ART Tube MP Reviews

Steven McGinnis
from kansas city, MO
February 22, 2013Music Background:
professional club musician

Great for warming up your guitar when running direct from a floor processor

i have an older one it has a vu meter but basically the same box . These are fantastic little devices : signal boost on long cable runs warming up your sound if you have a Boss me50 or a line 6 pod direct to the board this will give you that evasive tube warmth, run it in front of your fender twin for a little extra growl . there are tons of uses for these they are not expensive. which means you break one or lose one its not the end of the world and easily replaced i highly recommend these... my secret weapon...

Gene
from Southern California
July 10, 2012Music Background:
Worship team member, serious hobbyist

If you don't have it-get it

It's everything it's supposed to be for a very low price. I use it on my NS Design WAV electric upright bass at church (piezo pick-up). I needed something more than just a DI box to boost the signal to the mixer. This unit works great. Didn't need EQ, as I leave that to the sound guy.

Gene
from Southern California
July 10, 2012Music Background:
Worship team member, serious hobbyist

If you don't have it-get it

It's everything it's supposed to be for a very low price. I use it on my NS Design WAV electric upright bass at church (piezo pick-up). I needed something more than just a DI box to boost the signal to the mixer. This unit works great. Didn't need EQ, as I leave that to the sound guy.

Art Stuckman
from Fremont, Ohio
May 8, 2012Music Background:
Musician

Even better

I wrote an review as seen below, where I said that using the 20 db switch and the phase switch really boosted the output but I was wrong!. I didn't even need to go that far to exploit the capability of this awesome preamp!, I just simply disengaged all the switches and turned up the input and output knobs to half and adjusted the gain on my Mbox 2 interface accordingly and I have more gain than I'll ever need!, I'm buying another for my guitar a.s.a.p.!.

Art Stuckman
from Fremont, Ohio
March 23, 2012Music Background:
Musician.

Amazing!

I ordered this preamp and received it the very next day!. This minor investment has made an drastic improvement in the sound and feel of my six string bass!. I thought I'd made an mistake until I engaged the 20db button and the phase switch and WOW!, the bass showed its true nature. If this bottom of the product line sounds like this then the more expensive ones should be unbelievable!!!.

Wayne
from Bluffton SC
September 30, 2011Music Background:
Sound and lighting tech for a large church

Does the trick

We needed to connect an XLR microphone needing phantom power to a home theater amplifier to have it work as a PA system.

Plugged this into power, amp and mike into it and we were in business.

Simple to use and works like a champ.

Scott
from Phoenix, AZ
March 4, 2011Music Background:
Touring Musician - Over 8 Years

Can't be beat for the price!

I use this mixer for one reason and one reason alone. I connect my microphone to the pre amp, and then run into various stomp boxes, to use effects with my vocals. For this use, and any other use for a preamp, this is an absolute charm of a pre amp. It's incredibly powerful, and warm.

For those leaving bad reviews, and thinking it should be as great as the $1,000 pre amps, you're crazy. It's affordable and a great bang for the buck.

13yroldstudioowner
from
February 8, 2009Music Background:
profesinal music producer.

Awesome tone and price

You by this thing and happiness will flow through you like prune juice with old people. just an amazing tube pre. i have the presonus one too but dosent warm up the mics like this, especialy a large condenser mic. Buy at least 2 andd just use it for fantom power or extra volume and you will know the meaning of life.

Maddaxe111
from Indy
October 9, 2008Music Background:
20+ years writing and recording music

Must have for ANY start-up studio

If you are looking for a piece of gear that will warm up your vocals and acoustic guitars, then you have found it.
For the price there is nothing on the market that can touch this. I can tell you in our small studio we give this thing a work out, and it has never failed to impress or perform.
Buy the ART Tube MP you will not be disappointed.

Nathan
from Meridian, ID USA
August 25, 2008Music Background:
Live Sound, Live Recording, Sound system consultant!

