Members offramp Posted October 29, 2005 Members Share Posted October 29, 2005 ...was all it took to recharge my interest in using my Presonus TubePre on a regular basis again. I'd gotten the idea earlier this week that I should try it, and rummaging around my 'tronics stash this morning, I found a box of older tubes, among them several 12AX7 varietals, including a Dutch-made one and a British-mae Amperex. Stuck the Amperex in there, and wow...talk about smooth. A lot less gritty on the 'gain' circuit and a lot more even on the 'drive' side. I did a couple of test V.O.'s and compared them to earlier ones, and the difference was marked. hell, if that's the only thing I get done today, it's been a good day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Quality tubes definitely can make a difference. They're not going to turn a starved plate device into a high voltage Manley, but better tubes will generally make an improvement in just about anything. Glad to hear you're liking the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted October 29, 2005 Members Share Posted October 29, 2005 Excellent. I may try doing this to my Peavey VMP-2 at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CN Fletcher Posted October 30, 2005 Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 Try popping in a 12AU7 or a 12AY7... you won't get as much gain, but you might be surprised by the sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members offramp Posted October 30, 2005 Author Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 Well, that was my original goal, an AU7, but I didn't have any. I figured an older, better-made tube, with a little more seasoning to it would help anyway.I don't need a boatload of gain in this chain (414-->TubePre-->MOTU 896), so I could handle the loss. I would be interested to hear the sound of an AU7 with one of my 1178's in the chain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CN Fletcher Posted October 30, 2005 Members Share Posted October 30, 2005 Originally posted by offramp chain (414-->TubePre-->MOTU 896), so I could handle the loss. With that chain... I sincerely doubt a tube is going to make a substantial difference in the "quality" of the sound of that signal path... best of luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members offramp Posted October 31, 2005 Author Members Share Posted October 31, 2005 You'd be surprised. I was. Besides, it's all I can afford. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kevinnem Posted November 2, 2005 Members Share Posted November 2, 2005 Originally posted by Fletcher@mercenary.com With that chain... I sincerely doubt a tube is going to make a substantial difference in the "quality" of the sound of that signal path... best of luck with it. what was the point of saying that??? he already stated that it DID make a differance in his REAL LIFE application, but I am sure your "lets pull some cheap shot out of my ass" theory is far better the empirical tests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted November 2, 2005 Members Share Posted November 2, 2005 Originally posted by kevinnem what was the point of saying that???he already stated that it DID make a differance in his REAL LIFE application, but I am sure your "lets pull some cheap shot out of my ass" theory is far better the empirical tests. I'll stick my two cents in here... Fletcher states his opinions, um, rather emphatically. Yeeah. I like the guy, and I'm rather low-key. Once you get to know 'im, you realize that it's simply the way he talks, and he's actually a totally cool guy, totally nice, helpful beyond words can describe, and a wealth of information. Could be a Boston thing, I dunno. Then again, I work as a special education teacher, and if the people at work heard the way I talk when I'm hanging out with some my friends, they'd never let me near the students again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kevinnem Posted November 2, 2005 Members Share Posted November 2, 2005 Originally posted by UstadKhanAli I'll stick my two cents in here...Fletcher states his opinions, um, rather emphatically. Yeeah.I like the guy, and I'm rather low-key. Once you get to know 'im, you realize that it's simply the way he talks, and he's actually a totally cool guy, totally nice, helpful beyond words can describe, and a wealth of information. Could be a Boston thing, I dunno.Then again, I work as a special education teacher, and if the people at work heard the way I talk when I'm hanging out with some my friends, they'd never let me near the students again... yea I know, .. I have been reading his posts for like 5 years, I just get tired of him putting down people with out considering their position in life. but what really bothers me is why one would go to the effort of posting something like that. It doesn't help out the person who posts, is not going to help out anyone who searchs. and adds nothing to our on line comunity. To what end was this posted? What gain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members CN Fletcher Posted November 2, 2005 Members Share Posted November 2, 2005 Originally posted by kevinnem what was the point of saying that??? he already stated that it DID make a differance in his REAL LIFE application, but I am sure your "lets pull some cheap shot out of my ass" theory is far better the empirical tests. ...and what was the point of saying that??? What's the point of saying anything? Why do you read stuff if you know you might be annoyed? There is an "Ignore List" function to this board http://acapella.harmony-central.com/forums/member2.php?s=&action=viewlist&userlist=ignore feel free to employ the function... if you do, then you won't be annoyed by my dumb ass comments. Right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted November 2, 2005 Members Share Posted November 2, 2005 I hear you, but just tryin' to present another side of the coin. But yes, you make a very valid point. And in all this, I hope what is happening is that Offramp is creating recordings that sound jaw-dropping and not giving a crap what anyone thinks of his signal chain!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kevinnem Posted November 2, 2005 Members Share Posted November 2, 2005 Originally posted by Fletcher@mercenary.com ...and what was the point of saying that??? What's the point of saying anything? Why do you read stuff if you know you might be annoyed? Right? 2 points - 1) to let off ramp know that there is nothing wrong with what he is doing, if he is haveing some fun, making some nice recordings and likes the sound of the new tube then great. 