****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
This is an EXCELLENT way to get into the very exciting world of tubes.Your best bet? Toss the garbage Chinese tube included. It's absolutely terrible.Buy a decent tube, or a few, and see what you like. This unit is relatively simple to take apart and change it out, just keep track of the screws, bolts, and metal post supports.Don't want to take the whole thing apart over and over?For the price, you can afford to buy a few.Once you try a few tubes, you'll want to have one of these for each in your collection.I currently have two of these, one with an Electro Harmonix and one with a Tung Sol. I am writing this because I am buying a third to house my Ruby.I have been using this with my guitars, basses, my MicroKorg, several cheap MXL condenser mics, and much, much more.You absolutely cannot go wrong with this tube preamp. It just works, simple as that.The modeling and limiter knob is very versatile for a huge range of applications. I use it live and it makes my Marshall half stack sound like it actually has a tube head (it doesn't, it's a solid state)! My blues drive has more creaminess and with my overdrive distortion it has more bite.The limiter sounds nice and punchy on my 5 string Ibanez bass, my harmonica more punch, vocals stand in the front of the mix easier, percussion sounds fuller... I could go on all day.I record in a 96k studio and have very little trouble with noise from this preamp. Run the AC adaptor on a separate circuit (NOT the one your amp is plugged in) or a power conditioner, use a Noise Gate, or use the noise removing plugin on your favorite program if you're recording.Learning and exploring the world of tubes doesn't have to be expensive! Just get it (just buy a new tube)!
