnt running that hot and not doing much
Yeah, that was our main findings, too. For something that only costs $30, it makes sense that swapping the tube wouldn't make too much of a difference. I guess in terms of the design, the sound comes from a starved plate tube design, which according to Jay, doesn't use the tube in the way you would think. But it was worth an experiment. And we did wind up leaving the EHX tube in there so go figure haha
Thank you for this video! Please help, I can not find any info on Mic Preamp Tubes that will be use only for Vocals. Whats tubes would be good for Vocals?? I'm going for a full sound and smooth airy sound I just got the ART Pro MPA II and I'm going to change the stock tubes Please any recommendation? thank you
Just swapping out the stock Chinese tube for the Sovtek one made a noticeable difference. I wouldn't bother with anything much more expensive than that
Man taking weeks vacation starting Monday to do nothing but record and now the Mark III is making popping noises. I don't know if you remember but the mark II I bought was doing the same thing. Do you know anything about this or maybe point me to someone who could help me. I've unplugged everything plugged it back in replaced the RCA plugs Cleaned the head Unplug the RCA plugs listen to the headphones only still doing it. I'm stuck in the mud
424 Recording Yeah thats the first thing I tried to do I forgot to mention it. I did a little reading up on a site I googled and I think it's a solder joint from what other people were saying when they had the same issue with a cassette player
to the point - i like ! I use the same pre-amp, got it for 10 usd. in a sec.hand shop, and it does goddam magic to my microphone that came with the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 soundcard bundle ! - im still flappergasted :-O
Nice shirt Jay!
I got really good results with a modern EHX 12AT7. Granted, mine came out of the box with a microphonic tube so pretty much anything would be an improvement.
a bit of feedback, it wouldve been nice to hear samples of each tube so we can hear the difference/lack thereof for ourselves. still great information/great video, keep it comin
0:14 - 0:32 are samples of what the different tubes sound like on that voiceover. There probably could have been more examples in the video, though. Thanks for the feedback, antioch!
RUclips scramble all finer details with there conversion software - dont expect to get anything usable out of that,-
Thanks for this. I put an Electro Harmonix tube in it as well as for my ART LevelaR compressor.
Oh yes and for me the 12AX7 Electro Harminex used in Fender preamps sounded the best. Vs a handfull of decent options . and the Art mp mic preamp with the 12ax7 Electro Harminex sounds great between a guitair any decent solid atate pa or guitair amp. . just dutch the harsh sanjeing that it comes with... Give the pre amp some gain and you start to really notice the difference. . liked my setup riding the line between distortion and clean just barely on the clean side. So playing soft was crystal clear. And a littke rough had a nice sprinkle of distortion. And my distortiin pedal just hot enough to carry me well into distortion just below that muddy maxed out sound . . i was on a esploaded with emg 85/81 active pickups. Boss metal zone. Artmp Preamp... mini crate fullstack stuffed with 4 marshall type celestions and 4 emminence wizards. . .
How did you have the knobs set. The more input volume you use, the less tube you use. Turn the INPUT gain ALL THE WAY DOWN. The higher you put the volume knob the more tube you'll hear. That's where the hiss comes from when you turn up the OUTPUT. It's the tube. If you set the INPUT at 12 O'Clock and the OUTPUT at 12 Oclock you're not hearing much of the tube. Hence you're not hearing much of a difference between the tubes. Because think about it. If you're not hearing the difference between those awesome tubes and the cheap ones you are doing something very wrong. Increasing the INPUT signal strength should only be used if absolutely necessary. If you are using a condenser mic and the +48v turn the INPUT all the way down. Turn the OUTPUT all the way up. Then tune in the right volume with your audio interface. Put on headphones. What you will hear is some hiss. That's the tube. Now retest all those tubes and I bet you'll find a big difference between them. Personally I like the quieter tubes because its the one thing that's not really subjective. At that point if you want to turn the OUTPUT down a little to get rid of the hiss and make up for it by turning up the INPUT on the TUBE MP go for it. But remember, you always want the OUTPUT to be as high as possible and then adjust the INPUT up.
Turning up the gain and decreasing the volume is like bypassing the tube!
What I mean by the gain is the input and the volume is the output.
I'm not even sure you can push the tube that hard in this preamp. The tube runs at a low voltage, as the sound/design of the preamp is starved plate. Maybe an updated vid would be in order on different sound sources. Cheers, Hugh. Thanks for the info!
I always assumed the tube was the input, good to know the output is where the tube saturation comes from, helpful comment, thanks.
Wheres the updated video??
Thanks for this valuable wise advise :-) Would you recommend to change the ECC83 by an ECC86 in order to get more tube gain ?
