Behringer MIC200 Tube ULTRAGAIN Preamp 

Comments about Behringer MIC200 Tube ULTRAGAIN Preamp:

I bought this about a year ago, just to use in my home studio with a MXL 990 condenser mic. It works great for that. Nice and clear not muddy at all.
A few weeks ago a guitar player came with an acoustic/electric to record a few demo tracks. He wanted a clean and clear sound. After a few attemps with the 990 at the sound hole and elsewhere, I asked if we could plug it in to a preamp. With the Behringer straight to the mixer he was done recording in 4 takes. He loved the sound and how fast it was to set up( mic wire out, guitar wire in).
I think he went and bought 1 for his very own the next week. I do believe I need another.

Comments about Behringer MIC200 Tube ULTRAGAIN Preamp:

This is a great piece of gear, but Behringer erred in using a 12AX7. The gain factor (100) of a 12AX7 is too hot for this preamp and produces significant noise. I've owned four and all four are noisy out of the box. The simple remedy is to swap a 12AU7 (19 on gain factor) and you now have a quiet preamp with tons of warmth and great for making a solid state guitar amp have extra depth, warmth and character, or adding warmth to microphones without distortion or hiss. The 12AX7 of any variety is hissy and distorted in these preamps. I have tried a 12AT7 and 12AV7 in this preamp as well and nothing sounds as good or is as quiet as the 12AU7. The "VALVE" preset is the best preset on this, by the way.

Comments about Behringer MIC200 Tube ULTRAGAIN Preamp:

If you want a unit for home recording, skip this. Too much noise. The claims of "warming up your sound" are overblown. I replaced the stock tube with a Tung-Sol and the noise was reduced, but replacing the tube was more difficult than expected, which is poor design because you'll generally want to replace any tube at least every couple of years. If you want a reliable, super quiet and cheap preamp unit, I've used the M-Audio Audio Buddy dual channel preamp for years and it's I've been very pleased. The price has come down to about 50 dollars. I emphasize, I would never use the Behringer Mic200 for home recording. It's a fun toy for a little while, but adds nothing to your studio.

Comments about Behringer MIC200 Tube ULTRAGAIN Preamp:

Good preamp, let it warm up and it sounds clear, easy knobs to play with to get whatever sound you think sounds best. Used to achieve a warmer sound for my Akai hard disk recorder. So far, so good. I will probably change the tube after a little more use.

Comments about Behringer MIC200 Tube ULTRAGAIN Preamp:

If you are running your harp through a solid state amp, you need to try this.
First of all, this machine comes equipped with chicken head knobs! How cool is that? The knob that allows you to select different settings of "warmth" is worthy.

I bought this as a preamp to warm up the sound of my harp going into a solid state amp. It does a great job at that.

If you plan to try switching out tubes on this unit, it's more difficult than the ART preamp. the tube is wearing some kind of little hat with two screws. I need to run it by a knowledgeable friend to see what's going on there. And I will re-post with instructions after we figure it out.

Still, the tube that comes with this does a really nice job of giving your harp mike a cool distorted harmonica tone. You will find that most other reviews recommend the "valve" setting. That's true. I'm finding that is true as well. I would also add that the "Bypass" setting is a real plus. If you put the chicken head on that setting, it really is as if you are bypassing the preamp.

The different settings on the modeling switch really do make a difference, so I would invite you to experiment with them
I could not believe how heavy the package was when it arrived I will need to repost after a few months regarding reliability..
So far I think it's great. There is no extra noise associated with the pre amp. It will make a solid state amp sound like a tube amp. If you are currently using a solid state amp for your harp, this pre amp can fix things up for you. Otherwise, draw your own conclusion.

Comments about Behringer MIC200 Tube ULTRAGAIN Preamp:

WOULD NOT trade it for any other DI box
great product for the price , though i have seen a few complaint about noise but one thing not one of those have mentioned is that they have checked the tube in the unit, as tubes are as fragile as a light bulb, heavy handling will easily destroy any tube as is what happened in one of my units.new tube and good as new and it took a ten foot fall
built tuff as nails,
greatly enhances the vocals from my condenser mic's
add's tons o crunch to my guitars
Clarity is just incredible tons of headroom but inexperienced users will find thereselves easily overdriving most input's
onlyway to make it a better value is a buy one get one free

Comments about Behringer MIC200 Tube ULTRAGAIN Preamp:

I bought this to boost my instument mic signal to my soundcard. I have a USB condenser mic and Amp Modeler (that I headphone out into my soundcard) and they both give me great noiseless signals. But my mic with soundcards and other usb interfaces were giving me low signals with hiss. With the MIC200 I now have a nice fat noiseless signal that sounds just like my guitar tube amp. I see no need to change the tube because the sound isn't thin or hissy. I have gotten some nice clean harmonics and punchy sounds into a solid state bass amp. But that amp has a great sound and breakup that the MIC200 won't help make that amp better. I think the MIC200 could make a boring sounding solid state more lively, but it's not going to give you good breakup/crunch. The good thing about it though is that it isn't filtering out any frequencies like different pedals do (tube or not).
Try one (with some good cords). If you get a bad one get another one sent instead of keeping it and crying.
A like the fact that you can use it in basicly four major settings (Tube Preamp w/o limiter, and Solid State w/o limiter) All of the controls work great.
It has a solid metal case. I will baby it like I do with all my equipment. This isn't a stomp box. I would pack it in it's box to travel to not possible break the nobs. I won't expect it to hold up to drops.
More features than anything in it's price range.

Comments about Behringer MIC200 Tube ULTRAGAIN Preamp:

Even with nothing hooked to it this thing is very noisy with hiss,static pops and crackles. It sounds just like you are listening to a AM broadcast station in a lightning storm! I bought this to simply supply phantom power for a condenser Mic and this thing is so noisy I'm not sure I could holler loud enough to get over all the noise this thing makes.There is no option to rate this a ZERO so I'm stuck giving it 1/2 star.

Comments about Behringer MIC200 Tube ULTRAGAIN Preamp:

First of all, this is a starved plate style preamp, meaning that the signal passes through the tube, but is combined with the original signal...so its not a true tube pre amp, so changing out the tubes and stuff won't have a profound effect on it.That being said, I didn't buy this for a tube preamp. I use it to route vocals dry into my audio interface, and send the other output into my effects unit so the singer can get zero latency monitoring with reverb, etc. which usually helps there performanceAlso, since I record digital guitars and use Amplitube, I find passing it through this preamp before going into my interface takes a little bit of the digital edge off...not a huge difference, but it helps.I've also used it on snare drum, and it helps when set as a limiter to keep levels fairly consistent, which can be an issue sometimes if the player isn't consistent. Really for 40 bucks, its not bad, but its not a good preamp by any means, but it is useable for some applications.

Comments about Behringer MIC200 Tube ULTRAGAIN Preamp:

this thing is a game changer in my home studio. warms up vocals and acoustic guitars, gives drums that 3D sound(acoustic and a roland td3), I'm even using it as my guitar pre into the effects return on a ss amp. swap the tube. i threw in a tung-sol and it moved the tone from good to phenomenal. i plan on buying at least 3 more, and using a different brand tube in each one for versatility in sounds.Great Buy!! Thanks Behringer!!!!