ART Tube MP USB Project Series Tube Microphone Preamp With USB

by ART

Product Features

• Professional quality
• USB Interface output
• Compact and reliable
• Cost effective
• All aluminum stackable chassis

Product Details

• Item Weight: 7 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000G1E59U
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,856 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)
  • #7 in Musical Instruments > Recording Equipment > Microphones > Preamps

Product Description

The ART Tube MP USB is a professional quality audio interface that lets you connect microphone, instrument, and line level signals to audio inputs, digital audio workstations as well as standard analog devices. ART took the legendary Tube MP series and updated every aspect of the design, inside and out, while still maintaining a compact, reliable, cost effective product, and added a USB output. From the new all-aluminum stackable chassis to the precision LED level metering circuitry, ART has improved virtually every aspect of the already successful Tube MP series and added USB connectivity. ART Tube MP Project Series USB Features USB Interface Output Extremely Low Noise Discrete Front End Up to 70dB of Clean, Musical Gain High Output Signal Drive Capability Fast FET Limiter to Prevent Overload Switch Selectable Input Impedance Precision LED Metering Built-in Low Noise Phantom Power Supply Compact, Stackable all Aluminum Chassis XLR and 1/4 inch Inputs and Outputs Phase Invert Switch High Cut Filter Switch Variable Input and Output Controls USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a common hardware interface used for quick and easy connection of peripherals like the ART USB TUBE MP. The TUBE MP features a single Type B USB peripheral connector on the rear panel for outputting audio over USB to your computer. One of the nice features of USB is its Hot Swapping capability, allowing the Tube MP to be connected and disconnected without turning your computer off. The ART USB TUBE MP is fully USB 1.1 compliant, operating under Windows 98SE or newer, and Mac OS 9.1 or newer. The new ultra low noise discrete microphone preamp front end has an extremely flat and wide frequency response and handles a wide range of input signal levels with a minimum of coloration. This gives you a very clean and neutral sound with a wide variety of signal sources. The high impedance 1/4 inch instrument inputs optimized for guitar pickups allowing every nuance to be heard. We use a high quality 12AX7A tube

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Technical Info and Review, May 18, 2010

By 

Melissa Brendtro "missi88" (usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ART Tube MP USB Project Series Tube Microphone Preamp With USB

When researching this product, I wasn't able to find info on its sampling rate capabilities in the USB interface. Just got mine today and was testing it out in a variety of situations, and found a bit more technical info:

USB audio interface is based on the Texas Instruments PCM2902, capable of 8kHz, 11.025kHz, 16kHz, 22.05kHz, 32kHz, 44.1kHz, and 48kHz sampling rates on input.

It worked great for recording a variety of instruments in my tests. Nice and quiet. The limiter can be a bit noticeable if you push it too hard at least on acoustic guitar. Plugging in an electric and pushing the gain up a bit gives a tube distortion that is usable. Just don't run the gain too high or you'll hear a nasty surprise.

Tried out a Rode NT1-A and an MXL 990, both phantom powered condenser mics. Results were clean and smooth, with a nice round, natural tone.

Then I used it as a DI box for live sound. The gain structure of this thing is crazy. Where my guitar with a Martin Gold Plus thinline pickup had a lower gain on the board, this box was putting out incredibly high gain, and the signal needed to be seriously toned down at all the mixers before using it. Once that was done, it produced a nice warm tone to my normally flat sounding jumbo acoustic, making it sound more like the instrument it is.

This toy is definitely a keeper, especially for the money!

Note to any do-it-yourself'ers out there. The interface only lets you record... HOWEVER... the PCM2902 USB interface has inputs AND outputs. It may be possible to modify to get a set of outputs as well. Its also interesting to note that the PCM2902 is stereo. You do the math for the total ins and outs. Anyhow, I probably won't be cutting into mine for experimentation quite yet.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good entry-level preamp, February 13, 2011

By 

M. Wang (CT United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ART Tube MP USB Project Series Tube Microphone Preamp With USB

I got this preamp from B&H at a decent price. It came with USB connectivity for easy link-up to PC. I have not tried this yet, but it only adds a few dollars in price to the base ART Tube MP Project Series Preamp and should be worthwhile.

The tube circuit is quite good, adding noticeable warmth to the sound. The built-in phantom power supply works well with condenser mics. The gain and volume controls are flexible and the output is reasonably strong for such a small unit. Both the input and output ports accept either the XLR and 1/4" plugs, with the latter taking precedence when both are connected. Other than the phantom power and 20db gain buttons, there are four more controlling impedance, filter, limiter and phase, giving this little unit complete functionality of a preamp. Overall, a great value.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb choice at a great value., July 23, 2008

By 

CARL WELDEN "voice over artist" (New Paltz, N.Y. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: ART Tube MP USB Project Series Tube Microphone Preamp With USB

When you don't need to lug around rack-mounted gear, you need to think smaller. If you're using ONE microphone, you don't need two to eight ports! ART seems to have come up with an affordable solution.
I've used this preamp for voiceovers as well as live performance onstage and was amazed at the clean gain for the price. Paid for itself the first time I used it. The other thing that sold me on this model was the USB port. No drivers needed, just plug-n-play usability that fits in a briefcase.