PreSonus Bluetube

Straight forward outline. Knobs and buttons that do their work. No fancy stuff. The only thing I miss is an on/off button.

Great!
Versatile and sweet.

So far no problems, just a good unit.

N/a

Great value for money, extreme amplification if needed (comes with a little noise depending on what is amplificated). Good for large condenser mics and bass guitar. Very happy with this unit.
If only it had an on/off button. :)

The controls are very basic. When I bought it, I liked the idea that the tube could be switched out of the path, and the fact that it is a 2-channel pre. The second channel makes it useful for stereo sources (drum machines, keyboards) or for recording two simultaneous mic'd sources.
The taper of the gain control is smooth and pretty even (unlike some other cheap pre's, where there's a big jump in gain at 2 or 3 o'clock.)
Overall, it's functional, and about as basic as it gets.

I own some other preamps -- an ART MPA Gold (tube) and a Joemeek 3Q (solid state) plus a couple of the little table-top ART models.

I have a bunch of mics. My best is a KSM32, along with the usual home-studio "1st step-up" collection -- Rode NT1, AKG C1000, Shure KSM109, plus a few decent dynamics and two cheap ribbons.

To use a comparison that will be useful for others at the lower end of the audio gear food chain, the Blue Tube in 100%-solid state mode is a little less smeared than the Tube MP is capable of being. With the tube mixed in, the similarities are more obvious than the differences -- the tube adds a little grit, typical of hybrid designs.

The best use I've found for this unit is for strummed acoustic guitar, with the tube switched out. I find that the solid state setting is fairly even across all frequencies; there are no obvious spikes. Note separation is surprisingly good, and there isn't the smearing effect that a tube stage adds. It captures the percussiveness of the strum in a way that I find very useful in a mix with other instruments. Use a condenser with an even response and a healty output level so that you can use a low gain setting on the pre. The KSM32 and C1000 have worked well for me here. At a lower price point, the widely-used MXL603 would serve the purpose, too.

This unit likes drum machines. Here I add a smidge of tube to impart some aggressiveness, particularly to the snare.

The downside of the Blue Tube, to agree with "BPP" below, is that there is an ever-present hiss (self noise from the preamp gain) which makes it unsuitable for quiet sources where it's necessary to crank the input level. If you're going for soft acoustic stuff, then you're probably going to want something quieter. I've had good results with the 3Q mentioned above. It's slightly more colored and rounded sounding, but still clear and even. It's much quieter than the PreSonus when the gain is up high.

That having been said, if you don't record a lot of soft sources, then I'd say that this pre is worth looking into as a "first step-up" for its versatility. It's relatively neutral-sounding, and does offer the tube as an extra flavor. It also offers the 2 channels. When you want something classier, you'll still be able to find uses for it. Although I prefer the JoeMeek overall, this isn't a bad unit, so long as you use it on louder source material.

I've had it for close to 2 years. It's securely racked (doesn't travel) so I can't comment on its physical robustness. The knobs and switches all engage positively, the jacks are snug. Traveling types should take care not to drop it face-first, I suppose.

Electronically, it works as well now as it has ever done.

Never broke, never had the pleasure, no comment.

I've been recording since 1982, when the Teac 144 changed the world as few pieces of gear ever have or ever will. I play guitar rock, both electric and acoustic. I am and always have been a hobbyist, not a pro.

I'm almost 50 years old, and my highs are shot, so if I can still hear the Blue Tube's hiss, then it's audible. I deal with it as stated above.

This little guy gets points for versatility at a reasonable price, but if it crapped tomorrow then I'd neither cry nor say "good riddance." I'd just plug the sources into other gear I've bought in the mean time, and get on with it.

I use this unit to warm up/overdrive my bass guitar. As others say. Very easy to use-two knobs per channel. One solid state gain the other tube drive. The manual is not necessary becuase of simplicity, but if you needed it, it answers basic set up questions. The one I am reviewing has the VU meters and is recent as of 2008.

