ART Tube Pac Microphone Preamp and Compressor (Model 131)

Mono tube preamp and tube compressor. Half-space rack. Phantom power. Adjustable threshold, limiting, or compression, fast or auto speed. XLR and 1/4 in. IO.

Item: ART131

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customer reviews

Rate and Review This Product:

42 People rated this product : * * * * * * * * * * 7 out of 10

8 People wrote reviews

* * * * * * * * * * 1 out of 10

"If you want garbage, you can get it for free on trash night."

Quality:
The first one was DOA. The second one worked for ten minutes. I give up on the Tube PAC.

Value:
Even if they gave it to us for free, if it does not worj then it has no value.

Desirability:
This category could be called "I Don't Want It"

Support:
These people are jerks. I did not realize that the replacement for my first DOA units would not work more than ten minutes before the 30 days was up. I started to deal with ART "support." Instead of helping me, they tried to blame everything else but their product and had a condescending attitude. When I told them that I was not the only person who had more than one of these fail in a row, and that there were reviews on Harmony Central where people had three in a row or worse, they told me that those people had an "axe to grind." Of course they had an axe to grind, and so do I! It's because the product did not work, and ART expected me to ship it back AT MY EXPENSE while they "tested" it and repaired it and sent it back. Let's see - I paid for a brand new product. I get one that does not work at all, and one that failed after ten minutes of use. I have to pay to ship it back while they test it and repair it and send it back, so in essence I end up paying to ship back a unit which has already caused me days of down time and wait while they do whatever they do to it and ten send it back and I end up with what is essentially a refurbished product that I had to pay EXTRA (shipping back) for the privilege of? I don't think so. And even if I was stupid enough to put up with all of that nonsense, I could never trust the Tube PAC again and gear that cannot be trusted is useless. Something was worked out with the good people of Zzounds and thanks to them I am no longer the owner of an ART product and never will be again.

Overall:
In case you don't want to take my word for it, here is a direct quote from an e-mail from Thom at ART - "I would not use harmony central as a guide to the models reliability. and you will notice that most people posting have an axe to grind." I don't know about you, but that is insulting to me. Harmony Central is a well respected site and is a trustworthy guide to the merits of many products. People are not going to post there to say that a unit keeps on breaking if it doesn't. As far as "most people posting have an axe to grind" - well that is about the stupidest thing that I have ever heard.

Submitted: 7/7/2007

Style of Music: Rock, new wave, psychedelic, electronic

* * * * * * * * * * 9 out of 10

Feature:
It would be nice if there was more choice of compression ratio (the only choice is between compressor and limiter). But for just about all purposes this is all you need, and when you factor in what you DO get for just over a hundred dollars, this should not even be a concern.

Quality:
How can I judge this fairly? Because, like others here, my unit did not work when I got it. I had virtually no ourput at all. Maybe a loose tube or something, but it seems to happen to a lot of people. But Zzounds was extremely helpful with the RMA and I had a new one in a couple of days, which they shipped up front before I sent my defective unit back. Which I thought was very very cool! As for the unit that I have now, it is very solid and feels satisfyingly hefty for a small box. But I had to deduct some points here because of that first one. When I called ART to ask about the lack of signal coming from it, they were very helpful and got right to the heart of the matter. They seem to be a great company, I would only add that since I saw a few people here saying that the first unit was defective that ART steps up the quality control a little bit. It probably was just a loose tube, and the others here may have had the same problem, but if the tubes are coming loose during transit then they might want to look at some sort of a brace over the tubes to keep them securely in place.

Value:
This category should go to eleven!

Desirability:
The fact that for just over one hundred dollars I can get a very sweet sounding tube preamp/compressor with hand matched tubes that could fool people into beleieving that it costs ten times more than what it does makes the Tube PAC very sexy to me!

Sound:
Sounds great and is totally SILENT when not passing signals along. Therefore it works perfectly for getting those "clean but rough around the edges" guitar tones that can be so frustratingly hard to get. Think Link Wray's "Rumble" and you are in the ballpark. And it's also the sound that gives developers of virtual amp software fits trying to emulate. My other planned use for it is as a mic preamp, but I have not used it as one yet. From what I tell with the guitar I think that it will be very nice. I also plan on a couple of less common uses, such as putting it between my synth and an amp.

