Behringer Tube Ultragain Stereo Tube Mic Preamp Review
A small preamp with a deceptively classy sound.
Behringer's petty Tube Ultragain MIC100 is one of the least expensive mic preamps I've used to engagement, notwithstanding information technology includes tube circuitry, and integral limiter and a decent LED level meter. Housed in a folded steel example, the MIC100 has both a balanced XLR mic input and an unbalanced, high-impedance musical instrument input to arrange guitars and basses with either passive or active pickups. Its mic amp stage is based around a 4580 low-racket amplifier chip and the 12AX7 dual-triode tube follows this to add a little warmth. I'm always a bit suspicious of tubes run at low voltage, which this ane is, simply the designers take resisted the temptation to exist unsubtle, and the overall sound is surprisingly neutral.
The preamp has buttons for a 20dB pad, phase inversion and switchable 48V phantom ability (all with status LEDs), and balanced outputs are available simultaneously on TRS jack and XLR. At that place are also two controls with traditional chicken-head arrow knobs. One of these sets the amp gain over the range 26-60dB, while the Output control provides a ways of matching the output level to whatsoever the preamp is feeding. The latter has a range from fully off to +10dB of additional proceeds, then the maximum available proceeds through the unit is 70dB. An 8-LED meter monitors the output signal, where the acme LED is a Clip indicator. A further green LED shows that the unit is powered up.
As if this weren't enough, the unit of measurement also includes a limiter, which works at a fixed threshold when engaged. This comes between the preamp Gain and Output controls, then using a high Gain setting and a low Output hits the limiter hard, while using a lower Proceeds setting and a higher Output setting has the same effects as raising the limiter threshold. Used equally a safety net, which is its primary purpose, the limiter operates extremely smoothly, though information technology isn't fast plenty to prevent brief overshoots.
If you deliberately push information technology into limiting all the time, using, for example, a guitar betoken, the result isn't dissimilar to a guitar compressor pedal gear up with a fast attack and a medium release fourth dimension. Indeed, this pumps quite musically and could exist nice every bit an effect on guitar or bass. The only downside is that the manual neglects to say annihilation about the limiter other than that information technology exists, and there'southward no limiter LED to testify when limiting is taking identify.
The written spec for this unit of measurement omits whatsoever mention of a noise effigy, though in practical studio tests with a capacitor mic, noise wasn't an issue, even when recording a violin from three anxiety away. The frequency response is 10Hz to in excess of 40kHz (±3dB), and the XLR output can deliver upward to +26dBu into 100kΩ earlier clipping.
Small Is Beautiful?
It's difficult to describe exactly how well a preamp works, only I tend to have 3 mental categories, and into the lesser i falls those preamps that actually don't cutting it at all — the sort of thing some multitrackers or early digital mixers were fitted with. Next up are the ones that don't crusade any issues in normal studio use and you lot tin by and large forget about them and just get on with the job. At the top of the tree are the actually esoteric preamps which, in combination with a good mic, sound silky, shine, pristine and generally wonderful. They also tend to cost several hundred pounds per aqueduct!
Despite its laughably depression cost, the MIC100 falls into the 2d category, and if you don't push button the tube or the limiter, it sounds clean and lively with no obvious noise. I used a Sennheiser MKH-series capacitor mic to examination it with speech, mandolin and violin, and in all cases, it turned in the kind of performance I'd await from the preamps establish in good analogue mixers or voice channels costing upwardly to £300 or thereabouts. If yous push the limiter and tube a bit harder, the warmth aspect gets a bit bogus, just information technology's even so usable in the correct context.
A decent phantom-powered mic preamp at this United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland cost would already be good value, but one with a tube and a limiter likewise is simply dizzy. The quality is good enough to handle typical project studio recording tasks with ease, and if you're working with a soundcard or other device that either has no mic inputs or only has poor ones, the MIC100 is a not bad toll-constructive solution that volition get the job done in a sure amount of fashion.
Pros
- Extremely inexpensive.
- Effective limiter.
- Tube circuitry doesn't sound too 'forced'.
Cons
- No limiter warning LED.
Summary
Cheap and cheerful it may be, simply the Tube Ultragain MIC100 is capable of surprisingly good results.
Source: https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/behringer-mic100
Post a Comment for "Behringer Tube Ultragain Stereo Tube Mic Preamp Review"