With 40 +15 dB of gain...it doesn't matter that you can impedance match a ribbon mic, there's just not enough gain there to get the best out of a ribbon. Other than a guitar cab or drum room/OH mics, you'd be pushing the preamp too hard to get a good level, and that means really bringing up the noise floor of the preamp because you're operating the op-amp way above nominal gain levels where the noise floor is acceptable. And this isn't just ART equipment. There are literally dozens of manufacturers using simple/cheap/off the shelf IC op-amp designs that just crap out on anything other than a LDC, but making the claim that they'll handle ribbons. Don't get me wrong, I've seen ART gear (the stereo compressor mainly) in many studios, some engineers swear by it. They make good kit that's feature rich and well worth the money, but they're doing themselves no favours by claiming that a mic pre with 55dB of max gain will perform well with a ribbon, or even a ubiquitous dynamic like an SM7. So...as long as you don't need a ton of gain, there's no reason why these preamps won't perform as well as something 5 times the price. And just for additional context, there're 'brands' out there with badges we all woo at that use identical components and circuit designs but cost way more than ART.
Can confirm. I've owned the ART TPS II + VLA Compressor for about 6-7 years and noise floor is a huge issue when using a lot of gain. Really only usable on medium to loud sound sources. Otherwise I'm having to use a bunch of denoising plugins in post to remove the audible tube and amp hiss.
Very rugged! Full metal chassis, metal face plate, solid knobs/pots. Also, it'll probably live in a rack or road case anyways, so no need to worry, it can handle it!
This is great! I’ve been using their stuff for a while and never disappointed, can’t wait to get my hands on the Solostudio
Thanks for the info!! Sounds great at an affordable price!!
I am really looking forward to when these devices will be available in Spain, it is very interesting to try solo studio
Sonic8 is the dealer/distributor for ART in Spain. You can reach out to them and ask about availability. Their email address is spain@sonic8.eu.
*Andre I know that I have seen you in a movie or two!*
With 40 +15 dB of gain...it doesn't matter that you can impedance match a ribbon mic, there's just not enough gain there to get the best out of a ribbon. Other than a guitar cab or drum room/OH mics, you'd be pushing the preamp too hard to get a good level, and that means really bringing up the noise floor of the preamp because you're operating the op-amp way above nominal gain levels where the noise floor is acceptable. And this isn't just ART equipment. There are literally dozens of manufacturers using simple/cheap/off the shelf IC op-amp designs that just crap out on anything other than a LDC, but making the claim that they'll handle ribbons.
Don't get me wrong, I've seen ART gear (the stereo compressor mainly) in many studios, some engineers swear by it. They make good kit that's feature rich and well worth the money, but they're doing themselves no favours by claiming that a mic pre with 55dB of max gain will perform well with a ribbon, or even a ubiquitous dynamic like an SM7. So...as long as you don't need a ton of gain, there's no reason why these preamps won't perform as well as something 5 times the price. And just for additional context, there're 'brands' out there with badges we all woo at that use identical components and circuit designs but cost way more than ART.
Can confirm. I've owned the ART TPS II + VLA Compressor for about 6-7 years and noise floor is a huge issue when using a lot of gain. Really only usable on medium to loud sound sources. Otherwise I'm having to use a bunch of denoising plugins in post to remove the audible tube and amp hiss.
🤘😸
I’ve been looking at the compressor for live vocals… How rugged is the build?
Very rugged! Full metal chassis, metal face plate, solid knobs/pots. Also, it'll probably live in a rack or road case anyways, so no need to worry, it can handle it!
@ Yep… It will live in a small rack that travels with me (not in the truck). Thanks for the info!