Changing the Tubes in an Art Pro VLA II
Vložit
- čas přidán 25. 08. 2024
- This is an introduction to tube rolling the Art Pro VLA II compressor. There is a lot of good solid information here even though the production value of the video is not as polished as some of my earlier videos.
I cannot lie, this was oddly satisfying to watch. entertaining.
Do not question what kind of twisted mind does such a thing
Dayum David, you are such a creative man. Didn't plan to change tubes but did it just because of you :D
Nice crash course on tubes and relaxing af!!! Thanks I'll be giving this a try.
quite creative with sound. Thanks for the video man!
Cute video and nice song. Thanks!
Very nice video. I really appreciate the variety ;)
This was a good video, thank you!
yeah, whatba unique style of Video...cool soundtrack too.
Very Helpful...Thank YOU..Mr Courtney...
Very informative on tubes' various gain ratio N vacuum tubes generally speaking
Thank you..Good Video...Very informative...
don't touch with any other part" lmao great vid bro thank for the info
What a strange but cool video !
I seem to have blown the fuse on this unit. Could you help with a quick tutorial on how to replace the fuse? I tried prying it open with a screw driver, but it seems to be quite a tight fit, and I was afraid it might break something. Please help! Also, if you could tell me which kind of fuse to replace it with, that'd be great! From what I gather it's a 250v 0.5A fuse but just need to confirm! Thank you.
I am sorry but I do not know. It should be stamped on the side of the fuse
Should I be concerned that the Art Pro VLA 2 doesn't have any air vents in the chassis for tube heat ventilation?
The same thought had crossed my mind. However I have been using this for several years now, and have had no trouble with overheating. Apparently two small tubes within the relatively vast internal expanse of the case just does not raise the temperature enough to be an issue.
Really dug the video! Appreciate the song and the non-conventional instrumentation. Much better...for me...than the usual monotonic droning you usually see. Very clear instruction -- I'm actually getting one of these units and will be swapping tubes. Did I miss it? Wondering what you were using for jazz organ sound. Saw the Monotron for the "lead". Cool.
Thank you for the comments. The whole thing was definitely done with a sort of low-fi, low tech-attitude. The main organ sound was nothing more than GarageBand.
wow all the time and effort in this video, thanks a lot. By the way, do you recommend any type of tube in particular? (brand and place to buy them).
Thanks again!
I think that a lot depends upon how hot your pre-amp is. If your preamp has a fairly strong output I would go with the 12AT7. However if you feel that you are having a hard time over-driving the compressor, (presuming that you want to overdrive it) then you might find that the 5751 will give you just that little extra boost that you need.
David Courtney thanks man, great video
This so trippy! :D
Love it !
What about testing that the channels are operating at the same volume (of the tubes are really so well matched after burn in) usually with sine waves from your DAW and adjusting the trim to get them to match? (Yes it has that feature.) I guess if you're only going to use it in dual mono mode you can adjust each channel individually instead. I've heard some people with this unit say you should only use it in dual mono mode room room right.... But that might only be because their tubes are not matching in volume output. I'm not entirely sure. Nice video though. Creative. :)
This is a very good point. I have had mine for years and have never once used it in a stereo mode, so it has never been an issue for me. I only use mine in dual mono mode.
I liked the video, thought it was informative and funny. Question. I will only use the VLA II with Focusrite ISA One preamp to prevent clipping on vocals. If I'm just using one mono mic, I assume there's no need to use channel two or the link button right?
Basically you are correct. However in a mono/ dual channel mode the link switch should be off. Furthermore, this compressor, like all compressors, is not a magic bullet against saturation. Anything which comes before the compressor is just as susceptible as before. As far as anything that comes after the compressor, the risk of saturation is greatly reduced, but not eliminated.
This particular compressor is a bit sluggish, so if you keep your attack dial in a center setting, it will not have much compression on sharp attacks. Therefore, drums, guitars and other instruments which have sharp attacks should have the attack times greatly reduced to show the benefits of this compressor. Failure to do so will not yield any significant protection against saturation. I have found that just a slight decrease (from the centre position) seems to give the best results for vocal.
