Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Presonus TubePre v2 Tube Preamplifier DI Box

Top positive review

Great quality and great sound. Effective 60 cycle hum filter.

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2024

The soft tube distortion really spices up such tracks. And the 60 cycle hum filter honestly works better than any other such gadget that I own. My studio is in my basement, which means really loud 60 cycle hum from our furnace/or air conditioner. It absolutely slays the hum to the point it is barely noticable. This was an unexpected and awesome surprise!

Nice heavy duty metal case, not plastic. Most importantly my instrument tracks really sound much cleaner and clearer with this preamp. It works exactly the way one would expect.

Imho: This is a best buy for under $200. No problems, really good quality for the price I paid. No regrets.

Top critical review

Critical reviews›

Robert S.

Does not amplify volume only gives overdrive or modifies the sound.

Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2023

I have a PreSonus Studio 24 Audio interface providing phantom power Mogami cables to my AT2035 audio-technica condenser mic. It’s too soft. So I bought this pre-amp. Since I have to turn off the phantom power on the audio interface when using phantom power on my pre-amp, The volume overall of the mic is even softer! I have to use my old beringher mixer for my vocal chain which provides plenty of preamp, but also eq and condenser and works as an interface, but I worried that it wasn’t quiet enough. But it’s better to have a louder mic so I’m going to prices a refund for this.

One person found this helpful

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From the United States

Terry Bates

Great quality and great sound. Effective 60 cycle hum filter.

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2024

Verified Purchase

Helpful

sampleaccurate

Solid Preamp at a Reasonable Price

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2013

Verified Purchase

In all SS mode (zero tube drive) this is a very "transparent" preamp. The treble is "airy" for lack of a better word, with no hint of harshness. It captures the detail and sounds good on just about anything if a neutral response is what you want.

On the other hand I was pleasantly surprised by the tube drive. I guess I wasn't expecting much, but it sounds good on some sources. Monophonic instruments in particular like vocals seem to benefit the most, probably due to the lack of intermodulation distortion. The tube drive can add texture to a singer with a "dull" voice. It tried it with good results on an acoustic guitar. As the drive is turned up not only are low order harmonics added but the lower treble region is slightly boosted for more increased presence. In short the tube drive brightens the sound and adds warmth (in the form of soft distortion) at the same time. On heavy settings it's possible to see the tube drive compressing one side (pos or neg) of the signal while preserving the other side, typical of the distortion characteristic of a single triode.

The phase button is peculiar. Pressing the phase button "in" adds bass and warmth to the signal. Leaving it out produces a flatter, less colored response but with less bass.

Overall there is 80dB of gain and it's not noisy. It should work with a ribbon mic. Using the phase button and the tube drive along with different gain settings yields a slightly different response and sound. This preamp can sound like many different preamps.

There is one comment I would like to make. If you don't have a really good mic don't waste your money on a super expensive preamp. I can hear the difference between a $5000 preamp, a $900 preamp, a $100 preamp, and a $30 preamp. But, MOST PEOPLE would not be able to tell which sounds better, or perhaps I should say, most people will not appreciate the difference between the $29.99 preamp and the $5000 (take your pick of brands) preamp (barring use of compressors or other effects). Again, I can hear the difference, BUT, if I put a $30 compressor in the hands of a professional producer and he was forced to use it to track an entire album I guarantee that the album would sound good. The ART is a sterile amplifier that is quiet and accurate until pushed in which case it also has a tube that will compress and distort.

I think the PreSonus has the best sound quality/price ratio of any preamp. For a very low price you get a preamp that is virtually indistinguishable from very expensive preamps costing over 10 times more. The tube drive is a bonus as far as I'm concerned, but I'm certain that I will be using it on tracks after trying it and discovering it actually works well.

58 people found this helpful

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Audrey

It sounds nice and has bright sound.

