• A good affordable Pre-Amp

  

  As reviewed by Jules on 10/3/2006

  Coming into this one, I really wasn't expecting much. But wow, this pre-amp is really great. The tubes give a guitar a really nice warmth, and even a little clipping sounds good in some applications. For the price, this pre-amp is well worth the money. It's also a nice feature that both channels have 48V Phantom Power.

  3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

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• very good if you know how to use it

  

  As reviewed by BlueDOG on 4/25/2010

  first I use it for the VOCALS and matched with my EV RE410 MIC - it will turn dull vocals to pro sounding vocals - but be aware you will tinker and tinker until you get the right sound for you - I have no volume, full tube, and all options on including PAD - my mixer is a flat EQ and a slight delay - combined with a excellent mic and my cheapo mackie - it sounds really great live or recorded. Its all about the mic - I would not use it for guitar - buy a nice tube amp - if you are on a budget KUSTOM has a 100.00 tube amp and its not that bad.

  2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

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• Disappointing Studio Preamp

  

  As reviewed by Bassman on 5/22/2007

  I picked this up hoping to introduce some tube warmth before the signal hit my Firepod. (For vox and bass especially) I returned it less than a week later after finding out that the Bluetube failed to deliver on its primary function. I mean that the tube warmth promised of this unit is simply not there. I messed around with this thing for maybe 12-14 hours over 3 days and could not get an agreeable sound for vox. I tried the tube drive with my MXL 990 on a very low setting and worked my up to 5 or 6 on the dial. I found no difference at all in the sound until the sound became overdriven. Its almost as if the tube doesnt even engage at lower and medium levels of saturation. (Maybe a tube-swap is needed. Or maybe the tube is underpowered?) This was also the case for bass. The bluetube did nothing for me as a tube colored DI box. I did find a nice sound for recording guitar direct with the tube drive set around 7. It did add a bit of crunch to the cold digital stream of sound. (But when you have a Peavey 5150 Tube Amp, whats the point of direct in?) The Bluetube is a pretty nice solid state preamp. When the tube saturation is off, the unit has no trouble delivering clean and clear sound, but who wants that in a $200 TUBE preamp? Also, the -20db button and the 80hz highpass are nice features. For me buying the Bluetube is like paying $40 for a crappy steak dinner because the salad and the dinner rolls are good but the steak is awful. Your paying for the steak, not the sides. While the "sides" of the Bluetube (solid-state, high pass, etc) are nice, the "steak" (the tube warmth) is simply horrible. Either save your money for a nicer preamp or do what I did. I saved $140 and got a warmer sounding ART Tube MP.

  7 of 16 people found this review helpful.

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