Art MPA v. EH 12AY7

river · Post by **river** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 4:54 pm

I just found another MPA for a decent price from ebay, he has 2 more available if anyone's looking. Shoot me a message and I'll get you in touch.
Oh boy, now I have a home for my NOS Raytheon 12AX7's!!!

Garthplinko · Post by **Garthplinko** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 8:12 pm

River - do you have any links for esoteric/high end tubes?

river · Post by **river** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 7:15 am

Garth,

Try www.vacuumtubes.com

And http://stores.ebay.com/BNB-TUBES

If you Google vacuum tubes, you'll find several more. Happy hunting

getreel · Post by **getreel** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 7:52 am

I've never used the EH pre but I have an Art TPS(original version). I have to say that I really don't like the ART much. When I'm forced to use it because my better pres are used up, I always end up with it in the Neutral setting. It doesn't do anytihng for me except act as a decent gain control. I have a Bellari that runs the tubes at full voltage that I like MUCH better. I don't think much of the Art tube pre's "staved plate tube gain stage" after the pre amp thing. It's probably better than a Behringer though. If the EH are really better than the Art, I might give it a try sometime. I have not been too impressed with any of my Art stuff to be honest. The TPS dual pre doesn't do much for me except it's OK for a keybaord DI and helps keys sound a little more natural.

mjau · Post by **mjau** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 7:57 am

I think the TPS deals are a different animal than the MPA - much more in line with low-end, strictly budget-conscious gear.

JohnDavisNYC · Post by **JohnDavisNYC** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 9:32 am

the EH is a true class A discrete preamp... it has a pad on the front end (the gain knob is just a pad, as i understand it) and is a very simple, elegant design. i have no experience with the higher end ART stuff, but their low end stuff is definately not a 'real' preamp, the way the EH one is... i don't work for them or get shit for free (although i do know many of the people there) i just love this pre and think it will become a classic preamp. it just needs to be rackmounted in a 1 space case for it to be a true timeless classic... maybe a pro version with transformers and a power supply jc?

john

8th_note · Post by **8th_note** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 10:41 am

The high end art pres - the MPA Gold, Pro MPA, and Pro Channel - are not starved plate designs. I don't know how to put this in electrical terms but the tube is in the actual signal path and runs at full voltage.

It's interesting because I'm coming at this from the opposite perspective than getreel. The only ART stuff I've ever heard is their top of the line pres and I think their stuff is great. I think this is the bane of companies that make budget gear along with products that start to compete in sound with higher end stuff. Because they make cheap gear, some of which might not sound so good, people think they must be incapable of making good sounding gear. All I know is that my two Pro Channels and my MPA Gold sound every bit as good as my EH12AY7. This is not only my opinion, but the opinion of at least 6 different people who have heard them both and been given the opportunity to choose which to record with. The ART wins out more often than not.

river · Post by **river** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 4:13 pm

Go listen to a clip or two here:

http://www.myspace.com/jenwoodhouse

I did her vocals through an MPA with 12DF7's, after doing vocals through a borrowed Avalon 737sp and API 2600 channel strip. We had two more songs to track after I had to return the borrowed gear, and I had just put the NOS tubes in the MPA. She ended up wanting to redo all the previous vocals done on the Avalon and API, which we did.

8th_note · Post by **8th_note** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 8:36 pm

Hey river, the Jen Woodhouse stuff sounds great. Gorgeous vocal. Nice arrangement and mix. I'll bet that was a fun project.

river · Post by **river** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 7:09 am

Thanks 8th note. She was my 1st project when I opened my studio, and I chased her down, made her an offer she couldn't refuse! She's extremely talented. I used an AT3035 on her vocal, more proof that you don't necessarily need the most expensive piece of gear you have. It just happened to be the friendliest mic in my locker for her sound.

LDT2 · Post by **LDT2** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 7:51 am

8th,

Do you think that maybe the difference you're hearing between the MPA and EH has to do with the tubes used?

The MPA uses 12AX7's, which are a hotter, fuller sounding tube.
The 12AY7 tube has more of a clean sound, right?

If you put the 12AX7 tube into the EH wouldn't it sound more like the MPA?

I'm just wondering if the tone difference between them is more about the different tubes used, which could be easily changed.

Thanks,

Lucio

river · Post by **river** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:10 am

Lucio,

I know from my experience that the tubes are the defining measure of the tone coming from my MPA's.......that's why I have 3 with different tubes in each one. The 12AX7 is a full gain tube (gain factor 100), the 12AT7 and 12DF7 I use are low noise, lower gain (gain factor 70). The 12AX7 is the brightest sounding, the AT7 and DF7 are much smoother, warmer sounding and harder to clip. The 12AY7 is more like the low gain models I use.

LDT2 · Post by **LDT2** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:20 am

That's what I figured.

So really, when someone says that the MPA has a fuller sound, really it's because of the tube used, not necessarily that it's a "better" pre than the EH.

My reason for asking all this is 'cuz I have 3 EH 12AY7 pre's, and love them,
and was hoping to use different tubes for different textures (which I've read here is possible with the EH).

Like your experience with the MPA's, different tubes in each for different applications, right?

I feel that this is a great advantage with tube pre's, being that one pre can sound like many, or am I way off here?

tintern · Post by **tintern** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 8:39 am

i have one of the ART tube pre (tabletop low-end one) and an older blackface Pro/MPA(?) and there is a definite difference in sound quality, the Pro one I use all the time and love while the other tabletop/budget one just collegcts dust as a backup.

Out of curiousity, how would people compare the Studio Projects VTB1 to the ART MPA & EH pre's?

mjau · Post by **mjau** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 9:40 am

I've used the vtb, and currently own 2 EH pre's - to me, it's night and day. The vtb is usable, but the EH sounds good. I'll take good over usable anyday, even if good is packaged like a big muff.

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Art MPA v. EH 12AY7

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