When I got my SM57, I also got this $30 tube preamp, and it makes everything sound so buttery. I also use it with my Retro Rocket, and recently got a Telecaster, and it makes the Tele sound amazing, too - like warm butter is the only way I can describe the smooth tone.
And it turns out the phase inversion option is really handy - esp with the Shure. I plug everything into this, and then into my VOX AC4TV, or Kustom 5 watt amp and cabinet. I set the amps, and then just fiddle with the input and output on the preamp.
The output also provides some nice compression, so I don't use a compression pedal anymore.
Unfortunately, it's one more thing that needs a power cord, and I'm not sure how well it would work live on stage, but turned out great for my home set-up.
I know a bunch of people that swear by them,I want one,myself one fellow says there in his main Harp setup,He plays clean mostly,another says there the best thing next to bread and butter;-) for recording (vocals)and guitar,I even think the can be used to warm up vocals in a live situation though a PA.and there not that exspensive ,for all the things you can use it for ---------- Hobostubs
Last Edited by Hobostubs Ashlock on Mar 19, 2013 10:30 PM
Kim Wilson uses the ART tube preamp when he plays large venues and festivals. It sits atop two stock Fender Deville 410 amps, along with a Kinder Mid-Bass Cut pedal and a Kinder AFB+ pedal.
A small tube preamp such as the ART or the Presonus is a great way to warm up your tone. If you are getting too many things that need plugging in you might think about a small pedal board and power supply. It makes things way easier.
+1 on the pedal board route Rick. Once I narrow down my selection of what I want, this is the board I have in mind. The SKB Footnote. Powers eight 9V pedals, has a 6W 6" monitor amp built in, and the thing will run on AC or 6 X D-cells.
On the original topic of the ART Tube MP, I like them as well. I think I'm gonna get one to use with my Alamo since it has a solid state preamp. It oughta warm up my tone.
EDIT: Sorry about the huge image, but at least it'll give you a better look at the thing.
----------
Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by HawkeyeKane on Mar 20, 2013 3:59 PM
I've always been curious about these ART tube preamps. Anyone hve/know of any audio/video of harp through one of these? Preferably A/B tested with and without on both a relatively clean PA and on a "dirty" amp? ----------
Kim Wilson is using the ART Tube Preamp in this video, at the Greeley Blues Jam in 2010. Note the two Fender 410 Deville amps. They are very loud high-gain shrill guitar amps. But they sound great (and VERY loud) with the preamp and his two pedals. I took the video and was right in front of the amps.
I've tried this specific preamp and I thought it sounded very good. You can't beat it for the price. But is is kind of fragile and I doubt it will stand up to gigging unless you have in mounted on a pedal board or something.
Tim, can you change that photo so the text margins are not blown off the screen? Annoying. Perhaps you could just post a link to the Sweetwater page...
I use a 12" speaker cabinet with the Kustom 5 watt head, and it was the only way I could get the 12" speaker to sound smooth, not shrill.
Another cool thing is the effect it has on my Lone Wolf V2 delay pedal. I put the pedal after the preamp, and as I turn up the output on the preamp, the Lone Wolf gets fatter and fatter, like the room is getting bigger. So, it even makes the pedals sound better.
PS: Now the only thing I need is that Lone Wolf reverb pedal which I will also put after the preamp- can't wait
Here's a gap in my understanding: is KW putting his signal into this preamp before it hits the HRDs? How does this work to improve the HRDs output? The amp is a bit on the gainy side, so how does adding a preamp help? Is he tone shaping or knocking down the signal to guitar levels? I dunno, I'm clutching at straws. Can anyone explain what goes on with this please? ----------
SuperBee- Yes, the mic plugs into the ART tube preamp and the other two pedals and then to the amp input. I'm not sure which device was first in the signal chain for KW. My memory is that it was the ART preamp, but the photo below is not clear about that. When I tried it I had the preamp first.
The idea is to turn up the input gain of the ART preamp so that the signal overdrives its 12AX7 tube and causes it to distort. Then, turn DOWN the output stage of the preamp so the signal that hits the HRD amps does not drive them crazy.
It's also a good idea to upgrade the 12AX7 tube in the ART preamp. You don't have to go nuts with expensive tubes... I used a JJ Tesla for this and it made a nice difference in the tone.
Here is photo of Kim's rig at that show:
Here is another photo of Kim's rig from a show in CT during the same time period. It was sent to me by a blog reader.
Kim WIlson apparently doesn't use the Art Tube preamp anymore. He uses EP Booster and EP Booster Plus preamps which are the only brand of preamp he currently endorses.
---------- Me and my comprehension deficit: Can some one either clearly A/B a preamp on a tube amp. If I'm understanding it will warm up the sound on an amp. I have an amp (one of the most coveted) that I feel would be well served if the edges of the notes were more rounded/warm and less electric sounding if that makes any clear sense. It's the main reason I sometimes use a mild analog delay. I'm particularly interested in Kim's EP booster now. Mucho thanks. d Facebook
Last Edited by bigd on Mar 21, 2013 9:53 AM
Interesting thread! I would like to throw into the mix that I read on (if I recollect right) the bluesharmonica.com forum that Skip Simmons built KW and CM a preamp. CM probably switched to a Harp Attack after that (when I saw him in Berlin, he had a red box that went through a Bassman, and the Lone Wolf site quotes him on liking it). And Kim Wilson???
