Agreed! I own a couple of ART rack mounted pieces in my home studio and they deliver top end results on anything I throw at them from drums to guitars to vocals and more.
I've owned 2 ART Voice Channels and let me tell you they are FANTASTIC!!!!....when they're working. I put it up against an LA610 and I thought it sounded just as good. (To be clear, i'm not saying that it sounded LIKE the LA610, they have a very different flavour, but it definitely sounded AS good). The sneaky best parts of this channel strip are: 1. The expander is FANTASTIC. I used this instead of the gate and it did an AWESOME job, especially in rooms with little or poor treatment 2. The De-Esser was really good as well. 3. The impedence knob is very useful for changing the sound of the mic. The problem is that they kept breaking. After about 18 months it would start to make a farting noise for about 5 seconds and then just stop making any sound at all. I had both units professionally repaired twice. After the 2nd unit failed a bunch, I sold it and was done with it. If ART ever redesigns Voice Channel so that it doesnt fail so often i'd absolutely buy another one.
We own several preamps, Avalon M5's, 737sp, Amek CIB's and DMCL, RND 5012, 3124+, ISA's, etc, and our Pro MPA holds its own. Love it on our Rhodes Suitcase.
Two questions unanswered, first what actually those cheesy presets do in technical sense, and second why does voice strip does but have the separate preamp attenuation output as the pro strip? How to get the same gain staging with the input set higher for saturation, but not overloading the eq or the comp? Also there is no the compressor output gain to serve this purpose.
I've been in audio for more than 35 years and still do not understand the distinction between consumer and pro. I mean outside of some really good hype by the companies, there is almost NEVER a justification for their jumps in price
Admittedly, it is mostly a perception thing. Imagine you were recording in a professional studio. If you were paying handsomely for hourly studio time and noticed they were using our $80 Tube MP as their mic pre, you might be a bit disappointed and feel that they were using consumer-level equipment in what is supposed to be a professional environment. ART's rackmount units feel right at home in a more professional studio setting and come with more features fit for professional use. For instance, an audio novice recording in their bedroom might be perfectly happy with the consumer-level Tube MP, whereas someone in a more professional setting might want or need additional features like variable input impedance, adjustable plate voltage, VU and gain reduction meters, onboard low-cut filters, and linkable stereo operation. However, some professional 2-channel mic pres that we sell are priced at $5000+. So comparatively, at only $429, the Pro MPA II is found in many consumer-level home studios as well!
@@longandmcquadePoint made and taken. When you think about it, if you're spending 250-300 an hour for studio and you see some little small ART unit.....you'll be like hell nah.
@@pvampman The rear XLR input accepts line level signals at lower input gain settings. Start at 0db of input gain (make sure the gain button is set to normal, not +20dB) and slowly bring up the gain until you reach your desired level of tube saturation, and compensate by bringing down the output level. For use on the mix bus, put the Pro MPA II into stereo mode so you don't have to independently adjust each side. From the manual: Input Gain control This control optimizes the input signal level before the tube gain is applied. Both Microphone and Instrument input gains remain the same and are affected by this adjustment. Input gain can be adjusted from 0dB (for line level signals) to 40dB of gain. Input Impedance control This knob controls the Mic/line input amplifier impedance.
Good to know, thanks. I bet you'd sound pretty boss during those meetings with the right settings compared to everyone else using crappy computer microphones.@@longandmcquade
I've been using the Audient id14 for about 3 years now and looking to upgrade to a better preamp. Do you think the Art Pro MPA II would be a good upgrade going through the Audient?
It's absoutely used as a singing preamp! There really isn't much of a difference in preamp or other channel strip features (EQ, compressor, de-esser, etc) when it comes to source material like voiceover vs singing. Voiceovers and singing each need equalization, each has a certain dynamic range to be controlled with compression, each has sibilance to be controlled with a de-esser, etc. They're equally useful for both, and for any genre.
@@longandmcquade Tthanks guys, i'm looking into a few ART options at the moment... the MPA-II, TransX and the voice channel as my first outboard preamps to match with my 18i8. Only downfall on the voici channel is the one channel only.
Hi, are you having trouble setting up the pro channel in terms of cabling and ins and outs? Like you aren't sure where to plug things in? Or do you mean how to adjust the knobs and settings?
How do I get the tubes inside to turn on just bought it but the tubes don’t turn on I only have input and output plugged in and nothing plugged into the insert section of the back …
@@Stays-sx3cc The tubes are always on when the unit is powered on. No cables need to be plugged into any input/output/insert. If you purchased your ART preamp from Long & McQuade, please reach out to the store you purchased it from for further troubleshooting.
Ever hear of Sound On Sound magazine? Ever hear of their technical editor Hugh Robjohns? He personally recommended an ART product to gain stage between my mixer and my Dangerous Music Compressor. The ART sits between them, has worked flawlessly for years, and sounds completely transparent. The opposite of cheap junk.
Took my game to the next level… not going to lie everyone’s impressed. I just can’t seem to get my tubes to turn on the lights inside, I’m not sure if it’s because I have no cords running into loop inserts ? Please let me know , everyone is truly impressed with me and my sound…big fan of ART AND THE PRO CHANNEL 2 💯🫡 seriously
