These were my first serious preamps. Even though I've got more expensive ones now these are still in use everyday ! I'm glad someone calls them "fabulous".
Thanks for the vid. Just some quick feedback: because you're making audio reviews, please consider using a good mic for recording your vocals. Other than that, thanks again for taking the time to review.
Have this unit and use it a lot on recordings, especially female voices that have a "bite" and the tubes in this unit can deal with that. Even with +20 db gain and dial gain up +18 or more it really brings in a nice tube warmth to her voice. Push in High Plate Voltage and now you have a different shape to the sound - brilliant. The BIG deal here is that the Output dial at zero (0) gives such a balance to the sound and literally ZERO noise on the Output going into an audio interface to record. I have an Roland Octa Capture which has a feature called Auto Sens. Plug in a mic and select that feature, sing or play a few seconds, and it will set the gain sensitivity accurately. Using a typical SM58 directly into the Roland the Auto Sens on a vocal would typically set the gain to about 45 out of a max of 50. Mic Preamp noise can now be heard in the headphones. Now run the SM58 thru the Art Pro to get the best sound via headphones, and output into the Roland, using the Auto Sens the gain will be about 5 out of 50. End result - same fat full track trace, but the Mic Pre' is dead silent. No noise - zero. Just a beautiful tube warmed vocal that needs little EQ, No better unit on the market for the money and it will holds it's own against the Big Boys. There is another video which does a blind test against high end Preamps costing lots. Guess where this baby placed?
I have the digital 2 version....it's killer...love it! The only draw back is that the insert points on the back of the digital 2 are only for the A/D convertor out... which I never use. So if you want to insert an EQ or compressor you'll have to just run in out of the analog out to the comp or EQ(Daisy chain) to you interface line in.
This is such a good review man. I'd suggest not throwing your arm across the frame though :) The right channel would have done. Keep it up dude, I'm subscribing!
Thank you for the review. Great content! You have so much nice gear; you should invest in a cheap lav mic, or even a small shotgun. I almost skipped the video after enduring the intro monologue.
I got one from Zzounds a few years back, right out of the box channel 2 was not working, I figured it was a bad tube and I put another 12ax7 and it worked. Then after a couple uses one channel was weaker than the other at same levels with a stereo set condensers mics. It ended up being the stereo link had a cold solder point that was easy fixed. Should I have taken it back? Probably but I didn't wanna wait for Zzounds to take forever to replace it still works but I've recently purchased two joemeek's 1Q2's pre amps are far superior than the ART pro MPA's but I still use it, I should of went with a better preamp in the first place. But I see a lot of high end Studios still have em in their racks they got to be reasons that they have em, I'll keep it.
Hey I have a question I have one I have like this loud hissing sound coming out of it it only happens when it start warming up is something wrong with the tubes inside can anybody let me know
I read the manual. Seems it doesn't do true mid/side recording. It simple moves front mic to the left and figure 8 signal to the right. Still a good preamp for the price. To your readers... don't swap tube as soon as you get it. Use factory tube to hear it. If you like it, leave it..
Thanks good vibe and calmness to the video. do you run your synths through the ART ? how do they sound? any advice there? I'm looking for something to warm up some of my digital synths.... figure this might be the ticket.
Wish there was a comparison. Hard to believe they could put proper power and output transformers in something so cheap. Is it extremely heavy? Do you know exactly where they cut corners to make it affordable?
@@consordini6258 All tube equipment needs power transformers with windings (6v ac) for the tube heaters. Preamp tubes don't imperatively need OTs, but they would end up using a ton of crap op amp buffers in order to wrestle the output current and impedance. These transformers are usually extremely heavy and expensive. Without these OTs, I would think these preamps would be dangerous to connect to any A/Ds unless they were properly fused
I was able to find the schematic for the VLA MKII and they use a series of TL072 op amp circuits as buffers. My guess is that these don't sound great when driven very hard? Because those are the same things they've been using in cheap preamps for decades. I would be really surprised it this sounded like a vintage tube pre. Or just an all-tube pre. That said, thanks for reviewing. I don't see enough people sharing their experience with cheaper gear like this. If you get a chance to do some comparisons I bet we'd learn a lot!