Great Product!

I love using these for live sound. I've been using them for 6 years. They are really smooth on acoustic guitars! They compress the sound in a very natural and pleasant way. I'll use one of these over a passive direct box any day! I've been know to throw one of these even on vocals if I don't have a compressor available. This can be just enough to make the extreme dynamics tolerable and makes vocal simply sound better in the process. These small preamps have an unusual way of gluing together what goes through them. Dynamics are less extreme and subtle harsh details are pleasantly softened. At the same time all the pleasant sound are left alone or enhanced. Line outs on an acoustic guitars rarely sound anywhere near as good as the actual guitar. These make these line outs much more pleasant. I've recorded some live stuff that was just not pleasant or enjoyable sounding. Running it through one of these before I start mixing is often a life saver. I purchased a TubeFire 8 hoping to get multiple channels of the Tube MP sound, but it doesn't have it. In a live setting, perfectly transparent is often harsh and unenjoyable. These Tube MP's somehow make these kinds of things simply more enjoyable.

Bryan Cannon
from Owensboro, KY
October 30, 2012Music Background:
Musician, Audio Systems Technician

Fit my need

I purchased the ART Tube MP to use as a gain boost in our stage monitor setup. We use a pair of powered speakers for our front monitors and we use Roland Cube monitor amps as individual monitors for the band. This setup allows use to split our AUX feeds for some on-stage, personal tweaking. We put all the vocals in AUX 1, the instruments in AUX 2 and send them to each Cube monitor. The third channel of Cube handles a direct feed from the instrument. The front monitors use a mini mixer to feed the AUX signals to the powered speakers. The problem I had was that the Cube monitors AUX 1 channel is XLR in but channel 2 & 3 are 1/4". This sets up a signal imbalance between AUX 1 and AUX 2 that could not be compensated for at the main board. Thus the need for the signal boost on the 1/4" AUX 2 signal. The ART MP has handled that task very well. It has a fairly wide range of adjustment and is very flexible in achieving a good signal gain. I was not necessarily looking for the benefit of having the tube tone, but that seems to be nice, warm and rich. As an acoustic guitarist it has made me curious as to how it would sound as a DI for the guitar. I haven't tried it since I have a different setup to handle my acoustic amplification. I would also think that it would be a nice touch on vocals. I haven't had it in use very long, so I can't comment on how long it will last, but right now it seems to be a good unit.

John Vieira
from Washington State
February 24, 2012Music Background:
Technical background, no music.

Simplicity and Substantiality

For the price, one receives exceptional circuit design, excellent performance and solid construction. I use this MP for exchanging ideas and information. I record voice on PeakLE and send it as an email attachment.

The specifications for this unit are no exaggeration. ART is a no nonsense technological company with the smarts to do it right.

Matt
from Minnesota
August 29, 2011Music Background:
Live sound, Recording

Good product Just saturate the tube and you should have no problems with it

well I really like this I use 2 for my overhead mics because i dont have actual overhead mics the mics i use sound much better than overhead in my opinon but the one thing i had to do like with every new tube or new tube amp turn it on leave it on for 3-4 days to saturate the tube the tube MUST be burned in its what everyone seems to neglect causing every flaw ive read in all these reviews its a great product yeah the tube could be replaced if you wanna spend the $30 to get a good tube i will replace the tube eventually but it works great and i also use one from the out on my board then into my computer its easier than recording then transfering it to a tape then back to digital but always saturate anything that has a tube when the tube is brand new

William Jones
from Jasper, Georgia
July 7, 2009Music Background:
Semi-Pro Musician and Singer, Home Recordist and Hobbyist,etc.

Great if used correctly!!

