ART MPA Gold Microphone Preamp
The initially preamp I ever bought was an ART Tube MP. It was shrill and picked up WBOS, but when I could get it to arrange I could get an okay sound out of it for $30. Lately, I've seen a few threads close by people putting good tubes into low end microphone preamps with delicious results. One preamp with which people had assorted but interesting results was the ART MPA Gold. Different from many of ART's other products, the MPA isn't a craving-plate low voltage device. In good shape, let's just say that it has a high course voltage setting which is exceptional in its effect on the sound. This reminds me of the modern Joemeeks: they're okay as is, but when you apply the "Iron" button, you've got yourself a fetching good piece of gear for not a lot of legal tender.
The tubes with which the ART MPA comes with are horrible. They only say "China 12AX7B" on them. 'Nuff said. You can do more safely a improved with almost any old $8 replacement tube. I went with a $19 JJ/Tesla 12AX7 (or "ECC83S") for one waterway of the MPA, and with a $29 Tung Sol 12AX7 for the other (each with gold tips). Both are newly made tubes and feeling decent: they certainly flatter the MPA a workable preamp with some unspoilt tone. The Tung Sol really works warmly with my Heil PR40 microphone, but I inclination probably upgrade the JJ to a GE NOS tube in the close by future.
What I really like down the MPA is that for $300 you get two channels with bountifulness of clean gain and each has their own sweepable record pass filter and their own sweepable input impedance (up to 3k). The Heil PR40 is a definitely bright mic, and sometimes it needs to be slowed down a intimation to a 2k impedance even though that's against the recommended ratios. With condensers, the sweepable impedance isn't as significant as it is with dynamic microphones that I like to use.
My Precise Systems P-Solo has been replaced. While that portion is fantastic for guitars (both as a DI and for micing acoustic guitar) the ART MPA Gold is working for me, and I'm getting comments on my valid and more...
