Comments on: Presonus TubePre v2

By: Audrey

Audrey — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I went ahead and tried this and I think it sounds nice and has brighter sound that raises little more than just a transformer and yet it’s nice. I don’t like running it with the “Operating Level Down” because it uses more power and can buzz some and it is a tube preamp with the drive and the drive is nice and yet with much drive I don’t like very much. Yet with the “Operating Level Up” and by that I mean the +4 dBu level it requires just less than half the gain and that has a nice clean sound with 1/4 level of the tube. Which is nice about it because it should last a very long time like that and so should the tube. I’d recommend those settings on it also because it might even save power because it does say it can draw quite a bit of power. If just using a mixer board you would have turn the gain up more on the mixer in order to do something similar as raising the “Operating Level” that some compressors have from the -10dBV to the +4dBU setting. I don’t get why I would want to even mess around with changing the tubes with the drive amount I am using and the amount of gain and it is using lower power by utilizing the “Operating Level” of the other device and I am using it for a vocal preamp as opposed to a guitar preamp which might want some different sounds. Thus once again with 1/4 or less tube and just less than 1/2 gain it sounds pretty good. Thank you.

By: sampleaccurate

sampleaccurate — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

In all SS mode (zero tube drive) this is a very “transparent” preamp. The treble is “airy” for lack of a better word, with no hint of harshness. It captures the detail and sounds good on just about anything if a neutral response is what you want.On the other hand I was pleasantly surprised by the tube drive. I guess I wasn’t expecting much, but it sounds good on some sources. Monophonic instruments in particular like vocals seem to benefit the most, probably due to the lack of intermodulation distortion. The tube drive can add texture to a singer with a “dull” voice. It tried it with good results on an acoustic guitar. As the drive is turned up not only are low order harmonics added but the lower treble region is slightly boosted for more increased presence. In short the tube drive brightens the sound and adds warmth (in the form of soft distortion) at the same time. On heavy settings it’s possible to see the tube drive compressing one side (pos or neg) of the signal while preserving the other side, typical of the distortion characteristic of a single triode.The phase button is peculiar. Pressing the phase button “in” adds bass and warmth to the signal. Leaving it out produces a flatter, less colored response but with less bass.Overall there is 80dB of gain and it’s not noisy. It should work with a ribbon mic. Using the phase button and the tube drive along with different gain settings yields a slightly different response and sound. This preamp can sound like many different preamps.There is one comment I would like to make. If you don’t have a really good mic don’t waste your money on a super expensive preamp. I can hear the difference between a $5000 preamp, a $900 preamp, a $100 preamp, and a $30 preamp. But, MOST PEOPLE would not be able to tell which sounds better, or perhaps I should say, most people will not appreciate the difference between the $29.99 preamp and the $5000 (take your pick of brands) preamp (barring use of compressors or other effects). Again, I can hear the difference, BUT, if I put a $30 compressor in the hands of a professional producer and he was forced to use it to track an entire album I guarantee that the album would sound good. The ART is a sterile amplifier that is quiet and accurate until pushed in which case it also has a tube that will compress and distort.I think the PreSonus has the best sound quality/price ratio of any preamp. For a very low price you get a preamp that is virtually indistinguishable from very expensive preamps costing over 10 times more. The tube drive is a bonus as far as I’m concerned, but I’m certain that I will be using it on tracks after trying it and discovering it actually works well.

By: Andrés G.

Andrés G. — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Muy limpio el sonido. Me ha ayudado a amplificar la ganancia del micrófono sin aumentar el sonido ambiente ni el ruido de base. Hago voiceovers y la calidad es muy importante.

By: VaughnC

VaughnC — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Was seeking some audio enhancement for my HF ham radio and this wasn't what I was seeking. Seems like it would be nice for other non-radio applications though.

By: J. White

J. White — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve owned the v2 for about a month; I like its compactness. I own the older Bluetube two-microphone model, but I bought this one as a back-up. One of the mic channels failed on the Bluetube, and I didn’t want to be caught short-handed if the other channel should fail as well. I’ve noticed that on both the Bluetube model and the v2, the VU meter’s light has dimmed almost to nothing, making it impossible to read the numbers without very close inspection. On both models this dimming VU meter issue began within a couple of weeks. It hasn’t affected the functionality of the devices, but it would be nice if the manufacturer had put in a simple LED that could last almost forever.At any rate the tube drive is why I bought this item, it on that level it really makes a difference in the sound. I only record audio books, so I really don’t need much anyway–just a subtle touch to accentuate the natural bass in my voice, and to give it some “edgy-ness.”

By: Tonyamazin

Tonyamazin — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

This is a great preamp I wish I would of bought it alot sooner the vocals are warm & smooth even when i EQ and take out the low end the vocals are still warm & smooth dont even need a de-esser which is exactly what I wanted now I record music without the struggle and frustration of getting the quality I want, This Preamp is Loud & Warm brings out the best in your microphone

By: MuddeeWaters

MuddeeWaters — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve had many tube pre’s over time but I never had one that made such a positive difference, but whats up with the metering I see others have had this problem? . its not going to take a very small signal and push it balls to the wall without noise. I already have 1 and yes, no metering and light, honestly it doesn’t matter to me because I’m usually wearing good headphones and I can hear whats going on, but still, would be good to get a meter that’s not inferior—I play early electric blues and acoustic, as and example, I have an epi 00. I don’t use the built in pick-up, its not a loud guitar. I mike it with an AKG 144, and the sound from the pre is very healthy. I would buy another one, in fact I just did –

By: mathieu collerette

mathieu collerette — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

PerfectFonctionne très bien….Très content de mon achat…Je recommande se produit!!!

By: Daniela

Daniela — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

OttimoSatisfato

By: SMO

SMO — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Good product, tube element is a bit of a gimmick but it is a good budget pre!I bought this to have as a solid, budget pre in order to have a bit of flexibility with one of my inputs. It does this nicely, and is very intuitive to use. The tube part is a bit of a gimmick though as it is not a high end, high voltage tube design, and really doesn’t give you the typical tube character that everyone looks for. However, it never actually promises to give you that particular type of tube sound, it just states that is uses a tube section. I see no problem with that, and the tube section looks to be nice and simple to maintain. You can push it if you want, but I don’t find the results to be particularly pleasing to the ears.This is a decent pre that I find very useful for optimising workflow and getting levels just right. Sounds good, is built to last, and I think it looks good too (especially with the blue lights!). The VU meter is nice to have too. Worth the £80 I payed for it on sale, but I wouldn’t pay the full price personally considering the alternatives. But that’s just me.I give it 4 stars simply because the full price seems to be a little excessive. If it were a little lower I would absolutely rate 5 stars.