ART Tube MP. Worth getting?

Electricblue · #1 08-03-2011, 01:10 PM

I was thinking of getting one of these little boxes, to add a slight bit of tubeyness, and a slight bit of overdrive at times.

I also might need one for my mic.

Worth getting for bass?

bassbrad · #2 08-03-2011, 01:24 PM

IMO it's well worth having for many reasons, but overdrive is not one of them. I have and old Tube MP, a newer Tube MP Studio and the TPSII rack mounted dual mic pre. It makes a nice warm DI and mic pre great on electric and acoustic guitar, bass or keyboard. It can also make any dynamic mic sound better for live or recording use and it can provide phantom power. The versions with presets and OPL are even more useful.

GreggBummer · #3 08-03-2011, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Electricblue

Worth getting for bass?

For "drive or dirt"... no.

However, it makes a decent DI for clean tones for bass. A SANSAMP sounds much better though.

It sounds really good with harmonica. I used it last week to mic my singer/harp player. He used a bullet mic... sounded great.

For as cheap as they are... they are a good studio tool.

TC2112 · #4 08-03-2011, 01:41 PM

I keep one in my gig bag as a backup DI. I put a better tube in it and it works great for warm clean tones or if you need it on a mic, but it's not gonna get you that tube grit or overdrive.

silky smoove · #5 08-03-2011, 01:48 PM

I'll parrot what has already been said. I owned one for a while, and found that it didn't do too much for a live bass rig. I'm sure it would make a handy DI in the studio for any number of different applications where you would want to go direct.

ChasBass · #6 08-03-2011, 01:55 PM

I like mine to warm up my bass tone for SS amps.
seems to work better than the Presonus Tube Pre.

godblender · #7 08-03-2011, 02:38 PM

I've used it...very very decent bass DI for the money. I'll probably pick up another one at some point.

audiomitch · #8 08-03-2011, 03:51 PM

AFAIK, they aren't true tube designs. They add a little tube distortion in to the signal, but it isn't passed through the tube. IOW, they're solid state with a variable amount of tube generated distortion "injected".

I have a rack version and the little desktop version but don't use either one too much these days.

chaosMK · #9 08-03-2011, 03:55 PM

I've seen horrible reviews of this.

I liked the ART Levelar, if you can find it. It's a compressor but could probably do the same tube thing as the MP.

moles · #10 08-03-2011, 04:03 PM

+1 on the point that they aren't *really* tube devices.
I had one - using it as a mic pre for when I wanted to mic my DB live. When I sold it, the guy that came to try it out put my BG through it, and it sounded fantastic as a DI.

BUT - be warned - the adapter that comes with it is 12 v AC - good luck finding a replacement if it goes down/gets lost. I think a replacement from ART was over 20 bucks (that's for a 40 dollar unit). Personally I find stuff like that a major PITA.

seanm · #11 08-03-2011, 04:04 PM

I consider the ART Tube MP to be the swiss army knife of preamps. With both XLR and 1/4 inch, XLR and 1/4 out, tons of boost and a good clean tone it is handy to have. Oh, yeah, the fact that they are cheap helps too

Works as a bass DI. Works as an ultra-simple bass preamp. Works as a mic pre (imagine that!). And can be used to help out weak mics/guitars.

The only downside is that you have to use the power supply. It also has no EQ, but I don't really consider that a downside.

aledeville · #12 08-04-2011, 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by audiomitch

AFAIK, they aren't true tube designs. They add a little tube distortion in to the signal, but it isn't passed through the tube. IOW, they're solid state with a variable amount of tube generated distortion "injected".

+1
I'll never understand why people link warmth in the tone with a glass bulb that gets warm...

I've got a tube preamp like this in my p bass. It's called passive tone control. Whenever I roll it back a little, the tone gets warm! There must be a tube in it!!!!

As a swiss army knife, just as seanm mentioned, it's existence is justified.
I gave mine away to a poor fellow a year ago.

gillento · #13 08-04-2011, 04:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seanm

I consider the ART Tube MP to be the swiss army knife of preamps. With both XLR and 1/4 inch, XLR and 1/4 out, tons of boost and a good clean tone it is handy to have. Oh, yeah, the fact that they are cheap helps too

Works as a bass DI. Works as an ultra-simple bass preamp. Works as a mic pre (imagine that!). And can be used to help out weak mics/guitars.

The only downside is that you have to use the power supply. It also has no EQ, but I don't really consider that a downside.

+1
I am using mine as a rehearsal preamp into an sfx headphone amp.

brianrost · #14 08-04-2011, 06:28 AM

I've got the TubePac (Tube MP plus Levelar in one box with real AC supply).

Complete waste of money and I only paid $70 brand new. Exaggerated/phony "starved tube" sound means it rolls off highs and muddies up the midrange

I made the mistake of recommending the Tube MP to a fiddler bandmate of mine only to find out it really hates phantom power on the XLR out (unavoidable in cases where the mixer's phantom is on all inputs or none) and wall warts on stage are always bad

Guess I'm in the minority here but have to speak up.

runmikeyrun · #15 08-04-2011, 11:43 AM

It is what it is. CLEAN preamp. No dirt or OD at all. For the money it's nice. You do need a separate EQ though. If you're looking for something cheap to drive a power amp with or something it'll work good. If you're looking for something to "warm up" your signal before your head, it's really not going to do it. There's just no "tube" magic in it.

Electricblue · #16 08-04-2011, 02:32 PM

Fair enough, I might even get the Behringer equivelent, I saw a review on youtube, sounds nice when clipped