The 6 Best Warm Tube preamps (2023 reviews)

Are you looking for collection of best warm tube preamps ? This page is just for you.

Our review process: Show/Hide

Our Top Picks:

Best Overall: Buy: ART Pre amp READ REVIEW

Best For podcast: Buy: ART Warm Tube Preamp READ REVIEW

Best For basic needs: Buy: Behringer Warm Tube Preamp READ REVIEW

Best For Ribbon Mic: Buy: Presonus Warm Tube Preamp READ REVIEW

Best With XLR Output: Buy: Golden Age project Warm Tube Preamp READ REVIEW

Best For Condenser Mics: Buy: Warm Audio Warm Tube Preamp READ REVIEW

Best Overall: ART Pre amp

Buy on Amazon

We know from years of feedback from readers, customers and amazon sellers, what most people want in a preamp. The art pre amp is exactly that - it's a simple preamp that hits all the right notes. This ART is designed to be used with a mic like a Shure SM58 and produce a high level output via the XLR out or phone out. It gets a little warm and you must use the provided AC supply. The tube pins are soldered directly to wires. It has a metal case so it should be durable and last quite a while. The valve has a very clear and imperfect high (typical valve) and warm up the mic signal almost perfectly. It does a great job and has a very clean noise floor.

It’s a good preamp for sure, it doesn’t take a lot of electricity so your electric bill won’t suffer and with a good mic can deliver great results, only con is no on/off switch. This is a great tool for making your mic “funny” turning gain all the way up peaking the mic making your words very inaudible.

• Perfect to use at home for recording music
• Great sound quality and good craftsmanship
• Great product for those who requires amplify a dynamic mic
• Very powerful tune saturator tool for home recording, especially for bass and vocals

Best For podcast: ART Warm Tube Preamp

Buy on Amazon

The art warm tube preamp's material feels more premium than its price would suggest. The tube MP project series is a professional quality audio interface that lets you connect microphone, instrument, and line level signals to audio inputs to digital audio workstations as well as standard analog devices. This preamp gives a nice juicy tube sound which fattens up vocals really well. The level knobs are "dented" and stop at determined spots as you turn them, a nice feature for keeping track of your settings. It will limit the peaks of your recordings, just make sure you turn the compressor on and apply appropriate threshold settings.

It's great for emulating an old school tape sound when tracking.

• Sounds killer for guitar or vocals
• Adds old school warmth to digital home recording
• Plenty of gain and the compressor feature is worth the extra money
• A great budget addition for live or recorded vocals and instruments

Best For basic needs: Behringer Warm Tube Preamp

Buy on Amazon

Not everyone likes to purchase preamp for their regular usage, but the behringer warm tube preamp would be an anomoly. The USB interface allows you to output audio from your computer through the headphone amp, but while it technically works, in reality it's complete garbage. The device has both XLR and quarter-inch inputs, and a healthy voicing palette. Any noticeable hum disappears and the unit comes alive with incredible performance. The USB audio system puts out a tremendously hot signal, so that even when the output fader knob is all the way down at negative infinity, your headphones are still at a comfortable listening level.

The MIC500USB has more juice on the headphone output compared to the UMC22 and the MIC sounds much nicer as well.

• Significantly enhances voice and instrument quality
• Great product, especially for a musician on a budget
• Good brand reputation

Best For Ribbon Mic: Presonus Warm Tube Preamp

Buy on Amazon

Presonus line of preamp come in a pretty wide variety of styles, so you can definitely find one that suits your individual preferences and needs. It provides a wide range of sounds. It has instrument inputs on the back and back. The adapter reduces it to 12 Volts that this preamp runs by. It has to crank it up so loud to hear any difference that the amp sounds really noisy. It's presence is quite noticeable when using the Rode dynamic mike. It's a nice sounding unit.

It comes with two combo mic/instrument inputs, the half-rackspace blue tube dp is a great choice for guitars and basses as well as vocals. It's half rack space in size, but has no rack ears.

• Added in the t-12ax7-s vacuum tube for a slightly warmer sound
• Dual path, with both 12ax7 vacuum tube and solid-state gain stages
• A warm sound while practicing guitar whilst listening through headphones

Best With XLR Output: Golden Age project Warm Tube Preamp

Buy on Amazon

Not everyone likes to purchase preamp for their daily purpose, but the golden age project warm tube preamp would be an anomoly. This Transistor-based preamp is a discrete preamp (as stated, it works phenomenally in that capacity) and it works great with Guitar, Bass, Vocals and even Synthesizers. It has an xlr output, 1/4" output, insert jack, and a combo xlr/1/4" input jack as well as the power input jack. It also does wonders for a DI bass signal.

This mic pre does the job, but leaves much desired in the vocal, and creates a lot of work in post. It gives a very warm vintage sound. It can certainly add a coloration reminiscent of the design it is derived from. These classic characteristics have been heard on countless recordings through the years and it is a versatile sound that works very well on most sound sources and in most genres.

• Nicely excites vocals when you drive the gain
• Has a warm sound, that provides a definite upgrade to any beginner studio
• Real solid old-retro 50s transistor radio effect

Best For Condenser Mics: Warm Audio Warm Tube Preamp

Buy on Amazon

If you want nothing less than best desirable preamp, then warm audio warm tube preamp is the one you should definitely consider. It is a great starter preamp for condenser mics. It can sound clean or get dirty depending on the options and how hard you drive it. It comes with the different settings on this preamp, so you can make it sound really great. It can be used on almost every tracking session. All the bells and whistles equipped are very usable. It provides so much tone, so easily, that it is a joy to have in the signal chain.

• Plenty of output for use with ribbons and dynamics like the sm7b
• Good investment for long term