Recording - December 2017 - 18
,
s
Treats for the
recording musician
in your life,
even (especially)
if it's you!
2017 HOLIDAY
BUYER'S GUIDE
It's that time of year again, and we're pleased to
bring you a dozen great products that should be on
your gift-giving (or getting) radar. Over the course of
each year, we gather up gear that deserves holiday attention and present it to you here-and because these
are actual reviews, you can be sure that any product
mentioned here is tried and tested for your satisfaction.
This year's collection is affordable, eclectic and fun,
and includes nine hardware pieces and three plug-ins;
next issue we'll bring you some fun iOS gear to round
things out (our January issue reaches subscribers just
before the holidays). So kick back, pour an eggnog, and
check out the cool new toys!
Reviews by Mike Metlay and Paul Vnuk Jr.
ART TubeMix Mixer/
USB Interface
$199; www.artproaudio.com
ART has a decades-long reputation for using tubes in entry-level
audio gear, with preamps and processors reliant on the ubiquitous
12AX7 tube to provide warmth and euphonious harmonic
distortion where desired. The TubeMix is the latest of these
products, and it's remarkable for the unique feature set that's
been wrapped around the 12AX7.
Packaged in a very sexy retro-analog desktop enclosure with
wood side panels, the TubeMix is a 5-channel mixer with built-in
16-bit, 44.1/48 kHz USB interface. There are two mono mic/
line inputs with global switchable phantom power, one line-level
stereo input channel, and one mono channel dedicated to a Hi-Z
guitar input with a switchable amp simulator that adds a very
tasty midrange girth to guitar tones, especially when the Trim is
boosted a bit.
All of the channels sport pots for level, pan, nicely musical
3-band EQ (±15 dB at 80 Hz, 2.5 kHz, 12 kHz), and two Aux
sends. The Aux send and return jacks are stereo TRS, so you can
run one stereo or two mono sends; note that they're prefader,
so they're best suited for monitor mixes and confidence effects.
Main and Control Room outs are offered on 1/4" balanced TRS,
supplemented by a front-edge 1/4" headphone jack. There's a
surprisingly comprehensive master section that lets you route the
various buses-main mix, control room, and aux sends-quite
flexibly. There's an LED meter for main mix or aux send level, and,
interestingly, a pair of VU meters for the record level going to USB.
Sound quality is quite good, with the preamps offering a
clear tone and lots of headroom. The tube can be assigned
to the two mic inputs, or stacked on top of the amp simulator
18
RECORDING December 2017
for more grit, and adds a nice flavor when desired (and it's
convenient that it can be switched out if not wanted).
All in all, this is an impressive little mixer, with an unusual
but very musical feature set that will appeal to lots of folks with
starter studios. Check it out.-MM
http://www.artproaudio.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording - December 2017
Contents
Recording - December 2017 - Intro
Recording - December 2017 - Cover1
Recording - December 2017 - Cover2
Recording - December 2017 - 1
Recording - December 2017 - 2
Recording - December 2017 - 3
Recording - December 2017 - 4
Recording - December 2017 - 5
Recording - December 2017 - Contents
Recording - December 2017 - 7
Recording - December 2017 - 8
Recording - December 2017 - 9
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Recording - December 2017 - 11
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Recording - December 2017 - Cover3
Recording - December 2017 - Cover4
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