The sound quality varies widely with the application. It depends on your set up. With my practice amp in our band practice room, it is perfect. I had a real problem once with it live, most likely due to grounding/shielding in the venue. I had to take it out of the signal path. This is not a fault of the product though. It is the nature of tubes to be effected by magnetic and electrical signals. I am trying to remedy this with various 60 cycle hum eliminators. It will take some experimentation to know whether this will work. The sound I was searching for was the John Entwhistle bass drive in songs like "Can You See The Real Me" and the intro bass sound in Foghat's cover of "I Just Want To Make Love To You". It works great for that. I am playing through a 70's Acoustic Bass amp and cabinet with Danelectro and Fender Mustang basses. What I like best is that you can turn down the saturation of the tube without losing volume as long as the SS gain was where you need it. Having two channels opens up options for switching betwwen clean and dirty sounds for an instrument or even a vocal mic. I know that different amps will respond differently to this pre, so you have to try it out with your rig before buying it or at least be prepared to send it back if it doesn't work for you. (SAME WITH ANY EFFECT)

One light in one of the VU meters was out on arrival. I don't care because I don't look at them anyway. I am more concerned with the clip indicator which does work. But, that light being out may indicate some poor quality. The wall wart is weak as others have said. The wire is extremely thin. There is no on/off switch(?) I have played with it for only a few weeks and at three gigs. It has been OK so far. I expect to replace the wall wart with a generic one with heavier wire soon. I use it without backup because it's purpose is not mandatory for my playing.

Haven't had to use them yet.

We play covers of classic rock ( Doors, Who, Beatles, Stones, etc.) and my originals are roots rock and country influenced. I have been playing since about 1980. I would get another if it dissappeared, but it is not the ultimate accessory either. The sound I get is fine and useable ocassionally. I like it because I do not lose low frequency like so many units when overdriven. It needs an on/off switch or at least a bypass of somekind so it doesn't have to always be engaged when plaugged in. Heavier duty adaptor for people who are going to play live with it. Maybe just a cord that plugs in direct would be nice. It works. Does what you'd expect. Not an earth shaker or holy grail, but decent and inexpensive.

Simple to use. One input and one output per channel. Two knobs per channel: gain (solid state) and tube drive. Four buttons per channel: phantom power, low cut, a -20dB pad, and phase reversal. Comes with a wall wart power supply. No on/off switch -- you have to pull the plug to turn it off.

I'm a keyboard player. I bought this to "warm up" my B3 organ clone and digital piano on gigs. It does that extremely well. Very nice "tubey" sound and increased tonal definition when the gain and tube drive are at 9:00. Not the same as a Hammond tube preamp and Leslie tube power amp, but a definite improvement for digital instruments run through a solid state amp.

Now for the bad news. This thing is poorly built and won't last. The knobs feel cheesy, the faceplate is plastic, and the power supply has the skinniest cheapest wire I've ever encountered. I've taken it to two gigs and have zero confidence in it. $200 would be an excellent price point, given that it sounds pretty good, if it was sturdy. But it's not.

Haven't tried yet.

I'm going to try to return it because if I don't, I will soon realize that I've wasted $200.

I've had this unit for about two months now. I resisted an early review, wanting to make sure i could represent this BlueTube preamp honestly. When I got it home and set up, I first put it in the effects loop of my practice/headphone amp, a little, versatile solid state Fender Princeton Chorus. It sounded muddled and over-colored. Why? I don't know. I had my pedal board going into the amp, and this in my effects loop. And I must also add in here, almost nothing sounds good in this amp's effects loop. So, I took it out, ran the guitar into the pedal board > into the BlueTube > into the amp. Viola... Tube sound. after proper placement, I was able to dial in much more to get satisfying sounds. With some experimentation, the amount of push you put on the unit's 12AX7 can get some really nice crunchy, bluesy, crashy sounds.

The biggest plus is that, being a tube preamp, it can make your Boss Overdrives and distortions sing, it can make your EQ's more harmonically alive, it makes acoustics sound nice, and it can ad some old school to your bass. I like it alot. More honestly, it has made me appreciate using good sounding home gear instead of putting all my money into gear that's used onstage and just settling on using solid state crap at home. This unit makes playing at home fun again and I find myself developing riffs and leads with more enthusiasm.

The unit is two channel and I like that. What I like is the way an accompanying drum or bass line can saturate the 12AX7 and give your guitar that slighly noticeable 'power drain' lilting dip on hard beats. of course, you don't have to have this, but since hearing it on The Bay City Rollers 'Saturday Night' when the guitar chords sustain over the heavy beat when I was a kid, I love that effect. I was happy to hear this unit pull that off. Now that I have become more familiar with it's push/pull capabilities, it's pretty easy to work with, it's easy to get clean or dirty by adjusting drive/gain/ and my amp's volume with no guess work. The unit is simple, but does it's job. My unit doesn't have the VU's, but I only glance at the LED's occasionally to check clipping levels. They do the job.

