Most newcomers to the home recording world don't realize what an impact a good preamp can make. Adding warmth, dimension and presence with a good pre is standard practice in professional studios. The PreSonus TubePre gives you the ability to do that at home at an affordable price. A single 12AX7 tube provides the warmth and drive. It also acts as a DI box for instruments and provides phantom power where necessary. PreSonus has released two versions of the TubePre, and the updated version with slightly different gain staging is usually labeled as the TubePre V2.