As far as sound quality goes in comparison to other preamps, I would give the Pro MPA II a 7. It’s a great amp, but don’t be deceived by the tube technology! It’s a solid state amplifier with a tube used for voicing. The main source of amplification is an OPAMP, but a very high quality one. Initially, I purchased it on the advice of my local sound tech as I was looking to add quiet gain to a pair of Apex 205 ribbon mics that I had purchased. After a short burn-in time (for the 12AX7 tubes/valves) I begun to track; the difference was significant and very pleasant.

• With it tickling the yellow I knew I had some headroom before things would get a little out of control.
• So far I simply drop the volume to zero on the Uphoria Interface and I’m doing my gain from the external pre and compressor .
• Onboard, two professional VU meters display input or output levels, while its multicolored LED arrays, with average or peak hold, show you tube gain.
• So I don’t want to change that piece of kit.
• I then switched to the TRS and got a much lower but cleaner signal which I was able to boost with the external pre amp.
• I’m going to pull back a little on the drive on my Art Tube MP because I was getting a hot, crackly, bristling, present, on fire sound.
• GE long-plate; Big smooth sound with some focus on the low-end and lots of harmonic richness in the midrange.

Get an eye on what’s going on using the ART Digital MPA-II’s full assortment of metering. Onboard, two professional VU meters display input or output levels, while its multicolored LED arrays, with average or peak hold, show you tube gain and digital output levels. I needed to get some extra pre’s for my studio incase they were needed without spending a fortune. My line up of pre’s consists of various API’s, Chandler and UA. I was honestly very pleased with the results of this unit, and actually use it more than I ever though I would. It sounds fairly decent on the vox, but have had the most impactful results on drums and bass, and have used this on kick/floor tom tracks for almost everything I’ve done the past few months.

Art Pro Audio Pro Mpa Ii By Ocgarza

The https://luckystriketattoo.ca/ analog meters are used to see the effects of the input gain setting. Variable input impedance for flexible microphone voicing . To prevent damage to the controls and cosmetics avoid rough handling and excessive vibration. Protect the controls from damage during transit. Use adequate padding if you need to ship the unit.

Key Features

What you will have created is a very smooth warm vocal preamp with over 60 db of gain. I have both the MPA II tube preamp and the VLA II compressor. Lately I’ve been experimenting with the MPA II as a preamp for electric guitar using the MPA II front instrument jack with the output going to the guitar tube amp usual input. Out of the box it was fine but frankly didn’t deliver the audio magic I hoped for when purchasing. I’ve done tube and output transformer work on guitar amps and learned that tube selection and placement can make a significant difference in the amp.

NOS tubes are well overpriced and some arnt realy NOS, just NOS Tested and somtimes having unbalanced triodes, then we get ripped off…what did you pay for the Bugle Boy tubes? Selectable Plate Voltage – unlike some other ART products, you can actually take a full advantage of the tube tone by applying high voltage. Variable Impedance is crucial to preserve the character of ribbon and dynamic microphones. I had agonized over whether or not to get a budget preamp now, or save up for one of the $1000 plus big name preamps. For the price, The ART Pro MPA II had everything I was looking for, and then some.

They all sounded clear as a bell, without sounding harsh. From the finished tracks, I added just a little compression, and very little EQ was necessary to put the shine and polish on the mix. Next to the input gain control is the one that governs input impedance, which ranges from 150Ω to 2.4kΩ. To keep the lows under control, there’s a smooth, 6dB/octave low‑cut filter that can be swept from 10Hz to 200Hz.

Matsuhita and Bell; These Japanese and Indian-made tubes were often sold as RCAs in the 1970s. Built on Mullard equipment, they are quality tubes with good tonal balance. Neutral in almost every aspect with a nice overall sound quality.