Escuse me do you know if I are any difference between use a tubes with different gain than ones with the same gain??? I bought separately two tubos, But I don’t know if can I use them like this or maybe those can affect my sound quality one is gain A: 94.7 gain B 97.5 and the other is gain A: 104.4 GainB 94.1.
That is indeed an interesting question. My gut feeling is that you might hear a slight difference if you set your compressor to a stereo mode, but that there should not be any real difference in a dual mono mode. However I think that you will just have to try it and see if you like the sound. You can always change it if you do not like it.
ooh thank you! So it means that if I want to use my compressor in stereo mode I better get two tubes with the same gain to have a balance in my signal right?? In this case is recommendable buy Matched Pair or balances tubes??
@@Luna25174 Yes, however I have been using mine for over 5 years and I have not once used it in the stereo mode. But your application may be very different from mine.
wait, so I need to let the unit turned on for 24 hours before running any signal through it?
No. You can run a signal through it immediately. But you will not know exactly what it will sound like until it has burned in. After 24-48 hrs you can be fairly confident as to what the final sound will be.
@@DavidCourtney123 oooooh I see! Thanks!!!
thanks for the info!
good evening I want to ask you a question please.
I have the studio V3 ART Tube and I want to change the lamp at the moment it has the 12AX7A China which one can I put for better result and warm sound? Thanks a lot
That is a very good question. Unfortunately I do not have an answer. But you should not feel afraid to experiment.
If you are look to make subtle changes in sound, try getting tubes from different manufactures. Even a tube with the same designation will sound very different. But remember that in a 12AX7A the last letter (in this case A) can mean different things to different manufacturers. Usually the "A" designation would mean that it is a higher gain. It is a good idea to find out what the individual manufacturers mean with their last appended letter(s), however for your experimentation it probably should not matter.
If you are looking for more pronounced changes, you can try an adjacent designation In this case the next step down in gain would be a 5751. This actually is not a big change, as it has been noted that a 5751 may also be considered to be just a variant upon the 12AX7. (e.g. the 12AX7WA). Really the next step down in gain would be the 12AT7.
You should note that among vacuum tubes there is a VERY large variation in their performance. Just experiment.
HiDavid Courteney . My name is Abraão Silva, I am from Brazil ... I have a voice channel II. The audio has stopped modulating, can it be a problem in the valve? Would a replacement solve?
I do not have a voice channel, so I really cannot comment.
Can we get a calibration video for the recording chain
How can i hook up my dbxa compressor to my art compressor to a presonous channelstrip in a 2i2 audio interface by focusrite
Can you elaborate more on both your equipment as well as what you are trying to do?
David Courtney im trying to hook up a presonous channelstrip for the preamp in eq thats on it in use my dbxa compressor to my art pro 11 compressor to a 2i2 focusrite audio interface soi dont want to use the compressor built in the channelstrip in i dont really kno where to start i got it recording but feels its wrong i got my mic plugged into the in put on the channelstrip from channelstrip to the art from the art compressor to the 2i2 audio interface
It sounds like you are wanting to bypass the compressor in your channel strip and have it instead go to EITHER a DBX compressor OR an ArtPro VLAII. You do not want to go through both. Am I understanding the situation?
Yes u are but i wanna connect bot compressors
That is not at all recommended. Why do you feel you have to do this?
Sorry I have one more question...I am considering buying a tube compressor...So I have an eye on a TL Audio Ebony A2 or the Art Pro VLA II...Dont know if you are familiar with the TL but what would you suggest to purchase?
