They are giving away a great little plugin called Little Radiator, which is an emulation of an Altec 1566A tube mic preamp. You can use this link to get your unique code and then spread the word however you like:

https://www.soundtoys.com/sxsw2012/&rc=397-4308-815

–Damon
The Studio FIles

Your man about town here with a first (second) look at the Line 6 JM4 Looper.

As promised, I spent the extra time to read through the manual before busting open this beautiful machine. It was hard… but I got through it, and I am glad I did. There is so much to know about this station. I would have been very limited if I would have just fiddled with the UI for a couple of weeks.

After spending a couple hours getting to know the JM4 Looper I am very impressed.

Line 6 made a big leap from their past model,  M13 Stompbox Modeler, which featured a plethora of stompbox amp modules, but only 28 seconds of recording time. The JM4 has a completely streamlined designed, which makes tweaking your music a lot more intuitive. It feels much more like an actual amp unit than the drum machine layout of its ancestors.

The JM4 Looper seems to be designed for both the writer and performer in mind. While there are large number of features and effects that can be adjusted, saved, and recorded, the looper can also be set up so only a few features are easily altered. This makes performing with the station a much less complicated experience.

Line 6 also increased the usability of the station by featuring 4 separate inputs.

-guitar

-mic

-Aux

-CD/MP3

The player is able to switch between these channels on the fly with simple tapping commands. This allows for each channel to have its own level, EQ, effect settings for a performance. Switching between them takes a little practice, but works really well once you have the technique down. You can use SD card to save your recorded loops and bring in music from other recordings. I have yet to do this, so I am not sure how well this feature works. I intend on recording music to be sent back and forth with another musician using reason, so I hope it works as well as it sounds.

The JM4 features a bank of nice drum grooves and full songs to jam to. There are a wide variety of genres recorded by well known musicians. When choosing a full song to jam to, the station will automatically load an amp module that fits with the style of song being played.  From there you can tweak the levels to jam with whatever sound you want. I had some fun playing around with the drum tracks. I think they will come in handy when trying to write an upbeat guitar part when I am away from an actual drummer. My only complaint, however, was that the drum tracks only have one tempo setting. I spent a bunch of time thumbing through the manual, but couldn’t find a solution.

There is an ON BOARD TUNER … sorry, I was really excited about this. When you want to tune your guitar, hold the tap tempo button, and it mutes to signal and displays the tuner. This is a very convenient feature that I am sure a lot of people will appreciate.

That is all I have for now. I still have a lot more noodling to do with it, but I thought I would share my first impressions. There are soooooooo many capabilities with this machine that it will take some time before you can really fluid with the UI.

Stay tuned for more about the Line 6 JM4 Looper as I learn more and get some recordings up.

BJSR

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The original Tube MP made pro-caliber tube preamping available to ordinary musicians and home studios. The MP Studio goes a step further by adding a VU meter for better level control and ART’s OPL (Output Protection Limiter), which controls and maintains the output peak signal to protect hard-disk recording systems and soundcards. The VU meter reflects the impact of the OPL circuitry when it is activated, which allows more effective fine tuning of the audio signal. It is a valuable tool for recording in project and home studios and can also function as a DI box with impedance matching and preamplification for line-level sources. Includes a 3-year warranty.

More details, specifications and reviews are available here.

PJ

Nevertheless, sonic quality and character are very important things to consider. Some preamps are intended to be super “clean”, with the goal of not coloring the sound at all. Others are intentionally “colored”, developing a ‘warmth’ to the sound via EQ or distortion. (yes! ‘warmth’ is actually just a nice word for distortion). There are hundreds preamps to choose from, but I am going to highlight a few that would be great additions to any digital audio workstation setup and available at a project studio price.

Here is a list of several preamps sorted from low to high by price. (This is per unit, not per channel price). I’ll try to hit a variety of the one’s I’ve used.

Art Tube MP ($45)

The Art Tube MP is a great little pre for under $50. For beginning engineers and producers looking to add some color and warmth to their DAW tracks, this is a good start. It has a lot of gain, 48V, and a phase reverse switch. If you are unsatisfied with the sound of the preamps in your computer audio interface and are on a budget, look here first!

PreSonus TubePre ($99)

At just under $100, this is also a great buy as a front end preamp for your DAW. The TubePre is similar to the ART MP, but it has a few more features. It has the phase switch and 48V like the ART, but adds a hi-pass filter, a 10dB pad, and a 1/4″ direct input. It sounds great, and even has a VU meter to watch the levels. I would also recommend this unit to someone looking to warm up the sound of their tracks and have some choice besides just your interface preamps.

Focusrite Trakmaster Pro ($299)

This is an awesome channel strip for the money. With EQ and an opto compressor, you can tailor your sounds on the way in, so mixing will be a lot easier. Be careful, though: If you do a lot of drastic eq as you record, you might have less flexibility to shape the sound when you are mixing. It also has optional s/pdif out (via an expansion card) and a monitor out section (so you can hear yourself without latency). The front panel DI is also convenient for plugging in a guitar. The Trakmaster is a great medium range preamp to invest in as a “front-end” for your DAW.

ART MPA Gold ($299)

The MPA gold is extremely popular among project studio users with DAWs. It uses 12AX7A tubes, which really warm up the sound. It has switchable impedance and selectable tube plate voltage (so you can really tailor the sound of any microphone or sound source). Add in front panel DIs and a selectable hi-pass filter, and once again you have a great choice of preamp for the front-end of a DAW. (ART also makes a model of this pre with digital out)

UA Solo 610 ($799)

If you have a little more money to spend, and are looking for a high quality tube preamp or DI to add to your setup, the UA 610 is the right choice. It’s simple to use (with only input/output knobs, and some switches) and sounds great. Drive the input hotter for more tube sound, or keep it low for a less colored signal. It’s front panel DI sounds great, and the portable “lunchbox” design makes it easy to carry from studio to studio. Its great for a home/project studio, and also for the traveling producer or artist, who wants to ensure a consistent sound in different recording environments.

PreSonus Digimax LT ($799)

If you want to add 8 channels of quality solid state (no tubes here) input to your setup, go with the Digimax LT. For people running Digidesign 003 or 002 units, MOTU interfaces, or even digital mixers/hard disk recorders, you can add 8 channels with one ADAT cable. This unit also has inserts on each channel. If you record drums or bands and need to flexibility of more inputs, the Digimax is a good investment.

So, there are a few options. If you are looking to upgrade your studio’s sound, a quality preamp is definitely worth considering.

As always, if you have questions about these or other preamps (or about your studio in general), email me, or post in the comments here.

C
The Studio Files