Getting to the point & no BS.
This is very helpful and answered the question I was thinking about for my Behringer Ultragain Mic200. Thanks!
Glad it was helpful, Mike! Thanks for watching
I have a Tube MP that I've run since maybe 2012? And I honestly don't know if it's just me or if it needs a new tube. I feel like it has lost a ton of it's gain recently. How many hours I've put on it has to be way up there....how long before you recommend replacing tubes in a DI like this?
100,000 hours
Great video man!😊
I got one of those from guitarcenter for $29. new,.. yeah, I couldn't imagine putting a $200 tube in a $29 device. BUT, I am silly in another way as I'm using a SHURE KSM32 large diaphragm condenser,.. although I did get that mic used real cheap.
I think we all have these kinds of contradictions in our recording workflows... I know I do as well hahaha
Interested to know if you could change the type of tube? I've seen people say that a 6SN7 (possibly need a pin adapter) works better at these lower voltages, 'gives more tube colour', then the 12ax7. Would it cure 'starved plate syndrome'?
You'd probably need to re-bias the circuit in addition to adapting the pins. Definitely not worth it.
Escuse me do you know if I are any difference between use a tubes with different gain than ones with the same gain??? I bought separately two tubos, But I don’t know if can I use them like this or maybe those can affect my sound quality one is gain A: 94.7 gain B 97.5 and the other is gain A: 104.4 GainB 94.1.
Same here! I noticed no difference, even with a vintage USA-made tube in my Art Tube MP. Maybe tubes have more impact on guitar amps.
The difference if any is super minimal. With the MP much of the sound comes from a "starved plate" design
Short answer: not really. From what I hear with the demos at the beginning, the stock tube and Amperex were pretty close, while the Sovtek and RCA had slightly more midrange. In total I don't think it's worth the cost and effort for this preamp. This unit is unique in its form factor, so it's hard to recommend a competing product, but another microphone or preamp would probably make a bigger difference in frequency response. This unit is *great* as a guitar DI though. It vastly improves amp modeling.
I need help replacing a tube on a Barringer Mike 200
thank you very good video ...
The Chinese tubes sound bright and harsh, and since the ART Tube preamps don't have an EQ, swapping tubes makes sense. More bass, better dynamic range.
It threw me off when you didn't say the signature send off..
Us " Nerds " need that..
Great video
Hahaha good to know! I wasn't sure anyone would notice 🤓
hi, i have an art tube pro mp2 pream. I'm recording a vocal microphone, but there is a very scratchy bottom sound. I think the tube is of poor quality. How many tubes are in this tool? Which tube would you recommend me! urgent please. thanks.
Very useful. I would have expected more difference, but perhaps that’s the case with more expensive preamps, the ones that have high voltage, I don’t know. Anyway thanks for posting this!
Yeah, not too much of a difference but enough to swap the tube. Also the cost. Also, a lot of the sound comes from starved plate design, which from what I understand, is independent of the tube. Thanks, Dennis!
Damn I love tubes. #neverforgetjay
good evening I want to ask you a question please.
I have the studio V3 and I want to change the lamp at the moment it has the 12AX7A China which one can I put for better result and warm sound? Thanks a lot
The Sovtek is solid
Thanks for doing this, was it hard to swap the tubes? I've always wondered since I have two of them and if the tube blows I will need to replace it.
Nah. Just unscrew a couple screws and pop it in and out 😁
Ive Sourced some Electro Harmonix 12AX7's are they the same as SOVTEK'S??
Thinking to do a swap on a unit: ART TPS ii Preamp
Thanks for the great review
HappyNewYear!
I believe they are! Cheers and Happy New Year!
@@424Recording THANKS!
I’m curious about this, because ART claims the tubes they use are “hand picked”. I bought (and subsequently returned) a Tube MP/C because it was so damn noisy. Tubes are virtually impossible to get now that Russian exports are sanctioned.
It’s funny, I bought Shure SM7B for live gigs, needs an amp so I had to leave store with one but was low on funds. Subsequently got recommended art tube mp as inexpensive temporary solution… and same as you + a plethora of other reviews I’ve read- TOO MUCH NOISE!
