batsbrew
there is nothing that can improve the quality of your captures better,
than a good mic.
 

Indeed and as I said I've got some old standards kicking around like my 58's and some interesting 58 clones/vintage precursors. I have a couple busted 57's too that I'm not sure can be brought back to life (may be wirng... may be borked out diaghrams but I have to learn how to fix them or bring them along when I drag some other stuff into the shop for repairs). I also have a couple interesting phantom powered dynamic mics (Blue Balls... yup... I got a pair of blue balls lol) that are cool but need a little something something I think to make them really cut.
 
So something like even that ART tube pre might get the signals up and smoothed a little better to make those types of things work a little nicer with the itb stuff.
 
I have a couple mics I'd like to get too if I ever acquire some extra cash. One I really want is an SM7b for obvious reasons. I always loved the Beta57s for my vox and they are good instrument mics as well (nice durable hybrid of the 58s/57s and Beta Greens... seriously my favorite live mic). And since I can't afford a really top shelf condenser I've been eyeballing some of the AudioTechnica (2020/2025... or whatever those models are... you know the ones I mean) or MXL condensers.
 
Unfortunately to purchase all of those relatively inexpensive mics would still be a very painful (well impossible at the moment) investment right now and I seriously cannot use them for everything I would in this sh*thole apartment anyway.
 
Even still a lot of those mics could benefit from a bit of tube pre action anyway so the stuff being talked about here will be one less thing to worry about when the day comes (if ever). Still not even sure where all my studio adventures are going to take me anyway. Who knows. Maybe with all the softsynth crap I have and have been learning EVERYTHING I do that ends up making me dough will be totally itb digital creations. If I can't get my damned body well enough to do long sessions that may actually become the ONLY way I can create... but that would make me ever so sad.
 
Cheers.

tlw
The Art tube preamps actually aren't that bad, especially if you replace the stock cheap valve with a better one (e.g a JJ or NOS 7025). They're not "high end" of course, but will add a valve quality that solid state won't.

This is very interesting, where would I get those valves? I am very happy with my old ART Tube MP which I have used for years "as is".
 
This has been a very enlightening thread :)

When I was looking for tubes after seeing tlw's suggestion there was a place called dougstubes that seems to be an online distributor of all things tubey and they have various replacements for the tube in the ART thingies.
 
Of course if you have an electronics supply store in town they may have some around or being able to order some. Buying tubes from a music store is asking to get bumjacked but they will likely keep the higher quality brands around. Not worth the markup though.

BTW... if you use anything other than ART replacement tubes in your unit you void your warranty. It's a three year warranty so if your unit is older than that no biggie. Otherwise... yeah, you may not want to piddle with it.
 
Not sure if there's a tamper seal in there but if not I guess you could yank the original out, store it somewhere safe then use the replacement. If you need to ship it back for repair under warranty put the original back in. Little shady though.

Thanks for the info, I will look into some replacement tubes just to have around, I suppose mine won't last forever... this gives me a good start on what and where to look!
 
I think I got it for ~ twenty bucks (maybe I had a GC coupon, as well) so I won't worry about warranty that much. Some of the newer ART models like you are looking at would probably be my next go. I used to record at a pro studio here in town back in the early 90's and he had a ART like mine. He only used it occasionally but it is still working for him today!
 
Thanks again :)

Cool. If you aren't used to working with tubes one thing to know is you want to avoid touching them with you fingers/skin as much as possible. Supposedly the oils can cause damage when the tubes heat up... like a weak spot or something. IDK... maybe that's old wives tale crud but I try to heed it.
 
In a tight little space like the ART box though I'm not sure how you'd get a tube tool thingie in there. Maybe latex gloves would work? Aside from the powder they coat them in I don't think they leave any residue on the glass.
 
Whenever I've been asked to replace tubes in amps I've always used a clean, lint free cloth or something to handle the tube and insert it into the socket. Lots more room in big old amp heads though. I'd have to see the inside of one of those things to know if that would work. Seems like you'd need as much dexterity as possible which is why I thought of the latex gloves.
 
One of the smarter dudes in here would know for sure.

