epiphany?

[samuelock]

i just had a thought.

if you wanted that tube sound that the triton has, but you want it for other keyboards, couldn't you just use a tube preamp? that would solve all problems. and i'm sure that they just stick a tube in the keyboard.

i dunno. am i crazy?

 

[bigdmakintrax]

no this is what inspired that, I had the extreme, but see before that in the studios, it was prevalent that engineers run certain synths and other sounds thru a tube, especially the triton and it really adds another dimension if done correctly and this applies to all synths just about, dont overdo it because you end up with some distorted fuzzy, muddy garbage, korg just decide implement the tube into the board not really as a gimmick so much as its usefulness, so no you are not crazy you are dead on with what you are thinking, i run my x50 thru a presonus and dbx, i will put up some tracks I havent really done anything on my board to post or the mv for that matter, been working on new songs but, the guitar and bass are what a tube really helps.

 

[CHEFBOYARBEATZ]

good tip bigd

 

[samuelock]

i see now.

 

[mp3]

If you do decide to run your sounds thru a tube preamp, put them through a DI (like the radial JDI) and then put them into the mic input of the preamp. And get a real tube pre with normal plate voltage (like a Groove Tubes Brick) instead of a presonus blue tube or equivalent.

The tube in the korg boards (and the blue tube) is really more of a marketing gimmick though, because its run at low plate voltage (12-25V as opposed to the proper 250V). Basically when you run a tube at a low voltage, it doesn't sound nearly as good as a properly biased tube design. It still sounds like a tube though, just a dirty muddy ass tube that sounds like shit when you push it too hard and sounds pretty ok when you don't. Which is cool if thats what you want, and it does work pretty well on certain sounds like bass and drums.

Tubes sound best when they are used in a circuit as a gain stage. But when you run them at low voltages they produce very little gain... So which means you gotta use something else (either a transformer or an opamp circuit) to supply the gain. Which basically means the tube is in there for show and a little dirt. To sell more units. Because the marketing department said so. And if you use cheap transformers or cheap opamps, then it sounds like shit squared...

I ran the drums guitar and bass on this track through my Bellari RP220 (after I modded it)

http://www.wusik.com/song.php?id=1174

 

[bigdmakintrax]

Yeah that could be true but the extreme has an integrated op amp boost circuit and the 12AU7 is an industry standard Tube for all kinds of applications so I dont know if its truly a gimmick i had the board for about a year and it seemed work just like any other tube???, that vacuum tube itself comes in many flavors so you can change the tube to another 12A7....just like you dont have to use the stock tube in most of the Presonus pre's....dont get me wrong but i would like to see these compared because I used tubes back in the day too and I see no real diff though at least to my ears....http://thetubestore.com/12au7types.html?gclid=CPrk7PvGx4gCFUU5Ggoddhsezg also i see what you are saying....the difference in discrete circuits as opposed to integrated circuits....and the power factor....

 

[samuelock]

hmm i was thinking of running a keyboard through this tube pre:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/ART-TPS-II-2Channel-Variable-Impedance-Tube-Preamp?sku=180632

and then through a compressor:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/dbx-266XL-CompressorGate?sku=183515

what do you think?

 

[Frictionbeats]

Tubes

Just replace your Tubes with The Electro Harmonix Russian tubes and your good to go. I use the Presonus Tube with the EH tubes. I run Bass syths and stuff to it and it definatley puts some Stank on it!

 

[mp3]

samuelock, skip them two pieces and get a groove tubes brick. the ART preamp is a real tube design (high voltage) but they use cheap capacitors and resistors etc. It would probably fix up nice, if you have some soldering skills and a good 4-5 hours to waste. The Brick goes for $399 but you can prolly talk them down to $300 or so. For a good hardware compressor have a look at the FMR RNP. Its better for vocals than keys because its uncolored, but you're really not gonna find anything else worth it for under $5-600. You're better off using plugin compressors if you have a PC.

frictionbeats, I heard those were good tubes. I use Telefunken copies I got from Uncle Ned for $20 in my 220. I'm very happy with them. http://www.triodeelectronics.com/12ax7teslamp.html

And don't think it has to be tube, The best preamp I ever heard in action was the Great River MP-2NV. Mic pre to envy, best believe that. My next purchase is gonna be a JLM Audio Baby Animal Kit. http://jlmaudio.com/Baby_Animal_Mic_Pre.htm I can't wait to run my shit thru that!

 

[samuelock]

hmmm. thanks mp3.

 

[Frictionbeats]

frictionbeats, I heard those were good tubes. I use Telefunken copies I got from Uncle Ned for $20 in my 220. I'm very happy with them. http://www.triodeelectronics.com/12ax7teslamp.html

And don't think it has to be tube, The best preamp I ever heard in action was the Great River MP-2NV. Mic pre to envy, best believe that. My next purchase is gonna be a JLM Audio Baby Animal Kit. http://jlmaudio.com/Baby_Animal_Mic_Pre.htm I can't wait to run my shit thru that!

Ill check those tubes out, thanks for the Info!