…. I didn’t give up, totally dead set on figuring it out, as was recommended by trusty friend/music store owner/band member from Musicians Discount Center Miami/homestead area 👏 🍻 🎉. After nearly two hours of research and adjustments and fidgeting…. 20+ decibel button (on left), absolutely produced LOUD humming, never use. Literally only had last button to the right pressed and active. Adjusted knobs so as to use as little from the right knob as possible, while cranking up gain from left knob.. using xlr everything going from SM7B to pre amp art tube mp to pvi 6500 portable mixer from peavey…
I’m truly very sorry for all that, but the point is valid: I have never been so impressed by such an inexpensive combination. Such a deep, intricate grasp on the lows and excellent mids and SURPRISIGLY crisp highs and overall really and truly impressed. Mids and lows reminiscent, nearly impeccable imitation of Neumann U87’s low end capabilities. (I’m male country/rock/R&B and HipHop of this century)
I forgot to mention it’s clarity. Outstanding. Will use this even for studio recording.
It's funny cause the comments on sweetwater are full of people saying that changing the unit made it sooo much better. Probably the placebo effect! Love to see Jay in the vids, there always interesting videos! I don't think you added a link to Jay's channel though!
We did in the end decide to keep the LPS in there over the stock Chinese, but yeah, the difference is minimal. Def some placebo going on. Yeah! Probably could have put this one on Jay's channel Last 20 seconds of the vid on the end screen click on the pic of Jay! Thanks, David!
I have that preamp and i hear difference from jj electronics 83s and sovtek 12axlps, others hear difference too, and very big difference...
The difference was definitely significant enough to swap it
I really couldn't hear any discernible sound difference. You may get a different result putting music through it but nothing that a good E.Q. couldn't resolve as all tubes give you a tube sound. I used to swap the ECC83/12AX7 tubes in my guitar amps hoping to get a "better" sound. It was merely a bit different but not better.
That's a really good point. All this stuff is subjective so it depends what you want to do if you've got the time to try things out. I wish we had done more tests with it but I remember we were in a rush that day. Cheers!
@@424Recording Would you personally record with the stock tube? Trying to get as close as possible to a vintage sound.
i tried swapping in mine when i was 15. it broke. so i got this one and put a tung sol 12ax7 in it and never changed it 6 years later. Tbh it isnt running that hot and not doing much
Yeah, that was our main findings, too. For something that only costs $30, it makes sense that swapping the tube wouldn't make too much of a difference. I guess in terms of the design, the sound comes from a starved plate tube design, which according to Jay, doesn't use the tube in the way you would think. But it was worth an experiment. And we did wind up leaving the EHX tube in there so go figure haha
How well would this work for a ribbon mic?
I think it could work well. Just don't engage the phantom power! You could also check with ART
Thank you for this video!
Please help, I can not find any info on Mic Preamp Tubes that will be use only for Vocals.
Whats tubes would be good for Vocals??
I'm going for a full sound and smooth airy sound
I just got the ART Pro MPA II and I'm going to change the stock tubes
Please any recommendation? thank you
Just swapping out the stock Chinese tube for the Sovtek one made a noticeable difference. I wouldn't bother with anything much more expensive than that
@@424Recording Thank you Mike! keep up the good work!
jade007z my pleasure. Thanks for watching and commenting. Will do! Cheers
7025 it's glory for vocals"
So no audio samples ? just talk ?
Man taking weeks vacation starting Monday to do nothing but record and now the Mark III is making popping noises.
I don't know if you remember but the mark II I bought was doing the same thing.
Do you know anything about this or maybe point me to someone who could help me.
I've unplugged everything plugged it back in replaced the RCA plugs
Cleaned the head
Unplug the RCA plugs listen to the headphones only still doing it.
I'm stuck in the mud
Have you tried a different tape?
424 Recording Yeah thats the first thing I tried to do I forgot to mention it.
I did a little reading up on a site I googled and I think it's a solder
joint from what other people were saying when they had the same issue with a cassette player
Gotcha. Time to bust out the iron!
424 Recording Yup I'm gonna give it a shot
🤓
You might want to edit the beginning of the video.
to the point - i like ! I use the same pre-amp, got it for 10 usd. in a sec.hand shop, and it does goddam magic to my microphone that came with the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 soundcard bundle ! - im still flappergasted :-O
That's awesome, Mikkel. That's been my feeling about the ART as well. Works and sounds great and cheap to boot. Cheers and thanks for watching!
0:33 you said that twice 🤪
Changing the tube without changing the circuitry, condensers, transformers (how the electricity is carried and processed) is IMO pointless.
yeah right. For one, this unit is transformerless. And are you going to swap out surface mount, multiplayer ceramic capacitors for orange drops?
The Sovtek and Bugleboy were vastly different to the stock Chinese.
Yeah, we eventually settled on the Sovtek. Kinda hard to justify putting anything else into a $30 preamp! Thanks for watching!
Amperex Wins)
For a very different opinion on the merits of changing the tube, go to ruclips.net/video/HBda9f7CT1c/видео.html
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