good, solid sound from an affordable channel strip... 
by Mike McCarthy from Philadelphia, PA, June 2007
Music Background:  recording hobbyist/pro musician

I bought this channel strip about a month ago... it's the first piece of outboard gear that I've bought, and I must say, it sounds really good. I intern at a local studio, and we have a couple Avalon 737's, a UA 6176, plus an API "Lunchbox"... so those are really what I'm comparing the Pro Channel against.

I really wanted an affordable, tube-based pre for my Pro Tools M-Powered rig... I am using a M-Audio ProjectMix I/O. The I/O's pre's sound good, but really lacked the warmth that I heard in the studio from the outboard gear there... now, I'm not going to tell you the Pro Channel sounds like the 737's, or the 6176... b/c they don't, but they sure sound close! Here is a short summation of each piece of the strip.

The mic pre: quality sound. The tube-based pre sounds warm and punchy. I really like the low-cut filter here for rolling out those low frequencies, this is something that is not found on other, more expensive channel strips, and I use it alot. Also, the phase invert switch will work wonders for brightening up signals from condenser mics or from DI sources. Playing with this can give an acoustic guitar or a vocal track a whole new sound, and this is with both the compressor and the EQ bypassed.

The compressor: wow, the one thing that I really like about the compressor is the OPTIONS. You have the choice between a tube-based or optical compressor, and both sound really good. I find myself using the optical compressor much more often b/c of its transparency and its musical sound. I've used it with great success on acoustic guitars, DI's for bass and electric guitars, and voice. I really like the aggressiveness of the tube-based compressor. This is where you get a "sound" of a compressor, and the Pro Channel definitely delivers here. I really like using the tube compressor on drums... kicks, snares... even overheads (for some nice warm levels). I found the tube compressor to be too unruly for the sources I mentioned above for the optical compressor, but it's really just a matter of taste.

The whole point here is the Pro Channel lets you choose which one to use... very flexible.

The EQ section: I might be saying this b/c I'm more of an EQ in the box type of guy, but I think the EQ section here is lacking. I find the controls not very user friendly, and the sound is too intrusive. There is just something that sounds un-natural about the EQ section compared to the pre and compressor, so I opt not to use the EQ section at all, it pretty much remains bypassed for me.

I like the VU meter, but what's really more useful is the tube character/gain reduction LED's below the VU meter. You can look at the PreAmp output, or the Compressor out there with a switch, and it really helps you to find the sweet spot on the pre visually, and gives you a nice read out of the compressor's gain reduction... I really like this option, b/c I really don't "smash" things on the way in... I just like a nice, warm signal, and to let the compressor "kiss" the transients of the signal... unless, I'm doing drums, where I want a more aggressive compression.

The unit is built well, solid, and the controls feel good. The one gripe I have here besides the EQ section is noisy pots! I don't know if I got a "bad" one, or it it's just the components ART uses, but I've noticed the Gain knob of the pre is noisy when you move it. At least it's not noisy when you record through it... but move the Gain knob when you're setting levels is embarrassing, b/c you're gear is making noise... clients don't like that.

So besides those two things... the EQ and noisy pots, and think the Pro Channel is a great buy for someone looking to get their first piece of outboard gear, or for a pro that wants to expand their arsenal of outboard gear with a transparent compressor.. or a tube-based "personality" compressor. The price is right on this one too.

Mike

  ahhhh...........no. 
by mike from Central Coast,CA, August 2006
Music Background:  lots

I had this channel strip and I really did not like the sound. I used it only on male vocal tracks and for me, it was difficult to get a nice warm sound even with a Rode K2.

Unit works well 
by Dave Turner from Spokane, WA, June 2005

You can spend a lot of money on a channel strip. I desperately needed something to improve my tracks, especially vocals but had a limited budget. This unit fit the bill. It's versatile in the fact that you can bypass the compressor and EQ and has 1/4" patches as well. The compressor has the option of optical or tube. All three sections are tube based. The LED meter is helpful for gaining warmth with the preamp. The manual is well written. Overall the unit has added the needed warmth to my vocals and I'm able to obtain a good signal w/o clipping. I can obtain a warm vocal with creamy smoothness. The vocals are then further enhanced with plugin effects. The unit made such an improvment on my vocals that I re-tracked all the vocals on all my prior projects. I haven't used it on instruments yet but will.

I you need a pre-amp, compressor and EQ and like the warmth of tubes and have a limited budget, I would definitely recommend this product. Just price the lower end preamps and you'll see you get a compressor and EQ for not much more money. If you use a pre-amp you have to have a compressor because the signal is so strong w/o the compressor you have to trim it so much that it's ineffective. I'm glad I purchased it.

Write Your Own Review!
We all love gear, and we all love talking about gear with our friends and bandmates. Why not share your thoughts with the hundreds of thousands of customers who regularly visit Sweetwater.com? Write your own customer review on this product! To begin, just Click Here!