Hi everyone, and in particular hello to thomdavis of ART.

I've seen the basic early promo web page for the new pro channel 2 and the photo looks interesting with the tube voltage switch aka the mpa gold et al.

Where can I find more detailed and specific info about the upcoming pro channel 2 (and when will it be released to public stores)?

I love the pro channel as a cheap way to get a great compressor and a bit of that mpa preamp tone I love, but of course I don't push the gain too much because it doesn't have the same sheen to the tube section due to the lower plate voltage.

The photos I saw of the PC2 show a tube voltage switch aka the mpa gold and newer - and this is particularly exciting to me.

I'm wondering about differences between the pc2 and voice channel (since it appears to be narrowing that gap), and what if anything has been removed from the PC1 to the PC2 (such as does it still have the tube compressor mode that is sort of a poor man's fairchild in it's sound, but without the dynamic headroom of a fairchild imho).

Any new features other than the plate voltage switch?

Any idea of MSRP upon release? Although I understand pricing may not be publishable yet, nor even determined yet.

I think I understand why the PC1 has been so affordable over the past year or so now. The last one I picked up for $100 used - insane for what you get and the quality of the optocompressor alone (even if one were a purist and patched around the preamp and eq, the compressor is worth more than that to me as a nice opto comp).

as I understand it, the tube comp is gone.

?!?

to get more "tubeyness" from the preamp in the regular pro channel, I'm using an old RCA 12AX7 blackplate which reacts nicely and also a Valvo 12AT7 in the final gain stage. it gets me as tubey as my Genesis through my Summit 2ba - just not quite as "3-D"ish. Still REAL useable, especially for acoustic instruments and elec guitar and bass. I'm now using an old R-F-T 12AT7 in the comp - never heard of the tube before (it came as a package deal on other tubes) which SINGS in the comp position!

The site said US Retail price $379.

I wonder *why* they're going this way, when there's also the Voice Channel?
One thing I missed from the Voice Channel, that the PC2 does have, is a variable HPF.
But since I sold my Voice Channel and got an SPL Channel One, I don't think the PC2 would be much of an idea for me to get...

ART Pro Channel II | Sweetwater.com

Doesn't it look great!!!!....I'm guessing it only has one tube in the preamp section now. I mean this is just me speculating. I used to have a Pro Channel V1, it was "OK", I mean I own an original ART PRO MPA, the American version, and I really really like it....In comparison it's much smoother than the Pro Channel V1. Pro Channel V1 was also a bit noisy.

The MPA GOLD is still the crown jewel of the ART family in most Low Enders Opinions. Maybe it will hold up against this stiff competition.

definitely, but it really does make me wonder about the voice channel. taking out teh tube compressor from the pc1, adding what appears (based on controls on the front panel) to be one channel of mpa gold preamp (which is definitely an improvement), and modifying the eq section for more pro features - well all good except for removing the features of the compressor.

but the voice channel has the de-esser .... is that the only difference between it and the pc2 now? if so.... makes ya wonder if the voice channel will disappear or not since the vc's de-esser is VERY good compared to many de-essing products I've used, even very expensive ones.

Ordered one from Sweetwater on Friday, should be here tomorrow. Will post an update/ review once I've thoroughly examined it.

Ok, just took this thing out of the box, and the first thing I noticed is that it DOES still have two tubes- one for the pre, and one for the comp.

are you sure that's not in the final gain section?

Not sure at all, but I'm assuming the 2nd tube is for the compressor because it's a 12AT7 (not a 12AX7), which is what ART uses in the VLA. It's also right behind the compressor section of the front panel.

Although we all know what happens when you ASSume...

well, that's a logical assumption tho. this one may be set up more like a VLA than the Pro Channel was. I'm still not sure how exactly the Pro Channel tube was set up - it's certainly not a true vari-mu.

Do you have the option of bypassing the tubes on a VLA? Maybe the original Pro Channel was really a single VLA with the option of just using the opto (no tube).

what does the manual say? the original's manual was fairly informative.

I'm very happy that ART went away from the Voice Channel...That thing looked terrible....

If ART was smart they'd just re-release the MPA Gold....can you imagine how many they'd sell?

Anyway, on the subject of the Pro Channel II. I'm not too sad it's missing the Vari-mu compressor...It wasn't really what I went to in terms of getting a sound. I always liked it in optical mode. Though, the low voltage of the original was just not a sound I liked...Thankfully they're stepping it up to 300v or so for plate voltage. I've like to hear the EQ, it had a good one last time IMHO.

I agree - the eq on the last one got underserved hate around here. That said, it served me best to cut instead of ramping frequencies - except for electric guitar - it was great for that.

plate voltage is likely 150 ish now which IS high plate voltage and is plenty enough for the tube to operate properly (and is the same plate voltage found in the mpa gold, dbx tube preamps, and several other affordable yet not starved plate products).

anyhow, the tube can't be removed from a vla circuit LoL, it's an amplification stage, not a distortion generator like in some cheap tube gear. remove the tube, no more sound. same is true of the pro channel's opto comp which is very similar imho to the vla's performance and I believe used half of the tube and the other half was for the tube compressor or something like that. so in this one it's more like the vla's comp.

cool, but surprising again that it's getting so close to teh voice channel.

and the voice channel imho isn't ugly at all... but the pro channel has always been a good LOOKING product, so I do agree that it's a visual upgrade for art to make one of their nicest looking and best gain-stage-designed products into a more pro quality tool.

completely agree. I have always liked the eq in the original pc.

Hey Don - you have both the Pro Channel and the VLA - do they use the comp tube in the same way? Always wondered about that.

woops! you already did.

Gilda Radner Nevermind - YouTube

Just looked through the manual, and the only mention of tubes at all is "Aside from one vacuum tube, there are no user serviceable parts inside". This is BS, because I pulled both tubes out and looked at them, which is how I found out that the 2nd was a 12AT7.

weird - is there a specs sheet at the end of the manual?

Yes, but like I said, the only mention of tubes whatsoever is what I quoted above. I'm annoyed, because I really want to know if I have tube compression.

well, one way to check is to switch the tubes around - if one is an 12AX7 and the other is a 12AT7, you'll hear a difference - at least in volume on the comp.

I just noticed as well that the box says that you can patch the EQ before or after the dynamics processor. How would I place the EQ before the compressor? I thought it might be doable by somehow patching the rear panel together, but without an "EQ out" jack, there is no way to send the EQ'd signal through the comp. Any ideas?

From what I can see you'd have to patch the output back into the compressor and then out of the compresser into the......wait huh......ok ok I got it.

You patch out of the preamp, then go into the EQ in, then out of the 1/4"output, then into in comp in, then out of the XLR out.....Yeah/No?? It is confusing to know where the gain is now.

Yeah.... I dunno if you can use both the 1/4 inch and XLR outs at the same time. WTF, ART?!

if it's like the old Pro Channel - take the preamp out (send) into the EQ in - then take the unbalanced output into the comp in - use the comp out (send) as the main output to your soundcard or whatever.

That makes a little sense, I guess. For making a point of advertising this feature, you'd think they'd explain that in the manual.

Well most importantly tell us how it sounds dude heh

Will update soon. I just got it this morning, and haven't really had time to play with it. I'm also currently fighting a ground hum issue (house wiring, not studio wiring) which has tainted everything I've tried to do recently.

I had a JJECS83 12ax7 tube waiting for it when it got here. This weekend, I'll do an A/B test, and report back.