Using a Tube Preamp... Lets Discuss

[5th Sequence]

What up ill family.

Aight so this is what i'm doin right now. I'm experimenting with trying to bring out that warmth (good sounding distortion) in my music. I have a tube preamp with a rhodes NT1 Microphone and I think it sounds good, but how can I tell that the tube microphone is "tubing" shit up lol? I know this sounds amature, it is,, but sometimes I really cant tell if any tube distortion is going on.

I have an ART MPA Gold Preamp, and it has VU meters. For some reason i get the impression that I should try running the VU meters into the red since it can go +3db's according to the meters. I dont do this since its too difficult to keep the levels consistantly there without clipping especially when dealing with vocals.

What I have been doing is getting the levels so the peeks are slightly below the 0db on the VU meters and just using it like that.

Anything else I should be doing? Am I getting tube distortion this way?

Been looking into this for a minute, just tryna learn what I can do with it.

Also..... When I'm making beats, sometimes i'll through the antares tube plug-in on a sample and add some drive. Get some sweet results with it, but I figure I have an ACTUAL tube preamp so maybe I can actually tweak my samples with it instead of using a plug-in.

Any ideas?

I need to get an extra XLR cable to be able to put my sample into my Tube Pre, but i'm wonderin if it'll be anything like Antures Tube or if i'm just wastin my time and money.

Any thoughts on the matter are much appreciated.

Peace!!

 

[5th Sequence]

Anyone? Hypnotist? Aaaanyone?

 

[bigdmakintrax]

look the thing with a tube is if you want warmth there is a thin line between that and mudd distortion me I like warmth, the one in the Triton extreme circuit is pretty standard tube, and I used to use it sometimes and it would definitely add an effect thats unique and some drive for sure, but I never used that plugin but I have used that one in Cubase and its sounds pretty good and convincing so to me if there is a small difference I stay with the cheaper solution...just me....also an effect to add to samples is an exciter, that shit works pretty good too.

 

[5th Sequence]

exciters are ok. I was big on them for a while but not for the warmth effect i'm goin for. Thanks for the insight though. i'm just wonderin how it'd be done say for.. recording a vocal or something. I dont want distortion, but i want that warm sound.

 

[Reyne]

firstly when using a tube pre or any pre for that matter the sound is only as good as the quality of the pre amp. i mean if its a shit pre its gunna sound shit, the tubes on there own arnt gunna make it sound good. although im not familiar with the ART MPA Gold Preamp i use other tube pres such as the summit tpa 200bl and the studer d19.
like most things with audio processing, a little bit of something can make your sound heaps better but too much of something can make things sound fukd!
an untrained ear probably wont be able to notice the sound of a tube pre and therefore most people that arnt familiar with tube pres tend to drive them too hard or until they can hear a noticable difference in the sound. usually by this stage the sound has been drivn too hard and sounds shit!
also you mention it has VU meters. when running your meters at 0db you will be getting sound from the tubes, but you should (depending on the pre) be able to run them a little hotter than that when working with VU. i suggest you spend a bit of time getting to know your pre. do some comparisons between non tube pres and have a good listen. spend time litening to the sound at different input levels and decide how much of the tube sound you desire. its not about getting max distortion from the tubes rather colouring the sound as desired. dont worry bout your levels hitting +3 with VU meters, as long as its not pined down on 3 and its just hiting it occasionally usually this wont matter too much and often this creates a nice sound. But you have to listen, if it sounds like its distorting too heavily then youll need to back off a bit.
finally i think for the price of an XLR you should definatly get one and try running your samples through your tube pre. not only will it help you get to know the sound of your pre better but through experimenting like this you create an individual/unique sound.
hope this is clear enuf and helps a bit

peace

 

[5th Sequence]

word up, thanks host.

I knew that the tube sound wouldnt be a significant difference, but I didnt know if it had to be driving in order for it to be working.

The MPA Gold Preamp i'm using isn't an expensive preamp, it's around $300 I think. It's my first preamp though. There will definitely be an upgrade, but later on... just tryna see what I can do with what I have right now and work with it.

I dont have a non-tube preamp to check differences with either.
But thanks for that input though, was very helpfull.

 

[mp3]

People think there is some sort of magic in tubes. There isn't. It does impart a certain definable and recognizable "sound" but it depends just as much on the rest of the circuit as well, most of all the input stage of the mic-preamp, not the gain stage where the tubes are. The problem with ART pres is that they are built with cheap components. So what you think might be tube coloring might just be plain old bad sound caused by those cheap components.

Remember that back when engineers were forced to use tubes, they fought against the coloration. So the best tube flavoring will be very subtle. And some of the best and most favored audio gear had no tubes. For example, the Neve 1073 and its modern day replicas.

And also what I find is having better components (better mics/preamps) doesn't so much show up when you're recording, but when you're mixing. Too many people get too caught up in tubes. Your sound will not necessarily be better just because you run it through a tube. Get good audio gear for a good sound and don't worry too much about if its a tube or not.

Also there's a difference between the tube sound and the overdriven tube sound. Overdriven tube is an effect, you don't want it on everything, or even most things, and definitely not on your vocals (unless you're going for an effect - Common's Electric Circuis had it on there), just use it to spice up the track here and there.

 

[5th Sequence]

i see you mp3, thanks for your input. My bad if i came across as tubes being "magical" or something along the lines of that, but I know all it is is coloration of sound. In my situation, I cant afford a good quality preamp, tube or no tube. I just know that I like a "warm in-your-face sound" on vocals an I figured a tube pre may help me out with that.

i'm still interested to see what it can do to my samples. guess we'll see.

Thanks for the input though guys, i'm soakin it all in.

 

[mp3]

its not you dog, everybody everywhere does it. I fell for the trap too I just wanted to share what I learned. I can't afford a good quality preamp period, so I decided to buy a cheap one and upgrade it.

Transformers can also help with the sound you're looking for.