Ease of Use:
It's pretty much self explanatory. But you will need to hit the manual to find out about the two step ratio deal for the compressor/limiter.

Support:
What can I say? They answered the phone right away, they actually listened to me, and they got to the heart of the matter quickly. The whole call, from dialing to getting my answer and hanging up was under two minutes.

Overall:
I ilke everything about it so far!

Submitted: 4/3/2007

Style of Music: Rock

Read all reviews...

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About This Product!
Description
Docs
From Our Catalog
The Tube PAC from ART is a combination of the world's most popular tube mic/line preamplifier and optical tube compressor. ART engineers took the Tube MP and Tube Compressor and combined them into a single convenient aircraft-quality, extruded aluminum chassis. This new table-top design allows for easy placement in the studio or on the stage, with immediate access to all the controls, features, and metering. In addition to being a tremendous vocal and instrument preamplifier and compressor package, this may well be the ultimate in tube direct boxes.

The mic/line preamplifier stage is that of the TEC nominated Tube MP-a time (and studio) proven design. It provides over 70dB of gain, +48v phantom power, phase reversal, and is capable of warming up any instrument or microphone. LED level indicators are provided to monitor the output of a 12AX7a tube for harmonic content. The input level controls allows you to dial in the desired amount of tube warmth and then independently set the output level from the compressor circuitry.

The tube compressor is a VCA-less, optical design-similar to that of the classic tube compressors. Its ultra-musical sound is ideal for voice and instrument applications. Threshold, compression/limiting ratios, adjustable release times, bypass, gain reduction metering, and output gain controls are provided.

The Tube PAC is another impressive package from the world-wide leaders in tube dynamics signal-processing gear.

Features
Combination Tube Mic/Line preamplifier and tube compressor

Two hand-selected 12AX7a vacuum tubes

World-famous A R T sound

Two world-class designs in one chassis: TEC Nominated Tube MP and Optical Tube Compressor

The Ultimate Tube DI Box for instruments

Fat and warm gain with Musical Dynamics Control

Precision detented potentiometers

+48v phantom power

Bypassable compressor circuitry

Balanced XLR and unbalanced 1/4 in. inputs and outputs

Internal transformer

Aircraft-quality extruded aluminum chassis

Designed and manufactured in the USA

One year warranty

Applications
Home, project, and professional recording studios

DI Box for instruments

FOH Sound Systems

Guitar, bass, and keyboard rigs

Digital Audio Workstations and Computer Recording

MIDI recording and samplers

Voice-Over, Broadcast, and Edit Suites

Technical Info

Dimensions (D x W x H): 5.25 x 8.5 x 1.65 in.

Weight: 6.0 lbs.

Maximum Gain: XLR to XLR 70dB; 1/4 in. to 1/4 in. 67dB

Phantom Power: +48v DC (switchable)

Compression Ratio: 2.3:1 (comp)/ 6:1 (lim)

Attack Time: 6.5ms

Release Time: 200ms (fast), 70ms-1sec (auto)

Equivalent Input Noise: -129dBu (XLR to XLR, weighted)

Dynamic Range: >90dB (no weighting)

Frequency Response: 20Hz to 20kHz

Input Impedance: 1.67k ohms (XLR), 1M ohm (1/4 in.)

Output Impedance: 600 ohms (XLR), 300 ohms (1/4 in.)

Maximum Input Level: +15dBu (XLR), +21dBu (1/4 in.)

Maximum Output Level: +27dBu (XLR), +22dBu (1/4 in.)
CMRR 90dB (typical)

Total Harmonic Distortion (THD): <0.1% (typical)

Tubes: 2 Hand-Selected 12AX7a

Power Requirements: 100-125 VAC, 16W

Note: Export units configured for country of destination.
Put a tube mic preamp and an optical/tube compressor into a single half-rack box and you get warm, fat sounds galore! Preamp has up to 70 dB of gain, phantom power, and phase reverse. Compressor has threshold, slope, and speed controls. XLR and TRS I/O.

what our customers say about zZounds

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