Preamp

[gafbass02]

Im doing this at the minute, but my budget is super limited so most stuff listed is waaaay out of my league. Fwiw I’m using a Nux 

https://www.nuxefx.com/melvin-lee-davis.html

 

I come out of my zoom b9.1 and into the nux before going to to 2 headrush 112s. It has built in IR facility and via usb you can add more. I have a blank one set up as a hpf. The eq can be switched between the nux one and a model of the tone hammer. It’s pretty good so far, the treble control is a bit subtle and the drive is ‘meh’, but it’s doing the job I want it to just fine. (Which is be a volume control, backup di and basic room adjustment eq for me. My signal to foh comes from the zoom.)

Edited August 1, 2021 by gafbass02

[stewblack]

@gafbass02 that looks like a really good piece of kit. Does a lot more than just a preamp.

[Jack]

12 hours ago, gafbass02 said:

Im doing this at the minute, but my budget is super limited so most stuff listed is waaaay out of my league. Fwiw I’m using a Nux 

https://www.nuxefx.com/melvin-lee-davis.html

 

I come out of my zoom b9.1 and into the nux before going to to 2 headrush 112s. It has built in IR facility and via usb you can add more. I have a blank one set up as a hpf. The eq can be switched between the nux one and a model of the tone hammer. It’s pretty good so far, the treble control is a bit subtle and the drive is ‘meh’, but it’s doing the job I want it to just fine. (Which is be a volume control, backup di and basic room adjustment eq for me. My signal to foh comes from the zoom.)

I love it when you see something like an MTD or an FBass in the advert and you just know the eq points are going to be 40Hz and 8KHz. 😁

[JapanAxe]

I’ve picked up some dep gigs with a rock’n’roll band, some on guitar, some on bass. The existing players (and deps) all go through the PA, with results ranging from ok to godawful. I have okayed it with the BL to bring a small amp, so for bass I will use my BF One 10 and a small head, but I should probably be prepared for situations where I have to go direct to the PA.

I’m quite taken with the EBS Microbass 2, not least because I love the EQ in my EBS head, and currently weighing up the pros and cons of versions 2 and 3. However, my best recent recorded bass sounds have been achieved by plugging straight into my interface (Focusrite Scarlett 6i6).

Also, as noted in another thread, this is currently a DI/EQ bargain. 

 

 

 

Edited August 1, 2021 by JapanAxe

[Delberthot]

Sometimes like with basses etc the only way is to try some and find out what suits you best.

 

I went through most of the ones listed when I first got my QSC Q12.2 but settled on the Radial Tonebone Bassbone as it gave me exactly the sound that I needed, well nearly exactly what I needed. It only took a cheap Behringer CS400 to complete my sound.

 

Lots of control from this pedal plus it has a DI, A/B, effects loop, high pass filter, boost, tuner out, piezo setting and so on. It's big and it uses an awkward voltage if you prefer a single multi power supply but it's worth it for me to get what I want

[SumOne]

I think the combined DI/Preamp thing might just not be for me because after a few more days mucking about with the VT Deluxe I've found it still has some of the same issues as other DI/Preamps in how it plays with other pedals.

 

One example is I want Fuzz and Chorus un-affected by the VT preamp because it muffles the Fuzz a bit- but with the VT Deluxe it's impossible to have a preset with a true clean/unaffected tone (it can sound very close to a clean tone but then when you put the fuzz signal through it you realise it is always colouring it), you can bypass the VT presets and still use it as a DI but that means it's FX loop is also bypassed so to get this Fuzz>Chorus>DI combination with no VT preamp colour the Fuzz and Chorus can't go in the VT FX loop and they can't go after the VT (as it's also the DI), so they need to be before the VT and the VT presets need to be bypassed:  Fuzz>Chorus> VT Preamp & DI ....but that means it's  not possible to use that Chorus after the VT preamp tones which is something I also want to be able to do. 

 

It's not a big deal and isn't unique to the VT Deluxe - in fact, it has a lot more flexibility to get around this than most combined DI/Preamp pedals but I think it's potentially a similar issue when using things like octavers and envelope filters going into modulation and delays and sometimes not wanting any preamp colouring while also wanting to be able to sometimes have preamp colouring/OD with modulation and delays after it.

