KAUSTHUB RAVI & SIVANESH NATARAJAN
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?
ART Pro Audio Tube Mix
Analogue Mixer & USB Audio Interface
PLENTY TO OFFER!
Art has been known to make extremely affordable studio
gear aimed at home studios and bedroom producers who are
looking for a good upgrade at a great budget. Adding to the
cause is their latest product - The Tube Mix, a tiny-compact
five channel analogue mixer.
It consists of a single 12AX7 (ECC83) dual-triode valve that
can be switched into the appropriate signal path as per your
need. It also doubles as a two channel 16-bit (up to) 48kHz USB
2 audio recording interface. The Interface is USB powered
and the rest of the electronics use an external PSU. The valves
aim to provide subtle coloring and warmth associated with
tube gear.
This mixer is housed in a well-built unit with a tough steel
case and wooden panels on either side. It has a 3 Channel
fixed EQ set at 2.5KHz for the mids and low and high shelves
at 80Hz and 12KHz respectively. Below that are two Pre Fader
Aux sends and Pan pots. Phantom power can be applied to
the first two channels via a button in the master section,
and there is a single pair of aux send/return jack sockets in
addition to the main out and control room out, which are
on balanced TRS jacks. A pair of (unilluminated) mini VU
meters follow the USB record level and the USB out can be
switched to be fed either from the main mix or from the left
and right axes.
A button can switch the placement of the valve circuitry in
channels one and two or in the stereo which comes right after
the input trim stage and before the EQ. It’s much like the
smaller mixers with the exception of the tubes and interface.
The tubes, although it does help with vocals, really helps
noticeably on DI guitars and Basses, especially if you’re
looking to round off those bass tones.
Overall, the extremely affordable ART Pro Audio Tube Mix is
a great change for people looking for something other than/
fancier than the 2i2. It has got some interesting add ons and
the VU meters add a nice aesthetic to a small home setup.
40
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
sE Electronics Rupert
Neve RNT
Tube Condenser Microphone
WORTH THE WAIT
sE Electronics, a Chinese manufacturer teams up with
legendary Rupert Neve for the much awaited RNT, a large-
diaphragm tube condenser mic designed to essentially
deliver the renowned and celebrated quality of vintage
tube microphones with modern clarity and headroom.
The mic took years to release, but what we have here
is truly special and the wait has been worth it.
The mic features a custom condenser capsule and discrete
Class-A circuitry throughout. The first preamp stage,
housed in the body of the mic, uses a hand-selected
ECC82 vacuum tube, while the second stage, housed
in the mic’s external power supply, is built around the
same custom op-amps used in the Rupert Neve Designs
5088 mixing console. This floor box also features a
nine-position polar pattern switch, moving from omni
to cardioid to figure-of-eight via several positions in
between, as well as low-cut filter and pad switches.
In our tests, it faired extremely well on vocals with an
ultra-modern high end and smooth well defined lows
and low mids. It provides quite a unique character. It
also did a stellar job on acoustic and classical guitars.
All in all, the RNT is excellent for studios looking
out for a fresh sound. Some of the best high end and
smoothest high mids on any recent microphone. On
the downside it is extremely expensive and time will
tell if the Rupert Neve tag really justifies the price.