Reviewed in the United States on November 28, 2022

Verified Purchase

I went ahead and tried this and I think it sounds nice and has brighter sound that raises little more than just a transformer and yet it's nice. I don't like running it with the "Operating Level Down" because it uses more power and can buzz some and it is a tube preamp with the drive and the drive is nice and yet with much drive I don't like very much. Yet with the "Operating Level Up" and by that I mean the +4 dBu level it requires just less than half the gain and that has a nice clean sound with 1/4 level of the tube. Which is nice about it because it should last a very long time like that and so should the tube. I'd recommend those settings on it also because it might even save power because it does say it can draw quite a bit of power. If just using a mixer board you would have turn the gain up more on the mixer in order to do something similar as raising the "Operating Level" that some compressors have from the -10dBV to the +4dBU setting. I don't get why I would want to even mess around with changing the tubes with the drive amount I am using and the amount of gain and it is using lower power by utilizing the "Operating Level" of the other device and I am using it for a vocal preamp as opposed to a guitar preamp which might want some different sounds. Thus once again with 1/4 or less tube and just less than 1/2 gain it sounds pretty good. Thank you.

Helpful

J. White

Works Like It Should--Mostly

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2015

Verified Purchase

I've owned the v2 for about a month; I like its compactness. I own the older Bluetube two-microphone model, but I bought this one as a back-up. One of the mic channels failed on the Bluetube, and I didn't want to be caught short-handed if the other channel should fail as well. I've noticed that on both the Bluetube model and the v2, the VU meter's light has dimmed almost to nothing, making it impossible to read the numbers without very close inspection. On both models this dimming VU meter issue began within a couple of weeks. It hasn't affected the functionality of the devices, but it would be nice if the manufacturer had put in a simple LED that could last almost forever.

At any rate the tube drive is why I bought this item, it on that level it really makes a difference in the sound. I only record audio books, so I really don't need much anyway--just a subtle touch to accentuate the natural bass in my voice, and to give it some "edgy-ness."

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Tonyamazin

GREAT SOUND QUALITY

Reviewed in the United States on October 31, 2021

Verified Purchase

This is a great preamp I wish I would of bought it alot sooner the vocals are warm & smooth even when i EQ and take out the low end the vocals are still warm & smooth dont even need a de-esser which is exactly what I wanted now I record music without the struggle and frustration of getting the quality I want, This Preamp is Loud & Warm brings out the best in your microphone

2 people found this helpful

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ken cubilo

excellant value

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2022

Verified Purchase

I bought this to pep up a shure mic for use on a radio transceiver. Works and sounds good plenty of boost now.

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Ashley

Great if you replace the tube!

Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2014

Verified Purchase

Purchased this to drive my AKG C214.

Great little box that does tube right!
One quirk about this is you MUST replace the stock tube it comes with or you won't get great sound! The stock chinese tube introduces alot of noise and won't get that warm drive you're looking for.

I've owned the Universal Audio 610 and 6176 and the drive on this gives you a warm, clean tube if you replace the tube with a 12AX7 or 12AT7. You can find guides on Youtube on how to replace the tube for this unit. Just remove the Top/Bottom two screws, the four in the back and you can remove the cover. Carefully wiggle the tube out while holding the white base of the tube circuit and wiggle the tube out slowly. Replace the tube by wiggling it in and wrap it up.

17 people found this helpful

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No hill for a high stepper

Presonus TubePre v2

Reviewed in the United States on March 6, 2014

Verified Purchase

This is an awesome little tube preamp. I can get any type of tube sound I am looking for on my recordings. When using it on stage, I set it for a middle of the road type of tube sound and use my pedal board to get the remaining sounds.

You will definately want to change the cheap Chinese tube that it comes with to a better quality tube. Don't go cheap with the replacement. I installed a Tungsol goldpin 12AX7 tube. It made a world of difference. By waiting until the unit went on sale, I was able to get the tube and the preamp for less than the wholesale price of just the preamp.

Give it a try! It's a cheap way to get that tube sound that you've been looking for without spending $900 on an amp. I run mine through a solid state Fender amp and get tube sounds.

Highly recommended.

3 people found this helpful

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Andrés G.

Sonido muy limpio

Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2023

Verified Purchase

Muy limpio el sonido. Me ha ayudado a amplificar la ganancia del micrófono sin aumentar el sonido ambiente ni el ruido de base. Hago voiceovers y la calidad es muy importante.

2 people found this helpful

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VaughnC

Nice preamp.

Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2022

Verified Purchase

Was seeking some audio enhancement for my HF ham radio and this wasn't what I was seeking. Seems like it would be nice for other non-radio applications though.

One person found this helpful

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