 

That's solved buy having separate DI and Preamp pedals: Fuzz>Preamp>Chorus>DI, or Fuzz>Preamp>Chorus>DI.

 

 

 

[Downunderwonder]

8 hours ago, SumOne said:

I think the combined DI/Preamp thing might just not be for me because after a few more days mucking about with the VT Deluxe I've found it still has some of the same issues as other DI/Preamps in how it plays with other pedals.

 

One example is I want Fuzz and Chorus un-affected by the VT preamp because it muffles the Fuzz a bit- but with the VT Deluxe it's impossible to have a preset with a true clean/unaffected tone (it can sound very close to a clean tone but then when you put the fuzz signal through it you realise it is always colouring it), you can bypass the VT presets and still use it as a DI but that means it's FX loop is also bypassed so to get this Fuzz>Chorus>DI combination with no VT preamp colour the Fuzz and Chorus can't go in the VT FX loop and they can't go after the VT (as it's also the DI), so they need to be before the VT and the VT presets need to be bypassed:  Fuzz>Chorus> VT Preamp & DI ....but that means it's  not possible to use that Chorus after the VT preamp tones which is something I also want to be able to do. 

 

It's not a big deal and isn't unique to the VT Deluxe - in fact, it has a lot more flexibility to get around this than most combined DI/Preamp pedals but I think it's potentially a similar issue when using things like octavers and envelope filters going into modulation and delays and sometimes not wanting any preamp colouring while also wanting to be able to sometimes have preamp colouring/OD with modulation and delays after it.

 

That's solved buy having separate DI and Preamp pedals: Fuzz>Preamp>Chorus>DI, or Fuzz>Preamp>Chorus>DI.

 

 

 

You've figured out you can drink aperitifs before dinner and shots after dinner, or neither.

[SumOne]

6 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

You've figured out you can drink aperitifs before dinner and shots after dinner, or neither.

Exactly! Unless you go for an open bar attitude and make yourself feel ill. 

[Doddy]

20 hours ago, SumOne said:

 

One example is I want Fuzz and Chorus un-affected by the VT preamp because it muffles the Fuzz a bit- but with the VT Deluxe it's impossible to have a preset with a true clean/unaffected tone (it can sound very close to a clean tone but then when you put the fuzz signal through it you realise it is always colouring it), you can bypass the VT presets and still use it as a DI but that means it's FX loop is also bypassed so to get this Fuzz>Chorus>DI combination with no VT preamp colour the Fuzz and Chorus can't go in the VT FX loop and they can't go after the VT (as it's also the DI), so they need to be before the VT and the VT presets need to be bypassed:  Fuzz>Chorus> VT Preamp & DI ....but that means it's  not possible to use that Chorus after the VT preamp tones which is something I also want to be able to do. 

What if you put the VT in a loop of of something like a Boss LS2, then just put the fuzz and chorus in line (not through the VT effects loop), then put a seperate DI box at the end? That way, you could use the LS2 (or whatever bypass loop pedal you want) to bring the VT in and out of the signal chain as required, so you can still have it first in the chain and bypass it when you use the fuzz, and turn it on for when you use the chorus.

 

As an example:

 LS2(VT in loop A)>Fuzz>Chorus>DI 

[stewblack]

I am using the Studiospares one at the moment.

I like the shape function (a bit Trace Ellioty) the gain overload light, the different ins and outs but most of all the effects loop.

Oh and the price!

[SumOne]

2 hours ago, Doddy said:

What if you put the VT in a loop of of something like a Boss LS2, then just put the fuzz and chorus in line (not through the VT effects loop), then put a seperate DI box at the end? That way, you could use the LS2 (or whatever bypass loop pedal you want) to bring the VT in and out of the signal chain as required, so you can still have it first in the chain and bypass it when you use the fuzz, and turn it on for when you use the chorus.