Honestly, I must be misusing it or something because the PAD switch doesn't seem to do anything. It's supposed to attenuate higher gain input signals. But excuse my obtusity, it doesn't seem to do sh*t. The dual XLR/one-quarter plug combination jacks are nice, good for using this in conjuction with vocals. I get the idea that PreSonus really wanted to make an easy to use, but effective tube preamp. It's sturdy, the knobs are intuitive, and it has smooth function. But, in that the two channel's knobs are set up in a mirror image design ( ch1 [drive gain] ch2 [gain drive]), they should have done the same with the LEDS, both should show clipping at the center, instead of both showing increase to the right. Like the knobs are mirrored, but the LED's aren't.

The manual was pretty basic, thanks to them for also keeping it archived online. But really, it's a simple design, most learning will come from experimentation.

It gets an 8, only because I find myself turning the gain, instead of drive, on the second channel because of the partial mirror setup.

The sound quality is good. It's not super pro, but it's quite, it has tube glassy-ness and warmth, and it is easy to push the 12AX7 smoothly into different zones. The gain stage also reacts predictably, and doesn't produce much hiss, and none at standard levels. I do get some weird hum off it with the gain on full, but that could be due to cables, sheilding, and proximity to all the electronic stuff it sits near. I never use the gain stage that high, so it's not a concern ...whether it is or isn't the unit causing it.

Like I mentioned before, this is a good addition to get rid of solid state sterility. It's a good addition if you want your solid state Boss pedals to get along with your solid state practice amp. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, here the difference of putting a Boss SD-1 through a tube amp versus through a SS amp. There really is no comparison. Don't try to replicate tube sound at home, get tube sound at home, you'll be glad you did!

8 - You want tube sound? It delivers.

I guess I can rely on it. When I play in front of an audience I'm using my Fenders, so that doesn't really apply here. I would gig with it, but I would bring along an additional 12AX7. You can't see the tube inside the chassis, so you never know how hot it's running. But to be fair, it's a rackmount unit. Having the tube visible isn't part of the design.

7 - not because it's ever gone bad. The unit has done fine! But most things that work with tubes let the user take a peek quickly on hows the ol' tube's doin'. You kind of always want to know to get a sense of lifespan or malfunction

I've never dealt with them. They do supply ample contact info on their website and manual. I get the impression they are the usual smaller sound company.

I've been playing everything form Christmas songs to metal for 25 or so years. I play a Gibson Les Paul, a Fender P-bass, and various other electric and acoustic guitars into a pedal board with 12 Boss pedals, Planet Waves cables, Fender Princeton Chorus at home, Fender Deluxe and Fender Twin in performing. I'm at the point of only buying what I really need. I dislike buying gear that just sits. This is always plugged in and on whenever I play at home through Sennheiser headphones . I considered buying a smaller Mesa practice amp (read: Subway Rocket) or a Mesa V-Twin, but this came along for $45 dollars and I couldn't pass it up. It's done nicely. I see these routinely go for $50 to $90 dollars and I think that all these people running ss amps, buying distortion pedals, have no idea how something like this can truly help their sound. Anybody who is at least halfway serious about their tone needs an actual tube in their signal path and this is a great way to accomplish that. The unit is flexible too as it can be used onstage in the mic'ing of intruments and vocals. It can grow with you as a musician.

If it were stolen or lost, and I could get another for the $45 bucks I paid for it. I would get another. But, if I couln't (and probably wouldn't) find another for as cheap, I'd get the rackmount Mesa Boogie V-Twin. Now that I know how much these can highlight good pedals, I would spend more for a tube preamp. But whether the Mesa would make as happy? I don't know. What I love about it is how I can get a big sound through headphones, something I never really though that possible. But what I dislike is the way the inputs are in the front, and the outputs are in the back. For god's sake put an optional inputs in the back, rack effects would preceed this in a chain. On closing I will say hats off to PreSonus, they didn't skimp with components; solid pots and jacks, longevity.

9 - For $45 bucks it supplies buckets of tone.

Simplicity itself.