Looking at upgrading my home studio with some outboard gear. Been eyeing the ltl chroma, warm audio tone beast, and the art pro vla 2. This looks pretty cool though and is less expensive than the ltl, giving me some financial room for an eq. So many possible units, it’s hard to narrow it down.
If you haven't bought anything yet, check the Art Voice Channel. All in One Preamp, Compressor and EQ all in one for about $150 more than the MPA. A complete Beast for the Price.
Does the noticeably increase in hiss noise bother you when plate voltage is pressed in? When pressed out, it's like there's virtually no noise at all but as soon as I press in plate voltage, hiss dominates the output, so bad that I usually just record without it. Hurts me because I know I'm missing out on the full potential but the hiss is too noticeable of a hiss on quiet sections of recordings etc. (going into a WA76, then into a Focusrite clarett 8Pre) Thanks for any input🙏🏿
Nice review. I have a question, I have Audient id 14 interface, neumann tlm 103 microphone. I am planning to buy this. So can you please share your opinions and experience regarding this preamp. Can I buy this?
Hey. I got the Art pro and pro VLA but I can't get the VU meter up unless I turn the gain up on the knobs. And then the microphone clips easily. If I turn down the gain, then the VU meter doesn't move at all and is not using it's potential. I'm using the slate ml 1 microphone.
It depends on the synth. If the synth sends a line-level output (most do) you'd actually go into the line in on the back. If it does send a hi-Z signal like a guitar would, the DI input on the front would be fine too.
Hey, thanks for watching. It's the same preamp stage as the Voice Channel, yes. As for the Audient, both are super high quality, just different. Tube coloration vs. extremely clean and precise. Just depends on what you're after.
Consordini nice I like that. I ordered the Art voice so I’m happy to have that as an “color” option on top of my Audient. Thanks for the response I appreciate your knowledge
@@syze2537 hey man so I ended up sending it back...it is a great piece of gear but I didn't need it at the time, realized I shouldn't have put it on credit lol so I sent it back. But, now I am eyeing it again, but the Revive Audio modified version, look up that company, they modified my audient id44 and did amazing work. So, next time I get this unit it will be a keeper, a versatile color option but also high quality channel strip. I also want to try the usb port for live stream.
Hello. Thanks for the video. What tube would you go for in order to give vocals more color ? I read every wherer that they need to be changed but not by what ..
Hi there, I was looking into this preamp, I mainly record on grand piano. Do you recon it would make the difference recording MidSide, A/B or Blumlein compared to audio interfaces.? I use Motu8pre and Focusrite 2i2 as a portable option. I use a matched pair of AKG C414s. Thanks for replying
Hey Alex. Great video but i have a noob question. if i didnt have any instruments or mics to plug up into it, would it make music files flac & mp3's sound better, especially after swapping out tubes that sound good to my liking? Thanks
IMO they will. You will find tubes in the high-end audio amps like McIntosh. These give you a little of that tube butter without the not so smooth price
Question: You never discuss the back of the amp. There's a -10dbv/+4 dbm switch on the back, and though I've watched quite a few reviews of gear that have this type of switch... no one really explains the advantages or disadvantages of using this switch in a certain setting when coupled to a prosumer interface. I guess what I mean is... I have a Focusrite 18i20 interface, and I'm wondering what the appropriate switch setting would be for that? Obviously, our input will be hotter (I think) when it's set to +4, but if I'm getting what appear to be decent signal at -10... am I good to go, or is there an advantage to switching to +4? Also... I have an Aphex Project Channel w/vocal exciter, and it's a nicer piece of "pro" gear. If my signal chain is going from the MPA into the vocal Exciter then into the interface... should the MPA be set to +4, because the Aphex gear is higher end and can handle the input strength of +4? Does it even matter? I'm very confused by this. If you know and can help a brother out... I'd sincerely appreciate it. Thanks a ton for the great review BTW!