I really do love these actually! I own two of them. I can't think of a better pre to buy if your on a tight budget. But you do have to use them correctly. They can either sound really good or really bad depending on how you dial it up! They are super simple to operate. They really sound great as a mic-pre for vocals/acoustic guitar and it's a great direct box for bass guitar. Buy two of them!!

m.koren
from vancouver b.c. canada
December 18, 2006Music Background:
engineer/ bassist/guitarist

warm , basic , quiet , perfect !!!!

i have just bought two tube mp's over the last week and replaced the stock chinese tubes(hissy and microphonic) with a JJ 12ax7 in one, and a Groove Tubes 12ax7 in the other.Im impressed with how clean these things run even with the gain up high. Let's just say you will probably never use the 20 db gain boost. These things definetly smooth out the peaks and with enough gain you could probably forgoe using a compressor on bass and percussion.

from
February 16, 2013Music Background:
pro musician, recording engineer, live sound engineer

Works Good!!

Used as as a bass preamp and it works great! Great value!

from Buffalo NY
April 16, 2012Music Background:
Hobbyist

Great, but replace tube

Got this a few months ago to warm up bass and guitar, it peaked pretty easily. I switched out the tube to a sovitek tube. It now is much warmer and never peaks even when turned up to max. This also works great on vocalists, much better than any solid state preamp on a mixer.

Kevin Sanlin
from Riverside, California
January 3, 2012Music Background:
Artist

Art tube MP

Works great for my purposes,

Rick Jensen
from Wilmington, DE
January 10, 2010Music Background:
Professional Voiceover and Broadcaster

Very Nice

Warms the already excellent Shure SM-7B for professional broadcast & voiceover work I do. Perhaps output & gain could have be a bit more headroom. Overall good match.

Ernest Buckley
from NY
November 14, 2008Music Background:
Songwriter, Producer

A little black pepper

This is a great little spice to add to your sonic stew. Every once in a while you may want to distort something or round it out a bit... this is a cool device for that. We recorded some bass through my Avalon 737 and then ran the signal out to this to give it a little crunch. As with all spices, use sparingly.

AKB
from New York, NY USA
October 23, 2008Music Background:
Recording Engineer/Producer

Surprisingly...good...

I picked the ART Tube MP because (a) I wanted something to warm my vocals up and (b) I'm a hard budget. I wasn't expecting anything spectacular, so I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the sound coming out of this thing. It's obviously not an Avalon, but wow! It added warmth where I needed it.

Aaron Baxter
from Texas
May 19, 2007Music Background:
Guitarist, Amateur Recording Engineer

Is this for real?

I bought two of these because I needed a couple cheap preamps to fill in for a while until I could get some better ones, but I didn't need to get better pre's after using these! I can't believe the quality of this preamp for such a great price! Very clear and subtle, even with phantom power. I recommend this to anyone looking for a good pre on a budget.

Theo
from Tiffin, OH
July 26, 2006Music Background:
recording / live sound engineer, singer & vocal percussionist, musician (cello, guitar, bass, sax) and music technologist in general

That much for that much?

Okay, this litle box is no $8000 preamp obviously, but I have used it on stage as DI to warm up my cello's/ acoustic guitar's somewhat harsh piezos, on bass (upright and electric); and in my project studio to track everything from vocals, to raps, to guitars, sax, bass...
Would I like to use an Avlon DI instead on my bass signls - sure, but i can't afford one!
This little box does more than any other under-$100- equipment-investment i have ever made and it does it well!!
Also check out their Project Series TubeMP that can be found in the Sugary H2O of Fort Wayne, IN (and on this website).

Richie Bittner
from near Saratoga, NY
January 11, 2012Music Background:
jack of all trades, old dog learning new tricks.

for what it cost, it works...

This is a nice little pre. I have used it as a direct box for an active EMG pick up bass with good results as long as I don't drive it to hard. It does break up when overdriven, but for the music I play, soft acoustic mostly, the initial distortion is pleasing, however, go a bit further and it quickly turn to hash. But up to that point it adds a nice degree of warmth. Not so good with my Tele, I just did not care for the sound. I have yet to try it with a microphone, and I suspect that if you don't require too much gain, it will suffice. Like all gear, I wish it had an on - off switch. Plugging and unplugging a wall wart is not my idea of user friendly design. Well built box, I'll keep it. I have not tried swapping out the tube for a name brand and I suspect ART uses cheapo tubes, but if I ever run out of things to do, I may to see if that changes the distortion characteristics.

