Shift Line Olympic Vs Mooer Radar

[Byo]

Hi all,

Weird question here but I have been playing either ampless or going through whatever backline is supplied for years now, carrying my trusty Markbass Little Rocker 500 head as a backup for when it hits the fan (was my main head running through two Aguilar DB112's for years).

I have used my Radial Bassbone, MXR preamp or even just a bunch of nice drives and other fx direct via a Radial DI to FOH with decent results.

Now that technology has reached a point in which Impulse Response cabinet sims sound very convincing (especially in a live situation) I am interested in going down that route.

I have currently two contenders on my list for different reasons:

First is the Shift Line Olympic mkIII preamp which has the option of running either their 8x10 (Ampeg) or 2x15 (Sunn) IR's or no sim at all out via it's XLR DI to FOH.

Pros: Valve preamp, plethora of i/o options, separate DI and Amp with independent volume control, possibility of loading your own IR's via sd card

Cons: Pricey, demos make it sound like a one-trick-pony to my ears.

Second in my list is the Mooer Radar Cab Sim which has a bunch of IR's.

Pros: Compact, many IR options, can load own IR's, customizable power amp section, on board EQ, good price point.

Cons: Need to pair it with either a preamp or a pedal with some "ampness" quality (at least for me), not a lot of bass demos available to judge objectively.

So if anybody has experience with any of the above products or a similar setup, please share your thoughts and opinions.

To give you a basic idea of my tone within my current project, I mainly run P-basses with either flats or rounds and flip between fingers and pick quite a lot. Using various drives to flavour each situation and occasionally adding some chorus and short delays when I feel brave enough.

My tone is not crystal clean and I am not into hi-fi sounds with my sound focusing on low-mid punch and cutting through with a bit of drive to give me articulation.

Cheers!

Byron

Edited February 26, 2019 by Byo