2) to hopefully stop useless posts that surve no purpose. Really, all you did was go out of your way to tell this guy his stuff was crap. - good for you, makeing the world a better place! I supose that you think any one wanting to make a home recording should drop 20 grand on a recording studio right? To be honost, you might know your {censored}, you might not - but either way usless posts like that only make people feel bad, and provide misinfomaion about the products involved. I read and post cause I want to learn and teach. There are people here I can help out, so I help them, and discuss ideas, and try to use my own experiance to help them gain theirs. I also learn from those more experianced them myself, in the same way, by discussion and finding out why something will not work as well, or at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted November 2, 2005 Members Share Posted November 2, 2005 So, yeah, back on topic here, 'cuz it's all about the tubes. This is my story about swappin' out tubes. I first started out putting my old garden-variety tube socks - you know the kind - 3 pairs in a pack for $4.99 at Target - over my SM 58. They had a hole in it, sure, a little worn, sounded a little muffled, but they kept the pizza and spit off the mic, helped the plosives a little. But still, I wasn't satisfied. No, that's the thing about G.A.S. (Gotta Add Socks). You always want something better. And so I stepped up to a new tube sock. And maybe it was the lack of a hole or whatever, but it did sound better, just as all those recording magazines had said in their reviews. And then, I went to my friend's house. All of you have that kind of friend. You know, the guy who's got a stinkload of gear. And he was using a mountaineer's wicking sock, fit right over his large diaphragm condenser. North Face. I nearly peed myself. There it stood, ready to take on all plosives, all pizza, all that. Not the cute little dinky Wigwam running wicking socks, but the big-ass knee-high mountaineering kind used for scaling K2. Thinner than the regular tube sock, yet more durable and rugged, this let more of the sound of the vocalist through. Yeah, they were expensive, but if you care about the sound, it's totally worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members offramp Posted November 2, 2005 Author Members Share Posted November 2, 2005 No kidding...I've heard those things really put the sole back into your performance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted November 2, 2005 Members Share Posted November 2, 2005 Hey, you're good. Have you ever thought about writing copy for Sweetwater? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members offramp Posted November 3, 2005 Author Members Share Posted November 3, 2005 I left Indiana for many reasons.I have no desire to return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the russ Posted November 3, 2005 Members Share Posted November 3, 2005 fletcher is one of the few people here who actually know what in the {censored} they are talking about, so i think you people need to chill out. truth be known, that tube probably didn't add much to the signal chain except distortion. i doubt that any significant amount of the signal actually ran thought it such that a replacement would make much of a difference. most of the difference heard is likely psychosomatic. EDIT: whoah, didn't need to be that harsh, i need to stop posting before finishing my morning coffee. several posters here are experienced and do know what they're talking about. but, as a general rule on all internet music pages - the majority of posters have no holy clue as to what they are talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted November 3, 2005 Members Share Posted November 3, 2005 This thread is becoming like rec.audio.pro!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitwizz Posted November 3, 2005 Members Share Posted November 3, 2005 I just wanna know, Is that Fletchers real pic in his avatar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members offramp Posted November 3, 2005 Author Members Share Posted November 3, 2005 Originally posted by the russ fletcher is one of the few people here who actually know what in the {censored} they are talking about, so i think you people need to chill out. That's not the issue.Phil knows what he's talking about, too; compare and contrast the responses.Just because one knows what one is talking about, doesn't grant carte` blanche to be rude. truth be known, that tube probably didn't add much to the signal chain except distortion. i doubt that any significant amount of the signal actually ran thought it such that a replacement would make much of a difference. most of the difference heard is likely psychosomatic. Well, that makes an awful lot of assumptions now, doesn't it? I've been at this stuff for a little over 20 years, so I don't go into something like this with high expectations. I didn't expect much from the swap, but I got more than I expected. Thought I'd share.Apparently, that was a bad idea. As for it being psychosomatic: you weren't there, don't know the events surrounding it, and certainly not anything about me. So you're highly unqualified to talk about whether it was psychosomatic or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the russ Posted November 3, 2005 Members Share Posted November 3, 2005 As for it being psychosomatic: you weren't there, don't know the events surrounding it, and certainly not anything about me. So you're highly unqualified to talk about whether it was psychosomatic or not. anyone got a diagram of the TubePre circuit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members UstadKhanAli Posted November 3, 2005 Members Share Posted November 3, 2005 Originally posted by guitwizz I just wanna know, Is that Fletchers real pic in his avatar? Nope. He's even more dashing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members offramp Posted November 3, 2005 Author Members Share Posted November 3, 2005 Originally posted by the russ anyone got a diagram of the TubePre circuit? Must you be an ass? What do you gain from being that way? Do you have to {censored} on just about everyone you disagree with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the russ Posted November 3, 2005 Members Share Posted November 3, 2005 Originally posted by offramp Must you be an ass? What do you gain from being that way?Do you have to {censored} on just about everyone you disagree with? no, but it is a well-known fact that those cheap "tube" preamps don't really use the tube for much besdies adding distortion to the signal. they don't use the tube for any gain stages, to my knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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