Your comment sparked a fire in me and it turns out I’ve been using preamps all wrong 😩. So the +4 switch should pretty much always be activated when doing audio recording in this day & age. The -10 dbv is actually for things like CD players and older audio stuff that is obsolete. It makes your output volume much lower to match the older gear. All this time I had -10 dBv activated and wondered why I couldn’t reach proper levels in my daw. +4 instantly fixed that
Sounds great for recording but noob question here...I'm trying to mic my 1x12 guitar cabinet to then run it into a mixer for live performance, I've tried the ART Tube MP studio but it is way noisy any help would be great...
@@consordini6258 It's amazing how much high end gear doesn't have variable impedance. For the budget studio it's almost a must have. You can dial in any mic. Was really eye opening when I first tried it. Great review. Have you used the Channel Strip? VLA II is another sleeper.
hi bro, please help me in choosing between ART pro MPA vs Presonus bluetube V2. It is quite confusing as both of them are around the similar price range here for dual channel inputs. Please do compare the signal to noise ratio(or EIN) and dynamic range of both of the units, so that I can choose the better one for upgrading. Thanks :)
I'm not sure I understand your question. If you want your output signal to be at unity, raise the output volume until the output meter is hitting 0 on the peaks of your signal.
Great video man! Now idk what to do I want to buy an Apollo twin which I understand has pre-amps and plugins inside of it. Should I get this pre-amp instead or should I just go with the Apollo or both?
FILO I run my mic through the Pro Mpa II into an LA 2A and then Into the Apollo twin and it sounds great! The preamps that come with the Apollo are awesome but there is a reason I use both
FILO and I have a Sony C100 microphone that runs into it I don’t track a lot of instruments mainly just use it for vocals, the impedance knob can make a vocal shine if used right, bring out the highs or tame them down vice Versa
Enzo Denali wow your vocals most sound great man. I only use plugins don’t really have anything anolog yet. I was thinking of this being my first analog equipment in my studio. Thanks for the info
These were my first serious preamps. Even though I've got more expensive ones now these are still in use everyday ! I'm glad someone calls them "fabulous".
I don't make videos but this preamp with a Shure SM7B created professional studio quality results. VERY impressed.
Thanks for the vid. Just some quick feedback: because you're making audio reviews, please consider using a good mic for recording your vocals. Other than that, thanks again for taking the time to review.
Yes, after getting this comment many, many times, I use a shotgun mic in all of our newer videos. Thanks!
Consordini relative*. I thought it was fantastic.
Have this unit and use it a lot on recordings, especially female voices that have a "bite" and the tubes in this unit can deal with that. Even with +20 db gain and dial gain up +18 or more it really brings in a nice tube warmth to her voice. Push in High Plate Voltage and now you have a different shape to the sound - brilliant. The BIG deal here is that the Output dial at zero (0) gives such a balance to the sound and literally ZERO noise on the Output going into an audio interface to record. I have an Roland Octa Capture which has a feature called Auto Sens. Plug in a mic and select that feature, sing or play a few seconds, and it will set the gain sensitivity accurately. Using a typical SM58 directly into the Roland the Auto Sens on a vocal would typically set the gain to about 45 out of a max of 50. Mic Preamp noise can now be heard in the headphones. Now run the SM58 thru the Art Pro to get the best sound via headphones, and output into the Roland, using the Auto Sens the gain will be about 5 out of 50. End result - same fat full track trace, but the Mic Pre' is dead silent. No noise - zero. Just a beautiful tube warmed vocal that needs little EQ, No better unit on the market for the money and it will holds it's own against the Big Boys. There is another video which does a blind test against high end Preamps costing lots. Guess where this baby placed?
@@consordini6258 Even with stock tubes, a blind test, it came in first with the most votes.
Thank you, this is super helpful! Exactly the information I needed. :)
Really appreciate the in depth explanation of functions and capabilities.