Beepster
Cool. If you aren't used to working with tubes one thing to know is you want to avoid touching them with you fingers/skin as much as possible. Supposedly the oils can cause damage when the tubes heat up...

Yikes, I also didn't know that!
 
There are 2 vids I just watched on YouTube for replacing ART 12AX7 tubes. There are also two forums I checked (from a Google search) which said the improvement with expensive tubes would be minimal due to the ART circuitry and recommended against it. So who's to know?
 
I also saw on one of the vids a recommendation to warm up the unit for 15 - 30 minutes and that was also new to me. I can't imagine my clients or friends being very happy about watching me twiddle my thumbs while my tubes warm up, but I will from now on :)
 
Well, I have learned some good things today!

In my travels researching the unit I have discovered that a) you should let the unit warm up for a couple minutes (not 20-30... that would be silly because it doesn't take that long for a one little tube to heat up) and b) that yes, replacing the stock tube can provide a different flavor but it probably isn't going to be anything drastic.
 
They also say they "hand pick" their tubes which I find kind of funny but if they put their own logo on replacement tubes then I'm guessing they are half decent and IF they use those tubes in the units when they ship then... well probably decent.
 
However I am looking at a more expensive and possibly newer model. Maybe the more basic/older ones do/did ship with lesser quality tubes. Whatevs... I'll probably snag a nice replacement anyway just in case the original fries out and I really need to get some work done right away. Then if I'm unhappy with the stock tube's results I could experiment. I'll be slathering the signals with so much digital stuff like sims anyway I doubt it will really matter much. Just need some extra character and meat on the way in to the computer.
 
ART claims that there isn't much worry of a tube blowing anyway. They probably have it wired in such a way you can't fry it even if you're trying.

I concur, it is a good idea to have a replacement on hand.
 
And yes, I thought 30 minutes warmup was a bit excessive :)
 
At any rate, it'll be very interesting to hear which unit you get and how it works out for you!

I got my Joe Meek from Tom Lee Music for $230 Can.  They always price match for me and I think I used Sweetwater's price and they matched it.  I remember him whining that they made $3 on the deal. But I buy a lot of stuff from them and they probably write it off as keeping me happy. . Amazon is often the list price and way out of line. Always check Sweetwater. Then check the Canadian stores on line,,, then go into a real store and that's where I get the best deal 90% of the time. Tom Lee in Surrey BC is where a lot of my new gear comes from. 
 
And you should be careful when shopping 'cause  some of the bullpoo hype- "It has a Tube in it" is often tossed out by a lot of manufacturers these days. Often the design is so bad that what you get is worse tone than if you stayed solid state. They hobble a tube into a crappy solid state circuit just to sell it. True tube design does not come cheap, and it won't fit inside a plastic box that is USB powered either.
The new Fender Champ is a turkey compared to the originals. The singer in my new band I just joined has one and I messed with it forever and never came close to getting anything good. Ya it has a tube in it, but it does nothing for the tone as far as I could tell. Sounds like a 10 watt practice amp.   And he has an older American Strat so it should be easy to get a nice tone. It drives me nuts listening to it. He's impressed with my 72 Fender Princeton and we are going shopping some day and try the new ones out for him. Small amps are the way to go, but there seems to be a limit on how small that can be for a rock band. The Blackstar was by far the warmest tones out of a half dozen modeling type amps I tried that day. 
 
I say this all because you might find what your looking for in a smaller all tube amp. Sure it will be loud but an iso box can be built. Or they make those power soak things. I'm lucky as my nearest neighbor is 3 blocks away. My wife is used to the racket I make in the attic.   
 
Joe Meek uses an Optical compressor which is very different then a solid state design. 
I believe it uses light. At least that's what it sounds like it does. So it's sort of organic like a tube. But as I said, I haven't tried it on my electric guitar, maybe just for you Beep, I'll go do that right now and see what happens :) 
 
PS I have the Art Tube Pre. I put a better tube in it and that made a big difference. But it didn't cut it for recording anything I tried. I like it for live stage DI for Acoustic guitars best. I certainly gives better tone to crappy sounding PU systems.