I have not used the TL Audio Ebony A2, but as I look over it, serious warning bells are sounding. There is a section that is clearly marked with controls such as Tube stage On/Off, Tube Warmth etc. It is clear that the tube is NOT in the signal path but represents a side chain. In every case that I have seen that uses this architecture the tube portion sounds like shit. I would not buy it.
well, thats interesting, thanks for your evaluation! :-)
I have the same Art VLA ii...however my unit is powered 14 hours a day. Lately it will give a loud White noise from time to time. While giving out the white noise the led bargraph and the meter will deflect fully. What is the hell happening to my unit? I wrote to ART mentioning this matter. But to no available. ART stay muted till this day. This is the last Art I will buy. Can some one help me out of this problem?
I had this problem a couple of years ago, and it was a bad tube. I replaced the tubes and the problem went away.
We must never forget that tubes have a limited lifespan. For them to behave as they are supposed to behave, they have to be fully powered up. Although the tubes in this compressor are not totally powered up, they are powered much higher than the average tube in an "economy" model. This higher than average power means that the performance of the device is superior to similar devices in this price range. However it also means that the tubes will fail more frequently.
Random white noise can come from anyplace, but replacing the tube is the first place to start looking.
Nice informative video, thanks. but is it really necessary to keep the unit on for 24hours after replacing the tubes? I have an ART TPS II and I havent done that with the stock tubes either...Now I wanna switch to a JJ tube.
If you don't let it burn in for a while, nothing will happen, but you will not really know what it sounds like until the tubes have burned in.
ok thanks again, i got the TPS yesterday and i had it running only for a 30min test. will turn it on tonight for 24h
I put Sylvania 4BS8 tubes in my ART Pro MPA today and a light amount of smoke start coming from the unit when I turned it on. Any idea what would cause this? Do vintage tubes produce fumes sometimes until they "burn in"? Would appreciate your thoughts, thanks. Enjoyed the video, well done.
Interesting. That isn't supposed to happen. If it was NOS something might have gotten on the tubes over the decades. If everything works Ok then this is probably what happened. However if there was an internal short someplace, the smoke was basically telling you that your unit may be hosed.
@@DavidCourtney123 Thanks for the quick reply. I've heard others recommend the Sylvania 4BS8 as the "holy grail" tube for ART preamps, so I would think they would work fine. I mentioned the situation on another ART related video and was told they were the wrong tubes, only use 12AX7. I've built some effects pedals, but this is my first time swapping out tubes, so I'm not sure what the issue is. I put the stock tubes back in and the unit works fine, so it's all a mystery to me, don't know if it was the tube making the light smoke or a component near it. Might buy a $40 ART Tube MP to test the Sylvanias further, but I don't want to melt my Pro MPA. Will try some new 12AX7s in that unit instead.
@@g.marion5888 I made a quick search for the 4BS8, but was not able to find anything. Why are you so keen to use these tubes. Why not go for something else for your experimentation.
I read a post by a person who said he tested hundreds of different brand tubes in his ART preamp, and discovered the Sylvania 4BS8 produced the least amount of noise, while having a superior frequency range. I ordered four of the tubes from Wallco online, and received three, because they were the very last three they had in stock. The guy who made the post used them in the ART MP, not the PRO MPA that I tried them in, but I doubt the preamp model would make a difference. I need an ART MP as well anyway, so I though I'd give the Sylvanias one last try once I get one, and see if produces smoke as well or not.
Thank you
Will this allow you to record voice on videos? That would be cool.
The majority of the videos that I have made have audio tracks that were initially processed with this. I have presently, and have had in the past, numerous compressors. But this is undoubtedly my favourite.
How can i use the other side of my pro compressor to run back in to my studio mobile using the pipeline plugin for better leveling
for this you would need another set of IO on your interface. I believe that you only have two pairs of I/O. If you sacrificed one pair, that would only leave you a single channel out to take care of all of the rest of your work. That would be very awkward, so I will just say that you cannot do it.
David Courtney thanks so what u think about studio mobile192
I have never worked with it but the specs seem nice.