I have the digital 2 version....it's killer...love it! The only draw back is that the insert points on the back of the digital 2 are only for the A/D convertor out... which I never use. So if you want to insert an EQ or compressor you'll have to just run in out of the analog out to the comp or EQ(Daisy chain) to you interface line in.
This is such a good review man. I'd suggest not throwing your arm across the frame though :) The right channel would have done.
Keep it up dude, I'm subscribing!
got one coming tommorow pretty stoked
Well done! You know your stuff!!
Planing on getting one, been using Pro VLA II and it's great and I guess both will work wonders with good mics :)
It's a great review video.
Subscribed brother.
Hey, thanks for watching! Much appreciated.
Excellent breakdown. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
It's a good video review. Hope to see more video about ART pre amps or others.
Thanks for watching!
I own one and it is awesome on my Korg sv1 for vintage keys. I basically use it like a tube keyboard amp.
I just bought one, waiting for it to arrive
Thank you for the review. Great content! You have so much nice gear; you should invest in a cheap lav mic, or even a small shotgun. I almost skipped the video after enduring the intro monologue.
Really nice video. Can you do a video on the PRO VLA II? All the best!
thankyou man... m using it n got to learn more about this pre amp... m loving it😍
Glad to hear that!
I got one from Zzounds a few years back, right out of the box channel 2 was not working, I figured it was a bad tube and I put another 12ax7 and it worked. Then after a couple uses one channel was weaker than the other at same levels with a stereo set condensers mics. It ended up being the stereo link had a cold solder point that was easy fixed. Should I have taken it back? Probably but I didn't wanna wait for Zzounds to take forever to replace it still works but I've recently purchased two joemeek's 1Q2's pre amps are far superior than the ART pro MPA's but I still use it, I should of went with a better preamp in the first place. But I see a lot of high end Studios still have em in their racks they got to be reasons that they have em, I'll keep it.
Nice. Thank you!
Our pleasure!
This is so helpful -- thanks so much!
Thanks for the video! Which is better for vocals, MPA or VLA?
Hey I have a question I have one I have like this loud hissing sound coming out of it it only happens when it start warming up is something wrong with the tubes inside can anybody let me know
I read the manual. Seems it doesn't do true mid/side recording. It simple moves front mic to the left and figure 8 signal to the right. Still a good preamp for the price. To your readers... don't swap tube as soon as you get it. Use factory tube to hear it. If you like it, leave it..
Thanks for sharing
Thanks good vibe and calmness to the video. do you run your synths through the ART ? how do they sound? any advice there? I'm looking for something to warm up some of my digital synths.... figure this might be the ticket.
I this pre similar to the ART MPA GOLD?
Wish there was a comparison. Hard to believe they could put proper power and output transformers in something so cheap. Is it extremely heavy? Do you know exactly where they cut corners to make it affordable?
@@consordini6258 All tube equipment needs power transformers with windings (6v ac) for the tube heaters. Preamp tubes don't imperatively need OTs, but they would end up using a ton of crap op amp buffers in order to wrestle the output current and impedance. These transformers are usually extremely heavy and expensive. Without these OTs, I would think these preamps would be dangerous to connect to any A/Ds unless they were properly fused
I was able to find the schematic for the VLA MKII and they use a series of TL072 op amp circuits as buffers. My guess is that these don't sound great when driven very hard? Because those are the same things they've been using in cheap preamps for decades. I would be really surprised it this sounded like a vintage tube pre. Or just an all-tube pre.
That said, thanks for reviewing. I don't see enough people sharing their experience with cheaper gear like this. If you get a chance to do some comparisons I bet we'd learn a lot!
Hello i have a question. My condenser mic dosnt work on both channels even if 48v is turned on but works with dynamic mics.. Any idea? 🤔
Looking at upgrading my home studio with some outboard gear. Been eyeing the ltl chroma, warm audio tone beast, and the art pro vla 2. This looks pretty cool though and is less expensive than the ltl, giving me some financial room for an eq. So many possible units, it’s hard to narrow it down.
