ART Voice Channel Reviews

from Milwaukee, WI
May 16, 2013Music Background:
Home recording, guitarist, hobbyist

Cheap and Powerful

Tons of outputs, solid metal knobs and both analog and digital meters. I needed hands on EQ, De-esser and a noise gate. I found three I was interested in but was attracted to the Art due to the amunt of bang for the buck.

I recorded in a spare room in my house that sits on a busy and noisy street. After I flattened the file I showed it to some friends. They asked me what studio recorded this. Big smiles!!

Set this thing up right and it won't do you wrong. Glad I bought this.

D.J. Twilite
from natchitoches, la
April 18, 2013Music Background:
recording engineer, live sound engineer, producer, d.j.

the best

if u want a professional sound for a cheaper price then this is it. The name speaks for its self. U won't be disappointed. I've used art pro channel for years and just upgraded to the voice channel and im glad i did.

Brent
from Atlanta, GA
January 3, 2013Music Background:
Semi-pro musician & home studio owner

Ahhhhh....

At last...a piece of gear that lives up to the hype without breaking the bank! I got Voice Channel and one of ART's M3 condenser mics and the sound is AMAZING. My sE mic and Presonus Audiobox VSL44 now have some serious competition in my project studio. I haven't touched all of the capabilities of the new ART tools but what I have done is miles above my previous recordings. The Voice Channel is a magic box...even my ok voice came out shimmering and clear in the mix. The EQ, compression, de-esser and expander /gate functions help vocals cut through. Add a touch of reverb, delay from my TC Electronic or Lexicon and I've got some good things cooking. I've had some other ART products ( MP Project Series preamp and the TPSII dual preamp)...all have been durable and do what they advertise. I've sung through UA and Avalons in other studios and while this isn't quite that pure, I also have a few more grand in my pocket too. Get this!!!

Jimmy Rodgers
from Boise, ID
July 9, 2012Music Background:
Sound Engineer

Better than dbx or Presonus

I bought the dbx 286s and the Presonus Studio Channel and the ART Voice Channel blew them all away! The sound is both rich and warm and the EQ is just right for voice overs.

The addition of the expander gate makes it a slam dunk over the Presonus (though I usually prefer Presonus as a brand). I ended up returning my dbx and buying a 2nd Voice channel.

Also, the fact that this has a direct audio output via USB makes it a extremely versatile in the studio.

from
June 4, 2012Music Background:
Pro musician, Hobbyist home studio

Love it

I really like it. This is the second most expensive preamp I own, so I can't compare it to high end gear, but I think it sounds great. I am a big fan of channel strip style gear. It's so easy to get a good sound quickly. I have to do demo videos / screencasts, so I primarily use this for recording spoken voice now. I love that it has a built in ADC. Just plug it in to your computer with USB and it appears as a sound device. Rather than turning a rack full of equipment and a mixer on (and raising the temperature of my room about 8 degrees), I can just turn this on when I need to record a voiceover. Having 2 outputs on the back makes it easy to duplicate the output to my headphones. The expander with a variable threshold makes it easy to reduce background noise without affecting the sound too much. I was not a huge fan of the gate, but I didn't need to use it. The de-esser is nice to have. The EQ sounds good to me and it is quick to dial in the sound. The metering is fantastic. The connections are very flexible: 2 outputs comes in handy, and there is a separate preamp output if you want to replace the EQ/compression later when you have more control. I really have to max out the gain when I use it with my RE20, but that is a notoriously low output mic. I just ordered a Cloudlifter CL-1, which should fix that problem. The gain makes a big jump at the end of the knob, not an even increase like farther down. Other than that the build quality seems very solid. I wish the low pass filter was variable, and a variable ratio on the expander would be nice, but you can only fit so many knobs on a piece of gear. One of my favorite pieces of gear all things considered.

Carlton Jones
from Asheville, NC
July 12, 2011Music Background:
Bassist and studio engineer

A great value in a vocal strip!

I got this unit as a reasonable alternative to a lot more expensive units, and I must say, it surpassed my expectations. It has a very warm sound that works well with both male and female vocals, and it's extensive features make it one of the most versatile pieces I own. Thanks as well to Sweetwater for there great customer relations and fast and reliable shipping.

kevin turley
from Decatur IL
June 27, 2011Music Background:
Hobbyist, songwriter

great sound out of Voice channel

The voice channel delivers. Easy to use. practically no learning curve.
comp, EQ, and gate/expander are similar to cubase vst.
Love the pad and expander. I also like the many choices of digital outs.
I generally record acoustic and electric guitars thru voice channel and BLUE baby bottle microphone.I get great results everytime.
Preamp sounds good. Using digital out sounds excellent. It blows away a standard mixer as an interface between music and computer.
I recommend voice channel over standard preamp because it delivers
sound and features one would expect on a unit costing a 1000 dollars or more. great buy. good tool for home project studio!

Soundy
from Portland, OR
May 20, 2009Music Background:
Recording Engineer, Pro Musician,

Works Wonders!

I have used this piece of gear numerous times to record. I am always impressed by the tonal quality, it provides. It is a solid hard working machine, that you could use it all day and never get tired of. For any size studio, it is a beneficial add-on! Thank you ART, and Sweetwater, for carrying such wonderful gear!

SoundGuy1
from OR
July 10, 2008Music Background:
Recording Engineer, Pro Musician, Hobbyist

Great piece of gear

Great piece of gear. It has big metal knobs that do not feel fragile. It sounds clean and non- noisy. The Compressor works wonders, and the EQ section is a great add-on. This piece of gear should be in the thousand dollar range.

Jay Villarreal
from Alamo Tx
March 27, 2008Music Background:
Pro musician, Producer, Studio engineer

High end sound

The ART Voice Channel Strip works great. Has all the bells & whistles you'd expect out of a high-end channel strip. Lots of bang for the buck!!!

Joshua Hodge/Troy Tracks Studio
from Troy, Alabama
April 22, 2010Music Background:
Profesional Musician, Recording Artist and Studio Owner.

MUCH MORE THAN A TUBE PREAMP!

I definitely wanted at least one Channel Strip in my studio and this one has more than exceeded my expectations. In addition to being a great sounding tube pre (especially in the High Tube Voltage) this thing does an equally job of Compression, EQ, DeEss and much more all at a high quality. Other home studio's in the area have asked me why my vocal tracks are so much warmer, fuller and alive. The ART Voice Channel.

I recomend this for ANY level studio as a great stand alone unit. Ask for Alan Carter one of their GREAT Sales Engineers and he'll get you fixed up!

George Selsky
from Tinley Park, IL USA
April 4, 2012Music Background:
Home Studio Guitar Player

Great choice!

I was actually thinking about a different channel strip and my salesman, David Hess, suggested I consider the ART Voice Channel. He said for a little extra money, I would get way more bang for my buck and he's was right once again! The ART channel strip has all kinds of routing features, great sounding EQ and compression. The users guide has suggested setting for lots of applications. It's very easy to use and sounds great, what else could you ask for?

Luke Roberts
from East Lansing, MI
November 2, 2010Music Background:
Musician

Great bang for your buck!

This is honestly a great piece of equipment! I bought this few months ago I was purely a fresh beginner in the world of actual studio recording and it has treated my band quite well so far. The clarity that it brings to the table as well as a lot more signal control is very nice to have. My only complaint would be the knobs on mine didn't perfectly line up with the faceplate making some knobs almost completely stuck in place. I remedied this with the use of some tools but it was slightly annoying to have to deal with.
Thanks to Ryan Murray and the Sweetwater staff for the best customer service I've ever seen. It simply can't be beat!

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