HazBeen Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 I don't think you can claim any preamp is the best as it is the combination with the instrument that is also key. For me in no particular order: - Aguilar OBP3 - great warm sounding pre with a lot of tonal options and well chosen mid-selection. Not overly clean, but not annoyingly coloured either. A little bass heavy in the wrong instrument but a great meat and potatoes pre. Cannot go wrong with an OBP3 imo, fits most styles and most basses. - Glock - my pre of choice for many years. Love the fact that set flat there is ZERO difference to passive. I find the Treble fequency not to my liking, it is not an issue for me as I generally do not boost any trebles. For me the best price/quality ratio on any transparent preamp you can buy currently. - Noll - I have just acquired my 2nd Noll preamp for in my main Bogart. Less transparant than the Glock, a little more transparent than the Aggie. I like the Nolls a lot with Bartolini pickups and since all my Bogarts have Barts this is my current preferred pre and I will be adding one to all 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 No Love for Audere..? I had one of their Jazz plate preamps fitted to a Squier VM5 Jazz and it was completely lush. But in the end I moved it on, I really prefer to keep things as simple as possible, particularly at gigs. Passive bass, cable, amp, done... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinterMute Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 I've had a couple of Bartolini pres in basses, had a 3 band in the Tony Levin OLP that was brilliant, very powerful and easy to use, I have a slightly different Bart in my fretless, bass/treble stack with a midrange push-pull selector. Again, very useful. I do find, however that I only tend to use the EQ to iron out sound issues onstage, and I leave it flat in the studio, preferring to use the EQ in the pre or desk and then plug-ins in the mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Best stock preamp I ever experienced was a Spector Tonepump in a Spector Euro4. Beast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 Audere preamps are terrific, but a bit hi-fi sounding for some people. The Z options is a great idea. Had this preamp on a few basses and have never been disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 (edited) 13 hours ago, Cato said: I'm counting stacked controls as two knobs. Are you counting the active/passive switch as a knob? Because that's the only way I can count eight knobs on the Sire. (This is the kind of conversation you just don't get anywhere else). Ah, i was talking about the 7 on the front and the one inside. Yes, too many knobs.......giggady. Or maybe its just the knob that is attached to mine when i play it lol. Edited June 4, 2018 by dave_bass5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 On 03/06/2018 at 00:54, bubinga5 said: Yes only on board Nancy. This is a onboard preamp favourite. Glock Noll Delano Pope East Sadowsky Audere ACG Bartolini Fender GB electronics Aguilar Xotic Alembic Haz Labs Creation Audio Tone Styler I'm sure there are lots more I think I currently 9 or 10 of these, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 3 hours ago, dave_bass5 said: Ah, i was talking about the 7 on the front and the one inside. Yes, too many knobs.......giggady. Or maybe its just the knob that is attached to mine when i play it lol. I didn't even know that there was an internal knob. I clearly need to go online and read the manual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnR Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 I have a Mike Pope FlexCore 4 band in my MTD Kingston. I initially upgraded the stock preamp with the USA spec Bartolini but that didn't last long after I found the Mike Pope. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Passinwind Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 On 03/06/2018 at 09:15, Saved said: I like more the passive basses. One tone and this mostly full closed. One on-board preamp i would like to try is the passinwind. Hey Friend, If you're talking about my two band preamp, it will most likely end up being branded as Marco Bass under a licensing arrangement. It does use a standard sort of passive treble rolloff control in both passive and active modes, and the active section does bass and mids rather than bass and treble. My personal favorite that I use in my daily driver bass omits the passive treble, since I typically never turn those things down at all anyway. And as always, I should reiterate that I have no hardware to sell, I am just an aspiring freelance designer looking to transition from long time hobbiest/DIY'er to maybe making enough to buy a few pints one day. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 42 minutes ago, Passinwind said: Hey Friend, If you're talking about my two band preamp, it will most likely end up being branded as Marco Bass under a licensing arrangement. It does use a standard sort of passive treble rolloff control in both passive and active modes, and the active section does bass and mids rather than bass and treble. My personal favorite that I use in my daily driver bass omits the passive treble, since I typically never turn those things down at all anyway. And as always, I should reiterate that I have no hardware to sell, I am just an aspiring freelance designer looking to transition from long time hobbiest/DIY'er to maybe making enough to buy a few pints one day. that sounds like a good idea. Generally it's mostly the mids where I want to adjust things on my bass, and the passive tone control is a good way to get me a "starting point" in my general sound. I rarely touch bass or treble on most onboard preamps. I've long toyed with the idea of combining a passive tone control (for treble rolloff) with the mids-sweep module from John East as a simple two knob solution. In fact, you could mount volume and passive tone in a dual pot, and mids/sweep on another... Useful for Precisions and the like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skol303 Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 If you’re packing a rack, then the API 512C. Nearly 50 years and still a recording industry staple. That kind of pedigree is hard-earned Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Passinwind Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 (edited) 26 minutes ago, mcnach said: that sounds like a good idea. Generally it's mostly the mids where I want to adjust things on my bass, and the passive tone control is a good way to get me a "starting point" in my general sound. I rarely touch bass or treble on most onboard preamps. I've long toyed with the idea of combining a passive tone control (for treble rolloff) with the mids-sweep module from John East as a simple two knob solution. In fact, you could mount volume and passive tone in a dual pot, and mids/sweep on another... Useful for Precisions and the like. Yep, lots of people have asked me about doing a swept mids section and that would be easily done. However, that's something I personally prefer doing as a fully parametric thing at the amp end. It's funny, nearly everyone tells me they never touch an onboard bass control. I could very happily have just that and two volumes...vive la difference! Edited June 4, 2018 by Passinwind Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 1 hour ago, Passinwind said: Yep, lots of people have asked me about doing a swept mids section and that would be easily done. However, that's something I personally prefer doing as a fully parametric thing at the amp end. It's funny, nearly everyone tells me they never touch an onboard bass control. I could very happily have just that and two volumes...vive la difference! Ha! Yes, I guess we all find whatever works for us and stick to it. I like the semiparametric mids on the bass because once I adjust the basic sound, all I do is add or remove a bit of mids depending on what I'm playing... If I want to cut through a bit more... turn mids up a bit and sweep to get the right spot. If I have something a bit more 'slappy' I back off he mids a tiny bit... etc. I tend to play either a Precision or a Stingray, single pickup basses. If I have two pickups I start tweaking things too much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 I very rarely touch the controls on a bass, although I do like the parametric occasionally. I tend to run flat most of the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetera Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 It's all about the Haz Labs pre for me...... it has THE tone I'm after. Quite like a good OBP-3, EMG BTS or tamed Tonepump too...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 If you need a pre-amp, does that mean your amp isn't much cop? 😛 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 It's easier to tweak the sound on the bass then on the amp... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acebassmusic Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Currently using a Sadowsky internal pre that I'm liking. I wasn't sure if I would like the boost only bass and treble but it is very useable. I've also started to like having a tone control that works in both active and passive mode. Slightly off topic..... traditional / usual layout of controls running from the neck towards the bridge would be vol, balance, treble, mid then bass. I've noticed a number of manufacturers have moved to bass, mid then treble....any logic to this or am I missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 I put Bartolini pickups and pre amp in my old P bass at the end of the 80's. Improved the sound 1000% over the original vintage Fender stuff. In active basses my favourite pre amps have been a Wal in my Wal mk3 5, Bartolini in my Fender P and Lakland 55-94, Aguilar in my Lull J5 and IMO the best of the lot a Sadowsky in my J5. I buy a bass because of the sound and feel of the whole instrument so the individual bits and whether it's active or passive doesn't interest me much. The boost only Sadowsky took some getting used to but always produces a great sound at any setting. On the other hand, my passive Lull P bass with its Lull custom SD pickups sounds better than many of the active basses I've owned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 19 hours ago, Cato said: I didn't even know that there was an internal knob. I clearly need to go online and read the manual. Well its more a trim pot. Its for adjusting the overall output level when in active mode. Very handy for balancing out the passive and active levels. Im not sure this is in the manual Maybe they updated it since they first came out. Its the little blue box. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 1 hour ago, Acebassmusic said: Currently using a Sadowsky internal pre that I'm liking. I wasn't sure if I would like the boost only bass and treble but it is very useable. I've also started to like having a tone control that works in both active and passive mode. Slightly off topic..... traditional / usual layout of controls running from the neck towards the bridge would be vol, balance, treble, mid then bass. I've noticed a number of manufacturers have moved to bass, mid then treble....any logic to this or am I missing something? Where is the "bass" pickup on your bass and where are the lower notes ? To me, it's quite logical to have bass, mid, treble. I know that you drive on the wrong side of the road in the UK, so this must explain why Status and the likes are putting the tone controls the wrong way too. 😝 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 25 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said: Well its more a trim pot. Its for adjusting the overall output level when in active mode. Very handy for balancing out the passive and active levels. Im not sure this is in the manual Maybe they updated it since they first came out. Its the little blue box. Interesting, cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 6 hours ago, MacDaddy said: If you need a pre-amp, does that mean your amp isn't much cop? 😛 how do you get to that? If you have two overdrives, is it because the first one you bought is not good enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 6 hours ago, MacDaddy said: If you need a pre-amp, does that mean your amp isn't much cop? 😛 No, it means you don't want your signal to depend on your cable. If you want to tweak the treble and bass, then maybe there may be something. I don't generally, but I couldn't be doing with a passive bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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