I've got a very basic digital recording setup- Cubase, Alesis Digital mixer/USB interface, Sennheiser dynamic, Studio Projects B-1 condenser. I'm curious about compression. Would something like that ART Tube PAC work for not only "tube warmth", but for being a good compressor as well? I would record vocals, hand drums and percussion, acoustic guitar, bass and electric guitar with it. Basically, it would be a workhorse compressor for a cheap newbie studio. Is it any good?
IMO any hardware lower than $500 isnt all that great and will generally be about the same no matter what you pay for. I however have that $70 cheap MTR studio V3 preamp which contains a preamp tube. Now it does use a starved plate setup, (as most lower end tube setups will) but I found that replacing the cheap tube in it took away a lot of the noise it had originally) I do get some warmth with the preamp but not much since its not fully using the tube. I would suggest sticking with software FX but if you really want, give the product a try and see if you like it. Guitar Centers normally have a lot of gear you can try but I'm not sure if they carry that product. edit, you may also want to read this review: http://www.harmony-central.com/Effects/Data/ART/Tube-Pac-rev.html
Look into a GT Brick. It can be used for any number of applications. I have a bunch of ART products. I have achieved decent results with them but found the Brick to be more useful for my needs.
Having both a GT Brick and Art Tube MP I've found the Brick to be a much better sounding unit due to the design and also having a transformer out. Accoriding to an email I received from Groove Tubes the Brick does not operate it's tubes at high voltage. The Art Tube Pac as I recall has an opto compressor and it's actually pretty decent considering the price of the unit.
I've used ART Tube PACs for several years and I really like them. THe compression works well for me and I can turn up the gain and overdrive the signal if I want. I think they work great. I haven't had any problems with them.