I'm interested in a preamp, for a PA rig. But I'm also interested in a Harp Break pedal. Can someone explain to me if it would make sense to have both? I'd like for something to control the output of my mic (It's 50 kOhms, so might not quite be enough to drive a pedal hard???). But then I couln't use it as a DI no more, or could I? On the other hand, when the distortion comes from the Harp Break, you would only use it to warm things up?
Did anyone compare the ART and the Behringer preamps? The Behringer ultragain 200 is the same price as a ART tube MP in Europe....
I have the ART and I love it. It's part of my regular gigging rig. I run my low-Z EV630 into the XLR input, then a 1/4" patch between the ART and my Corned Beef pedal, then into my Zoo, and line the Zoo out to the PA. It works well for me. The only thing about the ART that I find it wanting is some kind of EQ control. It has input gain, output level, output limit, phantom power, gain booster, and even a phase inverter....but no EQ.
That's where the Harp Break might prove advantageous for you. If you're using it with an amp, run your mic through the ART, then into the Break, and then whatever other effects you have before the amp. But if it's a PA rig, my advice would be to have the Break first in line, and the ART last. That way you have a balanced signal to the PA that's warmed up by a tube, and you still have plenty of control at hand over your volume and your tone.
As for the Behringer....I flirted with it briefly. But I've had bad luck with Behringer products, and the reviews of the ART looked much more promising. BEhringer just doesn't cut it in a lot of areas. Right now...they're retailing on MF for $20 more than the ART. ----------
Hawkeye Kane
Last Edited by HawkeyeKane on Sep 05, 2013 7:23 AM
Willy, there was a thread here earlier about using a SM57 to a single pedal to a PA. Very interesting and impressive. The two pedals that impressed me most (and I usually don't like the sound of pedal-only rigs) was the LW Harp Break and the LW Octave pedal, used separately. HarpNinja did some really good videos on this.
I saw that topic RD, I was impressed as well. Convinced me to go this way.
Hawkeye: In Europe (where I think ART is more expensive and Behringer cheaper - for the same reason: export), the ART MP and the MIC100 are the same price. The Mic 200 (which is the ripoff for the ART MP V3, and has the voicing option) is only 10 euros more.. that's why I'm Tempted towards the Behringer... Do I read you right if you say that the 50 kOhms would be enough to drive the Harp Break? Heck, I could always put a EH lpb-1 in front of it... I like my mic very much (and am not alone in that as well, as I found out on a recent jam :) )
Aha, so that answers my questions! Except for the Behringer-ART comparison. +1 on the ART... Anyone any more input on that?
I have tried 3 behringer products --they were all garbage. Luckily MF took ,em back. I have the art preamp and it sounds great with my vintage danelectro guitar or a mic into a Fender Yale
Interesting thread. I had not heard of using a preamp before, so it made me curious. I currently play a LW Harp Break into a VHT Special 6, and I'm happy with the tone. Would using the ART Tube preamp make an appreciable difference? Thanks.
Got one today, still messing with it but tried it through an SS amp and a small PA at the store with my harp mic's and I liked it. Very passable Chicago tone straight into either, I think it will be useful if I don't want to lug a bunch of gear, or even just for impedance matching into my tube amps with different mic's. The only thing I wish it had was built in tone controls, and bypass capability, but for 50 bucks I'm not going to complain.
Just tried it in my bone stock Valve Jr with my JT30/CM element and it was good, the CM is very hot so I used the MP to knock down the output into the amp as well as add a bit of crunch. Then tried it with a cheap, weak vocal mic (low z) kicked in the 20 db boost, dialed in some tube distortion from the MP and holy cow! What a great sound! The vocal mic has better bass response than the JT30, just what this amp needed!
tj, can you explain how it works? Is it an alternative to the HBreak pedal? Or is it more like the BBE sonic stomp? Or just a clean boost? I's cheaper than the Harp break...
The EP is great and very simple. I have never tried the pedals that you mentioned so I cant comment on them, but I'll do my best to explain the EP boost. First if i use it with my bassman reissue it kind of gives the tonal qualities of turning the amp up to 5 when it's barely on 3, kind of a very transparent distortion and it increases your dynamic touch if you know what I mean. It makes the whole rig (mic and amp) feel more responsive. Now as far as using straight into a P.A. it is awesome! When you can run a crystal jt-30 into a P.A. and have it sound full and warm and with only an on-off switch and 1 dial now that's pretty cool! I guess it is just classified a clean boost pedal, but for harp application it is much more than that. Years ago I had an MXR micro-amp but this is much better. Hey, just get one from Guitar Center, if you don't like it you can take it back for a refund. Just a tip if you do buy one. There is a little internal switch with 3 different positions, one is called vintage, I tri e
d
a
ll
3
a
nd
t h
e
v
i
n
t
a
ge setting sounds the best to my ear. Also you can run these with 9v battery, 9v ac or 18v ac adapter. It performs best with the 18v. I hope all this helps.