If you haven't bought anything yet, check the Art Voice Channel. All in One Preamp, Compressor and EQ all in one for about $150 more than the MPA. A complete Beast for the Price.
Does the noticeably increase in hiss noise bother you when plate voltage is pressed in? When pressed out, it's like there's virtually no noise at all but as soon as I press in plate voltage, hiss dominates the output, so bad that I usually just record without it. Hurts me because I know I'm missing out on the full potential but the hiss is too noticeable of a hiss on quiet sections of recordings etc. (going into a WA76, then into a Focusrite clarett 8Pre) Thanks for any input🙏🏿
Nice review. I have a question,
I have Audient id 14 interface, neumann tlm 103 microphone. I am planning to buy this. So can you please share your opinions and experience regarding this preamp. Can I buy this?
Hey. I got the Art pro and pro VLA but I can't get the VU meter up unless I turn the gain up on the knobs. And then the microphone clips easily. If I turn down the gain, then the VU meter doesn't move at all and is not using it's potential. I'm using the slate ml 1 microphone.
Great overview....but the sound demos were useless. You need to give us a clean reference track so we can actually hear what it does.
this vs PRESONUS BLUETUBE DP V2 any thoughts?
Man, that Rhodes sounded great! Thanks for the info.
Thanks for the review. Do you think an external DI box is needed to connect analog synths? Or the onboard front DI input does the job?
It depends on the synth. If the synth sends a line-level output (most do) you'd actually go into the line in on the back. If it does send a hi-Z signal like a guitar would, the DI input on the front would be fine too.
You forgot to go over the phase button
Hey Alex another great review. Same components as the Art Voice channel digital?Would this be an increase in quality from the Audient id44?
Hey, thanks for watching. It's the same preamp stage as the Voice Channel, yes. As for the Audient, both are super high quality, just different. Tube coloration vs. extremely clean and precise. Just depends on what you're after.
Consordini nice I like that. I ordered the Art voice so I’m happy to have that as an “color” option on top of my Audient. Thanks for the response I appreciate your knowledge
@@Tim_ArtistName_Tallent hey man hows the gear? Looking at it too you happy with it?
@@syze2537 hey man so I ended up sending it back...it is a great piece of gear but I didn't need it at the time, realized I shouldn't have put it on credit lol so I sent it back. But, now I am eyeing it again, but the Revive Audio modified version, look up that company, they modified my audient id44 and did amazing work. So, next time I get this unit it will be a keeper, a versatile color option but also high quality channel strip. I also want to try the usb port for live stream.
@@Tim_ArtistName_Tallent thanks for the Reply man I Might go for it
Hello. Thanks for the video. What tube would you go for in order to give vocals more color ? I read every wherer that they need to be changed but not by what ..
Changing tubes can definitely change the tone a bit. I'd recommend NOS Mullards or Telefunkens.
@@consordini6258 thank you
Hi there, I was looking into this preamp, I mainly record on grand piano. Do you recon it would make the difference recording MidSide, A/B or Blumlein compared to audio interfaces.? I use Motu8pre and Focusrite 2i2 as a portable option. I use a matched pair of AKG C414s. Thanks for replying
I had one and it was all buzz. I could never figure it out.
did they send this to you?
Hey Alex. Great video but i have a noob question. if i didnt have any instruments or mics to plug up into it, would it make music files flac & mp3's sound better, especially after swapping out tubes that sound good to my liking? Thanks
IMO they will. You will find tubes in the high-end audio amps like McIntosh. These give you a little of that tube butter without the not so smooth price
Question: You never discuss the back of the amp. There's a -10dbv/+4 dbm switch on the back, and though I've watched quite a few reviews of gear that have this type of switch... no one really explains the advantages or disadvantages of using this switch in a certain setting when coupled to a prosumer interface. I guess what I mean is... I have a Focusrite 18i20 interface, and I'm wondering what the appropriate switch setting would be for that? Obviously, our input will be hotter (I think) when it's set to +4, but if I'm getting what appear to be decent signal at -10... am I good to go, or is there an advantage to switching to +4? Also... I have an Aphex Project Channel w/vocal exciter, and it's a nicer piece of "pro" gear. If my signal chain is going from the MPA into the vocal Exciter then into the interface... should the MPA be set to +4, because the Aphex gear is higher end and can handle the input strength of +4? Does it even matter? I'm very confused by this. If you know and can help a brother out... I'd sincerely appreciate it. Thanks a ton for the great review BTW!
