Behringer MIC500USB Tube Ultragain

There is much to like about this tiny powerhouse of a pre amp. It offers very good value with the USB port allowing you to insert it straight into a PC for recording purposes. It even offers a second channel as a line-in. It is constructed with dense, high quality metal and feels very rugged with a good weight and construction. You can simply FEEL the quality (unlike some other Behringer products!). I also LOVE the gunmetal grey colouration, it truly looks like a professional piece of equipment and the modern flat LED VU meter is a perfect finishing touch. The metal buttons click very nicely and the rings which light up around them perfectly compliment the soft glow of the tube inside. When in operation, this thing truly looks wonderful.

Sadly, looks are not what we really buy this equipment for the second channel, while present, has no mixing function at all - the audio arrives at the level and is stuck there which makes it hard to use in a practical sense.

The voicings are very good and unique, each EQ'd highly appropriately to each situation they are labelled for. I mostly used the Warm Tube Vocal with Limiter setting and the Low Cut Filter enabled and it made my microphone sound very warm, if sometimes a little muddy - but you didn't chose a valve for perfectly crisp, sharp, digital audio, did you? Well, even if you did there is the opportunity to bypass the valve entirely with this unit.

For anyone wishing to hook a single microphone up to a PC, with more gain than anyone can reasonably use at home, and deliver a unique, warm honey tone to record with their PC - this could be the perfect unit.

The main negative is that the output channels are pretty noisy - which makes it really not good to use as a pre-amp into a mixer. I feel Behringer let us down by not providing a clean XLR Out so that it can be truly used as a standalone unit in addition to the USB functionality.

In the final analysis, for the person seeking to use an XLR condenser microphone to record using a single microphone at home onto a PC, this is a very difficult product to beat for it's unique valve tone. But to use it as part of a larger set up, with additional mixers, not so much.

I bought this little preamp to add warmth to vocals and to add a little crunch to a solid state guitar amp and it does both jobs admirably. It uses the venerable 12AX6 tube in its circuitry which gives a nice glow when warmed up. It also has a 20db pad switch which is useful if playing a guitar with really hot pups, a 48v phantom power switch for use with condenser mics, a low cut switch to remove bassy subs and a phase reverse switch. The LED meter is great at helping to set levels when using the gain and output pots. It has a solid metal case that more than protects its internal circuitry and it has a XLR input for a mic and quarter inch jack sockets for other inputs and outputs. If you're looking for a vocal or instrument preamp, do yourself a favour and look no further than this great little box of valvey warmth.

Bought this primarily for studio use with a condenser mic going through my interface into Cubase to record vocals......
Build quality is excellent and the various presets are very useable and categorically add a little warmth and depth to my recordings.
I use it sometimes as a pre amp for acoustic guitar and occasionally bass, with great results... can't fault this brilliant little unit...though I usually only use the valve and vocal settings... versatile and invaluable in my little home studio set up.
Only minor con.. came with European connector so needed an adaptor for Ireland / UK.