 

As an example:

 LS2(VT in loop A)>Fuzz>Chorus>DI 

Yeah that's all good, but it needs a separate DI box at the end - which is kind of what I'm concluding, that ideally I want separate footswitchable preamp/eq/od/effects/compressor pedals that I can turn on/off individually and use in different combinations, and a separate utility type DI that is always on at the end chain as it isn't any type of tone enhancer and works well with any combination being before it. 

Edited August 4, 2021 by SumOne

[Doddy]

1 hour ago, SumOne said:

Yeah that's all good, but it needs a separate DI box at the end - which is kind of what I'm concluding, that ideally I want separate footswitchable preamp/eq/od/effects/compressor pedals that I can turn on/off individually and use in different combinations, and a separate utility type DI that is always on at the end chain as it isn't any type of tone enhancer and works well with any combination being before it. 

That's pretty much what I do as standard. It's rare that I'll use the DI in a preamp pedal, unless it's the only pedal I'm using. Like I posted earlier, I like my preamp first in the chain and the DI last. You could always use the DI from your amp, (unless you're ampless in which case I'd always recommend carrying a decent DI box anyway).

[SumOne]

As always from Harley Benton this looks like good value: (EDIT: Don't listen to me, check out the posts below from those that actually know!)

 

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_custom_line_bass_di_expander.htm?sid=cc29ebe2215ef12e2a2a0c2a4f34f245

 

Edited August 5, 2021 by SumOne

[ped]

3 hours ago, SumOne said:

As always from Harley Benton this looks like good value:

 

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_custom_line_bass_di_expander.htm?sid=cc29ebe2215ef12e2a2a0c2a4f34f245

 

 

I had one of those and it was really noisy. I think I sent it back.

[SumOne]

1 minute ago, ped said:

 

I had one of those and it was really noisy. I think I sent it back.

Ah, that's a shame. I guess it's not such good value in that case. 

[gafbass02]

3 hours ago, ped said:

 

I had one of those and it was really noisy. I think I sent it back.

Same 

[stewblack]

I had looked at the HB but remembering the bad experience Ped said he'd had I backed off.

However it is worth saying that one man's too much noise is another man's perfectly acceptable level of noise.

I can't comment from personal experience as I have never played through one.

[ped]

5 minutes ago, stewblack said:

I had looked at the HB but remembering the bad experience Ped said he'd had I backed off.

However it is worth saying that one man's too much noise is another man's perfectly acceptable level of noise.

I can't comment from personal experience as I have never played through one.

I’m a noise Nazi

[stewblack]

Just now, ped said:

I’m a noise Nazi

I was being so polite 😂😂😂

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited March 15, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Lozz196]

20 hours ago, ped said:

I’m a noise Nazi

 

18 hours ago, Jus Lukin said:

A Noizi.

That’s how they say it in New York isn’t it?

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited March 15, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[JapanAxe]

I played with the same band again last night, again on lead guitar. I had my amp firing at a lower volume from the side of the stage as a monitor. It was also DI’d into the PA, which worked well. That’s good - looks like I can carry on without going ampless!

The bass player had just bought an Aguilar Tone Hammer preamp pedal but tbh it was hard to know whether this improved his bass sound over the simple DI pedal I had seen him with previously. Obviously it gave him a lot more control over his EQ.

I am considering a bass EQ/DI pedal build…

EDIT: ...for poos and giggles.

Edited August 10, 2021 by JapanAxe

[Lfalex v1.1]

I have an Ampeg SVP-PRO. 

It can sound utterly amazing, but clean- sounding it certainly ain't. 

It also has a tendency to buzz from time to time, and to mute itself at random.

It did help to make an engineer howl with delight and our front man literally clap his hands over his ears and wail.

 

This involved using the two outputs from a Yamaha Attitude into my Trace head (neck humbucker- clean) and the Ampeg  (P pickup- with plenty of drive and then some more from pushing the gain) . Divided the output from the Ampeg into 2 desk channels, panned hard Left and Right.

Kept the Trace output in the centre to give it depth and focus...

 

Sounded like the Grateful Dead's wall of sound being used by Motorhead.

 

Moral of the story? Why but one pre when you can use two? 🤣

[paul_5]

I used to have an SVP-PRO. 
I wish I still did 😢