Everyone is complaining about inconsistency between units,noise,etc.One guy said he thinks one channel is bad because of decreased output and muffled sound.Before you get too critical or throw your unit out,think about what this is.....its a TUBE preamp.The first suspect should always be the tubes.If you own one of these you should have several new tubes that are hand picked for low noise and matched triodes.Any reputable tube dealer(not ebay!)can provide these for $10-12 per tube.You may want to try some tubes with lower gain and noise such as a 12AT7 or 5751`s.Tubes are extremely delicate and are easily damaged .Give this a try for an easy fix.

Handle gently and change tubes as needed.

never dealt with

Been playing for 40+ years.Own or have owned about every type of good, bad and ugly gear on the planet.I play different styles but prefer blues based and classic rock.(Beatles,Stones,The Who,The Band,Van Morrison,etc.)

Super easy to use. Just plug it in and go. I use this for recording, but will soon get an RNP, just a little bit more quiet.

Sound quality is good for the price. The Tube does warm up the sound. I bought a groove tube to throw in thinking that the original was going to be noisy like the Tube Pre, but it's really not that bad, so I never used the groove tube. It works great on condensor mics. Like i said earler I am going to get an RNP cause even using the solid state and no tube gain, i find this pre to be a bitnoisier than i need. I do acoustic and vocal recording and with the silet passages, I hear a lot of noise without the use of a gate. Not room noise, noise from the circuitry. It's not bad at all so please don't shy away, I'm needing pro-studio quality noise free mic-pre and I'm going to try the RNP for $400, but may need to spend $1000 to get to where I need. This was by far better than my mixer pre-amp(Alesis multi-mix). If you're needing a mic-pre or one that's better than your mixer for under $200, this will do the trick. I was happy with it in that sense.

No worries, it's built to last.

N/A

Like I said, I am a recording musician mostly acoustic and vocals, so the nedd for pristine silence is a must. For folks recording rock vocals anything with drums or mic'd electric, this baby is for you. I think it's definately a stp up from the TubePre becuase it's way more quiet. The one bad thing is that it doesn't have an on/off switch. What's up with that??

I have the newest Bluetube, the DP, with two solid-state/tube hybrid channels. The controls are very simple, and the LED's are visible from anywhere in the room so you can tell how it is set. The old-school VU meters are great, and look nice too. The manual explains all the controls, and with a few hours of experimenting, you can dial in its wide range of sounds quickly.

The sound is good for a $200 pre-amp. Anyone expecting to spend $200 and get Neve or UA quality sound should get out of the music business. The solid-state section is very clean and has a nice full spectrum sound. It sounds much better than the pre's on my small Soundcraft mixer. It is perfect for direct injection of a bass. Also very good for synthesizers. The tube "warmth" should be used more as an effect than amplification. At low values the warmth adds nice harmonics to deep drum machine bass and toms, and a nice grit to snare pops. It also makes a good dirty bass guitar sound when cranked up. The tube works good with digital electric pianos and organs too. Much better than software tube emulation. I started using organ patches that I had never used in the past because they sounded thin and artificial. The grit that the tube warmth provides is very nice. Analog synths (moog, junos) sound great with a little tube crunch added to them. I also run VST instruments and ReRirth back out of the computer through the tube to rough 'em up a bit, and I am really happy with the sound.


Many people expect a preamp to magically take their sound from basement studio to Abbey Road...please get real. No preamp will make up for cheap instruments, mics, mixers, bad (inexperienced) audio engineer, bad tone, or no talent. If you have talent, you can get good and unique sounds out of even the cheapest equipment. Many people here have blasted the Bluetube's sound and recommended the ART TPS/DPS line. I would like to point out the reason many think the ART's tone is better is because its "variable voicing" gimmic is an EQ trick built into the hardware. It definitly sounds different because it is not a clean tube amplification stage. Personally I think any EQ should be non-destructive, and done in the mixing stage, not inside a $150 "preamp", and determined by one knob of presets. If you like the sound of the ART, then use it for your sound, but I do not like its added effect.

It has been very reliable with no problems at all in 3 months of everyday use. It is very well built, all metal, the controls are firm and feel like they will last a long time. My only problem is the screw holes in the bottom for a universal rack tray. They are not spaced right for most of the pairs on my Middle Atlantic URT. I had to use the slots instead of the round holes, which pushes the Bluetube about an inch out the front of the rack. It did mount though, and is very sturdy and looks great.

I emailed them about how to mount it, and got a reply within a couple hours. No problems yet, so I can't comment about repairs.

