But the unit I now had in front of me, the ART PRO VLA Two Channel Vactrol Tube Leveling Amplifier, with its nicely designed front panel, looked nothing like my old processor. True, its list price of $649 was still solidly working class, but its performance, as I was soon to find out, was nothing less than totally upscale. In fact, the editors of EM bestowed upon the Pro VLA its prestigious “Editors Choice” award for that year.
That was, of course, two years ago, and the company has built upon that success with more outstanding processors at user friendly prices. Let’s take a very brief look at the current lineup.
The PRO VLA is a multi-purpose tool for audio engineering and recording in a 2U rack-mountable chassis with two independent channels of analog leveling/compression designed to work seamlessly with any recording, sound-reinforcement, or electronic instrument setup. Its circuitry is a hybrid design utilizing the latest and most advanced analog and tube technology. Using a transformerless design throughout, the PRO VLA maintains exceptional signal integrity and extremely low noise. Its VCA-less design utilizes optical electronics (Vactrol) coupled with a real 12AX7 vacuum tube gain stage for a truly musical sound. It is a soft knee leveling amplifier by design and although it’s capable of providing a “squashed” signal, the PRO VLA was designed to excel in areas where transparent, expressively musical dynamics control is desired. In addition to making signal levels more manageable, it is common practice to apply compression or limiting to a signal to make it louder or more "in-your-face".
The Dual Levelar ($349 list) offers both compression and limiting in either dual channel or stereo configurations. In the same fashion as its “big brother,” the PRO VLA, the Dual Levelar allows you to apply heavy amounts of compression without hearing it. Due to its very fast attack and release response times, the Dual Levelar provides the classic punchiness and transparent characteristics of “LA”-type compressors that you thought you could never afford.
Need a mic preamp with great sound plus the unmatched warmth of tubes? Developed in partnership with studio and live sound engineers, the tube-equipped PRO MPA Microphone Pre-Amplifier ($649 list) possesses “the sound.” The MPA’s circuitry is a hybrid design utilizing the latest and most advanced solid state and tube technology. Using a transformerless design throughout, the PRO MPA maintains exceptional signal integrity and extremely low noise. A second stage 12AX7A tube running on regulated DC voltage provides an additional 40 dB of gain and the design causes the tube to overload before the input or output stage. This allows you to manipulate the tube gain to meet your personal sonic requirements.
The Dual MP ($349 list) incorporates two channels of ART’s hugely successful Tube MP sound into a single rack space chassis. The unique design of the Dual MP provides a hybrid input gain structure consisting of matched transistor pairs for excellent CMRR and an extremely clean and quiet front end. A 12AX7A tube, run on a separate regulated DC supply, provides a secondary gain stage that can be “worked” with the input control to deliver just the right amount of tube saturation to the input signal. The Tube MP ($159 list) is unquestionably the world’s most popular external tube microphone preamp (and an incredible bargain to boot). Whether you’re working with a four-track, hard-disk, or digital multitrack recorder, the Tube MP’s TEC award nominated design will allow you to get pro recording studio results at a fraction of the cost of comparable equipment. A 12AX7A tube, phantom power and phase reverse (unheard of at this price) are what have made the Tube MP a staple in thousands of studios worldwide. For a minimal investment, a Tube MP might be just the thing to warm up the sound in your studio.
Need a tube mic preamp, compressor and EQ all in one? Consider ART’s Tube Channel ($499 list). It features three independent circuit designs: a mic pre with over 60dB of gain; an optical compressor with selectable release times; and a four-band, tube-based parametric EQ with selectable high and low shelving plus two mid bands. Check this one out if you want maximum bang for your studio buck.
If your budget is tight, but your desire for great sound isn’t (sounds like all of us), try a Tube PAC ($279 list), probably the most affordable preamp/compressor on the market today that lets you dial in exactly the amount of rich tube saturation you want.
If you’re looking for an outboard equalizer with ART performance (and a great ART price) the Tube EQ (at just $279 list) is the world’s most affordable tube-based parametric equalizer. The four-band Tube EQ is designed to give you ultimate control over musical instruments and vocals like you’ve never heard before. When applying “radical” EQ, the Tube EQ’s on-board tube actually improves the sound by gently smoothing harsh frequency peaks. The frequency bands of the Tube EQ overlap and the two mid-bands sweep from 20Hz to 20kHz, meaning that any trouble spot may be addressed without leaving a “hole” in the audio spectrum.
If you’d like the same performance in a dual channel design, you might want to choose a Dual Tube EQ ($499 list). Each channel features a four-band precision EQ, perfect for fine tuning that mix or completely reconstructing that lifeless kick drum, for example. Its unique cascade feature even configures the Dual Tube EQ as a single channel eight-band parametric!
In case you want ART quality in a multi-effects unit, there’s the Quadra/FX ($349 list) featuring true twin stereo or full quad effects at an astonishing price. It sports four discrete inputs and four discrete outputs for uncompromised flexibility. As you’d expect from the ART folks, you can arrange effects combinations in any order and with any routing option you choose. Choose from clean, lush reverbs including halls, chambers, plates, gated, reverse and true stereo rooms and plates. Add powerful delays, thick chorus, shimmering flange, vintage tremolo and panning effects, pitch shifting and a lot more. It sounds great and doesn’t cost as much as your first car.
The FX-1 Table-top Stereo Effects Processor is just the thing when you want great stereo effects, super simple operation and a mind-blowing price - just $149 list.
Trust me people, the quality I’ve personally heard from ART products is impressive. And tube warmth, richness and saturation is something that will benefit every single studio on the planet. It’s a sound that (despite what some manufacturers might claim) can only come from the use of real vacuum tubes.
So pick up that phone now and call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer today for more information and, of course, your special low Sweetwater pricing on all the superb ART products. I’m pretty certain you’ll thank me for the tip when you hook an ART unit up and hear exactly what I heard . . . in your own studio.
Jim Miller