Your comment sparked a fire in me and it turns out I’ve been using preamps all wrong 😩. So the +4 switch should pretty much always be activated when doing audio recording in this day & age. The -10 dbv is actually for things like CD players and older audio stuff that is obsolete. It makes your output volume much lower to match the older gear. All this time I had -10 dBv activated and wondered why I couldn’t reach proper levels in my daw. +4 instantly fixed that
@@Zoloxer dont feel so bad, I was using it wrong for almost 2 years as well….
Hey! I’m looking for a good pre amp for male vocals for use with a Neumann 103 what do you think?
Does it sound good with acoustic guitars?
Totally depends on the mic, the guitar, the room and the player.
@@consordini6258 :(
Would you use this on drums.
Sure! It would depend on the mics and the kit of course, but it can compliment any source.
Can it give a similar results to Avalon ?or it’s not even close.
Sounds great for recording but noob question here...I'm trying to mic my 1x12 guitar cabinet to then run it into a mixer for live performance, I've tried the ART Tube MP studio but it is way noisy any help would be great...
Hey how hard would you hit a mix bus with this on it?
VARIABLE IMPEDANCE. That alone.
@@consordini6258 It's amazing how much high end gear doesn't have variable impedance. For the budget studio it's almost a must have. You can dial in any mic. Was really eye opening when I first tried it. Great review. Have you used the Channel Strip? VLA II is another sleeper.
nice !!
hi bro, please help me in choosing between ART pro MPA vs Presonus bluetube V2. It is quite confusing as both of them are around the similar price range here for dual channel inputs. Please do compare the signal to noise ratio(or EIN) and dynamic range of both of the units, so that I can choose the better one for upgrading. Thanks :)
Art ! Perfect!
how did u create the visuals for 7:00?
I'm not sure - this video was edited by our old editor. I'll see if I can find out!
Thank you!
How do you get the pro vla ii to unity
I'm not sure I understand your question. If you want your output signal to be at unity, raise the output volume until the output meter is hitting 0 on the peaks of your signal.
@@consordini6258 the art pro vla ii is a compressor
Great video man! Now idk what to do
I want to buy an Apollo twin which I understand has pre-amps and plugins inside of it. Should I get this pre-amp instead or should I just go with the Apollo or both?
FILO I run my mic through the Pro Mpa II into an LA 2A and then Into the Apollo twin and it sounds great! The preamps that come with the Apollo are awesome but there is a reason I use both
FILO and I have a Sony C100 microphone that runs into it I don’t track a lot of instruments mainly just use it for vocals, the impedance knob can make a vocal shine if used right, bring out the highs or tame them down vice Versa
Consordini Musical instruments hmmm ok thank you. I’ll see which one I can buy first
Enzo Denali wow your vocals most sound great man. I only use plugins don’t really have anything anolog yet. I was thinking of this being my first analog equipment in my studio. Thanks for the info
Probably You have a great converters
its pretty decent...
Why such bad sound? A cheap lapel mic would be better.
The impedance knob confuses me...
@@consordini6258 that's perfect! Thank you. Someone told me that it had something to do with ohms
@@russbradshawmusic Ohms are a unit of resistance, so it would make sense that they relate to each other.
in 4 years it's $600
The sound on your video is shocking bro
I am surprised how many pro studios use this preamp.
I guess it has a unique sound.
all that gear behind you and your voiceover sounds like an iPhone recorded it.
Was about to write this how weird Kind of pointless.