ART mic pres worthy?

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 2:38 pm

Hi all. Got a question. ART mic pres, are they any good?
I've read that Groove Tubes, "The Brick," rocks.
Specifically, I need a ,"worthy" mic-pre that won't break the bank.
I will primarily be using it for female vocals but by the same token want to use it for male vocals, drums, acou guit, guit amp miking, bass. For a pop-rock and some hip hop format. ie: Gavin DeGraw, Maroon 5, Cold Play.
Im considering the following:

ART Pro Channel
ART MPA
Rane MS-1b
Groove Tubes "The Brick"

Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated.
Joshua

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 4:21 pm

heard em all ... The Brick's the best.

The ART Pro channel runs second .. but is still not "all that and a bag of chips" ... The RANE is fine for what it is but cannot compare to the big boys.

"The Brick" sits in the same rack as any quality mic pre such as my 9098's, great River, Sebatrons and Millennia ORIGIN. While it may not have all the features of the others and it is in a stand alone case, it delivers sound equally as dimensional and full with all the headroom and bass handling abilities of much more expensive counterparts.

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:17 pm

go here: http://www.myspace.com/jenwoodhouse

and listen to "Breaking Point". Vocals were done through an MPA with Raytheon 12DF7 NOS tubes.

Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2005 9:58 pm

Hardware: PowerMac G4 (OSX), MOTU 828 mkII
Software: DP 4.5

Mr. Foster. I've read in threads past that you would prefer plug-ins over cheap hardware in a great majority of situations. I am on a budget, but don't like the idea of buying crap either.

So here's what I'm thinkin. The Brick as my front end. I run into my MOTU 828mkII to track. Then I post process w/my DP 4.5 and UAD-1 plug-ins.

Would you lean towards the plug ins for EQ/Compression?
Or would you rather buy a lower end piece of hardware like
an ART or dbx?

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 7:44 am

I bought a Brick last month with the intent to use it tracking bass guitar. Either as a DI or as a preamp for a RE20 or 421 on an amp, it has totally rocked. But what astounded me was the clean, quiet gain I can get from it for my Beyer ribbon mic on vocals and acoustic instruments! Not only that, but the build quality is top-notch.It's the best $400.00 I have spent in a long time...

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 3:49 pm

I'm looking for a budget, but good sounding, tube preamp as well...

I've read several posts about the brick, but I can't find it anywhere online? Is that a nickname? Who sells them?

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 3:58 pm

I see a couple on eBay... $399. Someone also has one on there for $350 used, free shipping. Is this about the best preamp you're going to get for under $500? Other suggestions?

Posted: Thu Apr 14, 2005 6:26 pm

Punch in Groove Tubes The Brick in Google.
I bought mine from Sweetwater Music.

Joshua
New Brick on the way!
wohoo

Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2005 11:53 pm

Yeah, baby! The Brick is made by Groove Tubes. The guy who owns the company, Aspen Pittman, recently bought it back from Alesis, who he sold it to a couple of years earlier. He knows his stuff! A true tube expert, Pittman has surrounded himself with valve experts over the years. He has a deep respect for the vintage audio gear we all drool over. The Brick has unreal output capability (read: HEADROOM!!!), and the ability to very subtley color the sound. Too many "tube" products are really just solid-state circuits with a "starved" plate voltage supply to induce non-linear distortion components. Not the same thing!
Anyway, the Brick blows away the PreSonus, M-Audio, Platinum, and ART gear in that price range (and even much higher)...

Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2005 4:41 am

Greetings upoverians, and thanks for the great advice i have gleaned from this site over the last 6 months. I have just purchased a very nice (Australian made) Rode K2, based on comments on many threads. Now i need a Brick to do it justice...

As far as i can see, there is no-one selling GT stuff in Australia. I have googled for Australian websites, and all i seem to get is the occasional guitar amp with a GT re-fit. Any downunderians know of an outlet in oz?

Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2005 10:35 pm

I own a Rode NT 1000, it rules.
I've read good things about their stereo condensers as well.

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