I just got a computer16 gb in hooked the 2i2 audio interface to it no im getting a hiss noise any help
1st, simplify you signal chain. Start with just a mic, interface, and computer. Presumably there will be no hiss. Then start adding devices to the chain. When you start to hear hiss, it means one of two things. It means that either the device you plugged in is poorly designed and has a very poor s/n ratio or at some point your levels are off. The most common problem being that one link in the chain has the gain too low and another link in the chain has the levels too high in order to compensate for this. Find the levels that give you the max. s/n ratio. At that point you keep expanding the chain and repeating the process until all parts of the chain have the optimum levels. That will give you the max s/n ratio for the configuration you have chosen.
What is the piece of equipment with the 4 old school vu meters in the rack. It's the second time I have seen it and really want one. Oh great video, very informative on the different tube types
I believe that you are referring to the Behringer T1952 compressor. I have had it a few years and it is quite long-in-the-tooth. It isn't a bad compressor, it is actually pretty good. But the vacuum tube portion is completely useless.
In order to understand why it is useless, it is necessary to understand the concept of tube compression. Tube compression is an effect that is not related to having a compressor based upon vacuum tubes, it comes simply by passing an analogue signal through a vacuum tube. It is based upon the fact that vacuum tubes have a non-linear voltage transfer characteristic that gently approaches a saturation point. This is in sharp contrast to solid state devices that are extraordinarily linear right up to their “brick-wall” saturation.
Typical analogue signals are a series of sharp peaks interspersed with periods of relative sustain. When such signals are pushed through a vacuum tube, the peaks tend to be attenuated more than the rest of the music. But they become attenuated by being gently rolled off. This attenuation of the peaks relative to the rest of the music is by its very nature a kind of limiting or compression. However the process of rolling off the peaks introduces harmonics that were not present in the original signal. This introduction of harmonics has some similarity to the way that modern exciters/enhancers work.
Therefore tube compression may be thought of as a very peculiar mixture of enhancement and compression. It is inherent to the way that vacuum tubes work.
Unfortunately most inexpensive vacuum tube devices, such as the Behringer T1952, are not capable of tube compression. In most inexpensive devices the vacuum tube does not directly lie in the signal path, but instead forms a side chain. The theory of operation being that if one simultaneously passes the signal through both a solid state device and a vacuum tube, one can then compare the two resultant signals. It is presumed that this difference signal represents the “tube sound”. It can then be mixed back with the original signal to produce varying degrees of “warmth”.
It is a good idea in principle but it doesn’t work. Phase distortions mean that one can never really get any “tube compression”. The only thing one is doing is just mixing noise back into the signal.
It sounds like shit. It is the sound which is typical of most of the cheap tube-gear on the market.
So in that case do you recommend the ART Pro compressor. I am new to all of this and am looking for a descent inexpensive tube compressor.
I strongly recommend the Art Pro VLAII. For its price range it has a very good implementation of the vacuum tube. I only have two small complaints. 1) It really takes a fairly strong preamp to drive it. 2) the "12-oclock" positions of the knobs are suboptimal. These are small quibbles that should not deter you from purchasing one.
David Courtney so how can i make my art stronger im running presonous mobile192 as well
Do you recommend sovtek 6922 tube for rapping vocals? i wanna add it to art pro vla II . Is it gonna work on art pro vla II ?
This is a very good question. A very snap answer would be to say "No" based upon the fact that the 6922 belongs to a different family from the 12AU7. However upon closer consideration it is not so clear. The 12AU7 family offers two approaches to heating the filament, while the 6922 offers only one. Yet the ArtPro VLA II happens to utilise the same approach as the 6922, right down to the same pins on the tube.
BUT! The 12AU7 family in this configuration uses a nominal heater voltage of 12 volts while the 6922 uses only 6 volts. Therefore the 6922 should just burn itself up, right? mmmmm... not necessarily.
The key word in the previous paragraph was "nominal heater voltage". Today there is a widespread practice of under powering the heaters. This is done with the very obvious purpose of increasing the lifespan of the vacuum tube. Unfortunately I have not been able to find out what the actual heater voltage is.
