Studio Microphone Preamps

Notes: PreSonus' popular Class A XMAX preamps are widely lauded for their clarity and transparency. The tube preamps are beloved for their warm, smooth sound. With the Blue Tube DP V2 dual-path mic/instrument preamp, you get both types of high quality sound in one unit.

Now PreSonus have improved on the classic unit with the BlueTube DP V2. The solid-state path now feeds PreSonus' top-of-the-line Class A XMAX mic preamplifier with 80dB of variable gainian upgrade from the original BlueTube DP's solid-state stage.

The tube path features a 12AX7 tube that operates on voltages double that of other preamplifiers in its class, producing lots of headroom and big tone. PreSonus have done an assortment of other tweaks as well. The result: the BlueTube DP V2 offers lower noise, more high-end clarity, and an even smoother tube sound than its predecessor.

You still get all the secondary features you expect in a professional-grade preamp: 48V phantom power, an 80 Hz high-pass filter, -20 dB pad to control hot input signals, and a polarity-reverse switch. Each channel has an illuminated VU meter so you can visually monitor your input levels. A Tube Drive control provides a wide range of sounds: when it's clicked off, you're using the solid-state preamp for quiet, transparent amplification; when it's engaged, your signals flow through the tube preamp, and you can achieve anything from gentle warmth to edgy distortion.

With 2 combo mic/instrument inputs, the half rackspace BlueTube DP V2 is a great choice for guitars and basses as well as for vocals. Singer-songwriters can run their vocal through one channel and their guitar through the other, feeding both to the PA ino guitar amp needed. It also serves as a DI box, thanks to balanced XLR and unbalanced 1/4" outputs, and is housed in a new, rugged, 1/2U case.

Try the BlueTube DP V2 as a front end for a DAW, too; sure, your recording interface might already include preamps, but few of them give you both tube and solid-state operation.

PreSonus have also updated the preamp's compact, rugged enclosure; it has more rounded edges and looks modern and sleek. It can be used as a desktop unit or it can be screw-mounted to a standard rack tray. And despite the improvements, PreSonus deliver the BlueTube DP V2 for essentially the same price as the original BlueTube DP.

So get the new and improved version of the most versatile, best-sounding mic/instrument preamplifier in its price range: the BlueTube DP V2.

Notes: PreSonus have been designing preamps for a long time, and they always focus on audio quality first. So when PreSonus decided to upgrade their popular TubePre V2, PreSonus focused on improving an already high-quality soundiwithout jacking up the price. Like the original TubePre, the new version is a fully professional tube preamp, with a dual-servo (no capacitors) gain stage that lets you boost the program signal to smoking hot levels without significantly increasing the background noise. Discrete components and high-voltage operation offer dynamic range and detail not found in other single-channel tube preamps in its class.

But the TubePre V2 provides an even wider palette of sound options, and a much more focused tube saturation, than the original TubePre. It has been upgraded to employ PreSonus' popular XMAX Class A solid-state preamp, which is followed in the signal path by a 12AX7 vacuum-tube stage. Twist the TubePre V2 Drive saturation control to add the "color" that only a hand-selected 12AX7 vacuum tube can deliver i from gentle warmth to total fuzz.

Housed in a rugged case, the TubePre V2 rear panel sports separate unbalanced, 1/4" instrument and balanced, XLR mic inputs and unbalanced 1/4" and balanced XLR line outputs. PreSonus have included all of the extras you need for professional operation including a high-pass filter, phantom power for condenser mics, polarity reverse switch, and a backlit VU meter.

The TubePre V2 is more than a mic preamp, though. Thanks to its separate instrument and mic inputs, it also serves as a dynamite direct box (DI) for guitars and basses. And it's small enough to carry almost anywhere, although you also can screw-mount it to a standard rack tray.

So if you are a fan of PreSonus' original TubePre, you're going to love the improved TubePre V2. And if you are checking out the TubePre for the first time, your ears are in for a real treat. Then check out the amazing low priceibut sit down first because you're in for a shock. Because with PreSonus, big sound does not have to cost big bucks.