The new Bluetube DP is a really great value. It is not the Holy Grail of audio production, but it is a nice addition to any low budget project studio. It works great on any electronic instrument that needs a little boost, or for a little dirt. It is also a nice effect to experiment with. I chose this after a friend tried to talk me into buying the ART TPS. It made all his stuff sound way to "colored" (EQed is what really happened to it) and I did not like it at all. I chose the Bluetube because it was about the same price, and seemed to have a much more transparent sound. It is worth the money (which is not very much these days) and I am going to by another one so I can run more keyboards through at the same time.

I have the newest Bluetube, the DP, with two solid-state/tube hybrid channels. The controls are very simple, and the LED's are visible from anywhere in the room so you can tell how it is set. The old-school VU meters are great, and look nice too. The manual explains all the controls, and with a few hours of experimenting, you can dial in its wide range of sounds quickly.

The sound is good for a $200 pre-amp. Anyone expecting to spend $200 and get Neve or UA quality sound should get out of the music business. The solid-state section is very clean and has a nice full spectrum sound. It sounds much better than the pre's on my small Soundcraft mixer. It is perfect for direct injection of a bass. Also very good for synthesizers. The tube "warmth" should be used more as an effect than amplification. At low values the warmth adds nice harmonics to deep drum machine bass and toms, and a nice grit to snare pops. It also makes a good dirty bass guitar sound when cranked up. The tube works good with digital electric pianos and organs too. Much better than software tube emulation. I started using organ patches that I had never used in the past because they sounded thin and artificial. The grit that the tube warmth provides is very nice. Analog synths (moog, junos) sound great with a little tube crunch added to them. I also run VST instruments and ReRirth back out of the computer through the tube to rough 'em up a bit, and I am really happy with the sound.

Many people expect a preamp to magically take their sound from basement studio to Abbey Road...please get real. No preamp will make up for cheap instruments, mics, mixers, bad (inexperienced) audio engineer, bad tone, or no talent. If you have talent, you can get good and unique sounds out of even the cheapest equipment. Many people here have blasted the Bluetube's sound and recommended the ART TPS/DPS line. I would like to point out the reason many think the ART's tone is better is because its "variable voicing" gimmic is an EQ trick built into the hardware. It definitly sounds different because it is not a clean tube amplification stage. Personally I think any EQ should be non-destructive, and done in the mixing stage, not inside a $150 "preamp", and determined by one knob of presets. If you like the sound of the ART, then use it for your sound, but I do not like its added effect.

It has been very reliable with no problems at all in 3 months of everyday use. It is very well built, all metal, the controls are firm and feel like they will last a long time. My only problem is the screw holes in the bottom for a universal rack tray. They are not spaced right for most of the pairs on my Middle Atlantic URT. I had to use the slots instead of the round holes, which pushes the Bluetube about an inch out the front of the rack. It did mount though, and is very sturdy and looks great.

I emailed them about how to mount it, and got a reply within a couple hours. No problems yet, so I can't comment about repairs.

The new Bluetube DP is a really great value. It is not the Holy Grail of audio production, but it is a nice addition to any low budget project studio. It works great on any electronic instrument that needs a little boost, or for a little dirt. It is also a nice effect to experiment with. I chose this after a friend tried to talk me into buying the ART TPS. It made all his stuff sound way to "colored" (EQed is what really happened to it) and I did not like it at all. I chose the Bluetube because it was about the same price, and seemed to have a much more transparent sound. It is worth the money (which is not very much these days) and I am going to by another one so I can run more keyboards through at the same time.

This is so easy to use. I got it used with no manual, and had the tone I wanted in less than 2 minutes.

I'm using this with an Acoustic with a Passive Controller and a Lace Huntinton Guitar. As suggested by some earlier users, I replaced the Stock Tube with a Zenith and man does the Warmth come through. Both Guitars sound so much richer. I don't use alot og "Grease" in my setup. It's at the begining of the chain with my Lace and right after a ZOOM 505 Pedal with the Acoustic. Remember, this is TUBE, so expect a bit of noise when things are quiet. It quickly fades away when we strike up the Band.

So far I've had it going full time for a week with no problems. We have a gig on the 20th, so we have to trim down our setup a bit. We'll see if less is true more.

Haven't had to use them yet.

We play music by the Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, Beatles, etc. I started playing 42 years ago and have owned my shar of good and bad equipment. If it were lost or stolen, I'd be searching for another. It's just what I needed and outside of the slight Tube noise, it makes what I do sound very sweet.