Tube mic preamps
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Posted on Dec 30, 2005 03:21 pm
Bootie
Member Since: Dec 06, 2005
I'm looking for a good way to really warm up the sound of my vocals and guitar, so naturally, I'm looking at a tube preamp for my mic. My primary mic is a Behringer B2. Sure, it's not the top of the line mic, but it's not the bottom, either. Besides, we're all on some type of budget, right?
Anyway, I experimented with 2 different tube preamps using my B2 mic. In both experiments, I recorded a single acoustic guitar track and a single vocal track of a nice, mellow song intro. I recorded those once using the preamp and then again without it.
Now, I've always taken pride in my hearing and I've had friends accuse me of having "nuclear" ears, but when comparing the two recordings (one with the tube and one without), the difference is so subtle I can barely distinguish between the two.
I'm not interested in spending any money on an effect if no one is going to be able to hear a difference. Any thoughts?
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Noize2uCzar of MidiAdministrator
Since: Apr 04, 2002
Dec 30, 2005 10:08 pm You can also warm up the sound with DSP pluggins, such as PSP Vintage Warmer and others. It is much easier to get a radical sound that way, and still be able to have a clean track if the need arises to change it back. Doing things in software gives you many more options.
Flashmannot the brightest spark...Member
Since: Sep 13, 2005
Jan 05, 2006 09:58 am Behringer mic 200? Its got a tube.
I'm happy with mine and its cheap (£30)
Jan 05, 2006 11:57 am Which two different tube preamps did you try?
Maybe try more agressive drive levels.
Beware that most inexpensive tube pres on the market today are solid state pres with tube coloration circuit using a starved plate voltage design.
A true tube circuit will add warmth and punch.
A hybrid will generally add some warmth, but mostly distortion.
That being said I use a hybrid myself, an ART MPA Gold, that I think sounds quite nice for $300 US.
While on a single track the results may not be that apparent, if used on several tracks the effect is cumulative.
I've heard great things about GT's "the brick", which is a true tube pre (mono) for about $400 US.
If it sounds good it is good.
TadpuiI am not a crook's headMember
Since: Mar 14, 2003
Jan 05, 2006 12:13 pm Yeah I think that on most budget tube preamps, the tube is mostly for show.
My ART Tube MP Studio is so "warm" (read: muffled and distorted) thats its basically only good for a bass DI. There's just no high-end sparkle...it can make any vocal or guitar track sound lifeless. But it sounds great on a bass.
I've read several people loving the brick.
TallChapAnswer:On a good day, lipstick.Member
Since: Jun 24, 2004
Jan 05, 2006 12:16 pm The Brick did have a few people fall in love with it. Too much money for my budget.
I have the Behringer MIC100. I use it for everything. It takes some tweaking to get the right signal, but it's got a lovely sound - and CHEAP!
zekthedeadcowEat Spam before it eats YOU!!!Member
Since: May 11, 2002
Jan 05, 2006 06:52 pm one nifty thing I learned from a friend (but havn't tried yet) is to record through solid state ... then run it back out through a crossover and only send the mids through the tube... recombine and the highend is still there and the low is still clean. (theoretically)
I suppose you could just use high and low pass filters so only the mids go through another DA/AD conversion.
along the same lines you could do multiband delay to do crazy phase things.
drakeMember
Since: Apr 13, 2004
Jan 09, 2006 01:09 am the cheapest way to get a good tube sound out of a mic is not getting a tube preamp, but get a good solid state preamp and a tube condenser.
Jan 09, 2006 08:33 am I recently acquired a B2 microphone and i run it through an also-recently-acquired PreSonus TubePre. It's a cheap ($69) box, so probably not a true tube preamp. Nevertheless, I've been very pleased with the initial results compared to what I was using (a really cheap condensor and no tube preamp.)
I posted the results of my first recording effort on a different thread:
www.homerecordingconnecti...=9732&frm=1
Jim
Jan 09, 2006 11:42 am I've had great results from my Mind Print by Envoice.
