ART Microphone preamp

[viivian23]

Just got one of these; the 30$ model. Mics were sounding a bit thin so I figured an extra bit of tailoring would be nice. With the knobs at 12 o clock I can't hear a difference between the dry signal and the effected signal. If you crank the knobs all the way up you get some mediocre sounding distortion. Should I just throw it out???

[Tim Armstrong]

It is what it is, a $30 preamp.

I have three of them that have been sitting collecting dust since I got some good preamps a few years ago.

Tim

[woodman]

i once described the ART in this forum as "slightly better than nothing," and nothing has changed that opinion. i got the best results with the +30dB gain on, the input cranked fairly high (turn it up til the clipping light starts blinking, then back off a notch) and the output fairly low. but there's no way to get the rich tube sound you're looking for out of that starved-plate design.

it will deliver phantom power for a condenser mike if you have no other source, but that's about the only 100% positive factor i found. i even put a nice NOS tube in it, with no noticeable effect. so like Tim's, mine has been gathering dust too ... i got a Groove Tubes "The Brick" tube preamp, and it delivers the goods impressively.

[pjam]

Is it the ART Studio V3 (Tube MP) your talking about?

Mine is OK I guess, but my problem is occasional Hiss!

[Faraldi]

Maybe a situation of throwing $$ down a hole but I had one of these and actually replaced the 12AX7 with a JJ long plate and it made the thing very useable. It really does warm up tones.

I've been looking for one b/c my old one got damaged from the road but Guitar Center doesn't carry them. Probably not worth it for them.

These also work as a good volume controller for an effects chain.

God Bless,

Joe

[Martin R]

I've got a couple. We use them as preamps for the acoustic guitars on stage. They're great for that.

I've used one as a mic preamp. There is a slight difference, about $30 worth, but nothing to write home about.

Martin
E. Christina Herr & Wild Frontier

[Ben Harmless]

I would describe all the ART preamps in that price range as "usable."

They are not something I'd turn to for an upgrade. They may be a tiny bit better than something you'd find in a miniature Behringer mixer, but not by enough that it's worth the cost.

My advice for budget preamps is to look for old junk that seems like it can't possibly be useful. Ancient mixers by Yamaha, Allen & Heath, and even Tapco often had preamps that were designed more robustly than anything you'd find in budget boards today. I found a Shure broadcast mic/line mixer for $60 (the store didn't know what it was - shoulda been $250) and it contains four high-quality preamps.

In the budget range, anything with noticeable "color" is usually something I'd avoid using on a multitude of tracks in a single piece. That "color" is often distortion (as all "color" is) that can muddy up a mix quickly when the tracks start piling up. That goes for the ART too. Starved-plate tubes are only ever going to throw dirt on the signal. They won't compress and shape a signal like high-voltage glass will.

All that being said, if recorded tracks sound thin, it could also be:
-Mic placement
-Gain staging
-A/D converter quality
-Whatever you're monitoring with
-The source

Pay particular attention to the source. A close mic on anything can be a cold shower when you're used to hearing all the room reflections. A mic right on a guitar speaker, for instance, only hears what your ear would hear in the same spot - which isn't always nice, and might suggest some placement changes.

[tboy]

+1, Ben Harmless. Sounds like a bunch of great advice.

I have an old Ramsa mixer that's got great pre's in it. An 8210. I saw one on eBay for 9 bucks starting with no bids. I wouldn't replace my SSA's with it, but for the money, it's a solid sounding piece, and I still use it once in a while for a different color. And it's bulletproof.