I would say to to open it up and measure the voltage across pins 4 and 5. If it is anywhere near 6 volts, then I would try it. It would probably work better than the 12AU7 class of tubes. But if it is up close to 12 volts, then I wouldn't do it.
Try it and let me know. I think that the worst case is that the tube would just burn out.
Thank you very much David Courtney. You are the best!
One more thing. Only try this if you know what you are doing. There are high voltages there. But I take it from your question that you are comfortable with this sort of thing. Still be careful!
There is another consideration, but this one is as much artistic as it is technical. I find myself gravitating toward the higher gain tubes while the 6922 is a lower gain tube. You might try the 12av7 first, because it uses the same heater as the 12au7 class, but has a gain which is comparable to the 6922. If you find that the lower gain tubes reflect your artistic style better, then you can look further into the 6922. If you feel that the gain is just not enough, then you have saved yourself a lot of trouble.
Thank you very much sir. you are very pro at this work
Why do we have to burn in the tubes?
Because tubes do not have the same characteristics when they are new as they did when they just came out of the factory. You have to run them a bit before you will know exactly what they will do.
Thank you for your reply! I just purchased this exact compressor two days ago and I'll be referencing this video to change the tubes.
First run it as-is for a bit. It will probably not sound the same out of the box as it will after a week or two.
How long should you burn in the tubes? Leave it on for 24hours? Or plug in 24 hours later?
Good video, thanks for make it and share it!!
Please can you tell me the exact name of how to find the tubes? because i search by tube 12 ax 7 and i find guitar or bass tubes..
Thanks !
Yes, that is exactly where you would find them. This whole family is a generic signal tube. You will find them under guitar amps because for every person doing tube rolling in a compressor, there are hundreds more doing tube rolling with guitar amps.
@@DavidCourtney123 Thanks! :)
is there a problem if i use the 12ax7 tubes ?
Try it. I have found that a lot of the function of this compressor is tied to what kind of preamp you are using (it shouldn't be, but that seems to be the case). A 12AX7 would probably work quite well with a lower gain preamp. You have nothing to lose by trying it.
@@DavidCourtney123 thank you so much david, I did a request to the amazon store and they said that it was properly the 12AT7 but I use an ultravoice vx2000 behringer as a preamp... while i get something more powerfull...
Wow epic waste of paper
Epic waste of Comment Space…. For every tree being cut down these days two or more get planted or didnt you know?
I'm tired of software plugin compressors and planning on buying one of these Art Pros. Are the stock tubes that come with the unit really that bad? Other than more saturation, what is the benefit of upgrading tubes? I've read around some forums and people seem to recommend Mullard (Russian) 12AX7 - thoughts?
If we are talking about straight up quality, I found the stock ones to be only so-so. But when we get to trying to declare what the "best" tube is, that is somewhat problematic, because there is a subjective quality to this.
I think that who you buy from in the US is more important than what you buy. Make sure that you don't get get just any random tubes but get them from someone who tests them and matches them. This will cost a little bit more but it is worth it.
Russian Mullards?!
Made in Blackburngorod, Lancashireski
24 hrs later was a joke right? hehe
Buys a tube compressor, switches out tubes, records a tissue box. That's like buying a Ferrari and only using it to go up and down your driveway.
You mean I can go in the street with my Ferrari?!?!? Wow no one ever told me that. I will have to try it.
well, you lost me on " it is necessary to burn in the Tubes"...thats just not right - it hasn´t physical basis, but changing the Tubes may have sense
"Burning in" new tubes is a process that is as old as the vacuum tube itself. There are probably many processes going on here. But if I had to hazard a guess, I think that one of them may involve the "getter" completing its job of clearing out any residual air that may be there.
this vid did a lot for me...lol
Wasted paper. Just speak bro
Talking is scary
dont be that guy cmon
Apparently this guy has no idea what video editing software is, or that it can be used to add text...
@@nate_creates Who cares he made a slightly odd ball vid but it does the job
The music is unbearable
Thank you very much. I worked really hard to have this effect. I am glad to know that it worked:-)