Michael
from Atlanta, GA
November 17, 2012Music Background:
Rock, pop, jazz and blues semi pro

Got tube amp feel with modeling software

I was in need of a preamp to boost my mic and needed something very simple. This turned out to be a decent choice. There IS some noise present but if everything is connected properly it won't be too much of a problem; the signal to noise ratio is pretty good. Also I wanted to test the theory of putting a tube preamp in front of a guitar using software amps to get a more dynamic sound...well, it WORKED and quite well. Though its only truly noticeable with the gain cranked up, you still get a FEEL much closer to using a real tube amp, not just the sonic character (something ALL modeling tech still misses on--yes even that $2000 amp modeler everyone seems to drool on--due to a number of factors). I was pretty impressed and now don't even think about plugging into my software amps without some kind of physical tube preamp in the signal.

Christopher Paglia
from Byfield, MA
October 6, 2008Music Background:
Musician, Live and Recorded Sound

Warm up your live sound!

I got one of these when they first came out. I was still using a cassette 4 track to record demos at home- this was the perfect addition. Now I have a small digital recording studio and I still occasionally find myself throwing this in the mix for a certain sound. But more and more I have used it live as a preamp for acoustic guitar. It does add a little warmth (and edge if you want it) and is built pretty solid, not to mention being this affordable you could buy another for almost the price of a new tube if you break it!

kb
from nyc
July 30, 2012Music Background:
live sound recording engineer

again..so so...

for those that are close to the floor...with
dire straits bottom line equipment..this is a godsend.

but for those that have spent few hundred dollars
on mixers, or recorders, etc... this might be a downgrade
in both sound quality ( squishing..and changing tones all over the place
sometime to your liking, sometimes NOT...) and a guarantee of constant
hissssing noise addition no matter what your gain is...
but
as an experimental toy, or LOUD gigs, or line level loud stuff going in...it might just work...
NOT recommended for most condenser mics pls.
might work on most cheap dynamics and cheap ribbons...and
line level stuff.

Heriberto Perez
from Orlando, FL USA
May 6, 2010Music Background:
Musician, Recording Engineer, Recording Arts Student .....

Think about it

If you want a really cheap mic pre maybe this is what you looking for. I recommend to just go a little bit higher and get at least the Tube Pac.
I have a Tube Pac and it's awesome the warmness you can get in the sound but this one its no good the sound isn't great and you maybe having bad noise when you turn on the +20db.

Jerry L. Edwards
from Brunswick, ME
January 2, 2006

Tube MP adds nice color Sterile Digi recordings

I record a lot of hip hop, both vocals and tracking the beats out into protools and e-magic logic. This lil' pre-amp always come through. From kicks and snares, to bass lines; and from rappers to smooth backup r&b-ish vocal stacks, the Tube MP delivers. Try it out, its cheap, but worth more than its weight in gold!

Customer Reviews

Great for warming up your guitar when running direct from a floor processor

If you don't have it-get it

If you don't have it-get it

Even better

Amazing!

Does the trick

Can't be beat for the price!

Awesome tone and price

Must have for ANY start-up studio

Great Product!

Fit my need

Simplicity and Substantiality

Good product Just saturate the tube and you should have no problems with it

Great if used correctly!!

warm , basic , quiet , perfect !!!!

Works Good!!

Great, but replace tube

Art tube MP

Very Nice

A little black pepper

Surprisingly...good...

Is this for real?

That much for that much?

for what it cost, it works...

Got tube amp feel with modeling software

Warm up your live sound!

again..so so...

Think about it

Tube MP adds nice color Sterile Digi recordings