Pre-amp/DI advice

[Jackroadkill]

After some thought I'm down to a shortlist of two, the Laney Digbeth and the Tech 21 VTDI .  Thanks very much for your input, everyone, it's much appreciated.

[Baloney Balderdash]

On 20/03/2023 at 21:31, Jackroadkill said:

After some thought I'm down to a shortlist of two, the Laney Digbeth and the Tech 21 VTDI .  Thanks very much for your input, everyone, it's much appreciated.

Worth to consider here is that the Tech 21 VTDI does feature a simple but all analog cab simulation, the Laney Digibeth, as far as I know, doesn't, so if you pick that one and need cab simulation (because most basses sounds best when a fair deal of the higher frequency spectrum has been cut) you would need an extra external IR loader pedal or similar for that.

Edited March 23, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[Mornats]

1 hour ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Worth to consider here is that the Tech 21 VTDI does feature a simple but all analog cab simulation, the Laney Digibeth as far as I know, doesn't, so if you pick that one and need cab simulation (because most basses sounds best when a fair deal of the higher frequency spectrum has been cut) you would need an extra external IR loader pedal or similar for that.

That's right, no cab sim on the Digbeth (I own one).

[la bam]

I used a behringer bdi21 with my svt810 cab sim and it sounded glorious tonight.

 

They're stunning for the money.

[Jackroadkill]

43 minutes ago, Mornats said:

That's right, no cab sim on the Digbeth (I own one).

 

How do you find it in general?

[Mornats]

51 minutes ago, Jackroadkill said:

 

How do you find it in general?

I really like it. Loads of options for tweaking the tone and the drive has a lot of options at the lower levels of the drive and I like subtle so it works for me. The ability to mix the tube and FET modes opens up some more options too. The lower-mid frequency switch has 3 very usable settings and I like them all. This is the best sound-shaping feature on it in my opinion. The tilt feels like it would be really useful but has to be used very much in moderation as it can get extreme quickly. I wouldn't say it had a distinct signature sound like the Ampeg preamps have for example but I like the sound of my bass to shine through and it does that well. I tend to go into Ampeg amp sims in the computer if I want that sound anyway. Other things that are handy are the headphone out and aux in. I'm doing mostly practice late at night, and recording into the computer and it does the job very well for that. I've not used it live as I'm not playing live at the moment and my Markbass died on me so I have no amp! I actually bought this pedal as an amp replacement. It's solidly built and looks good. Oh, it has an FX loop too which I'm sure I will absolutely need one day but have no idea what for yet.

[Jackroadkill]

7 hours ago, Mornats said:

I really like it. Loads of options for tweaking the tone and the drive has a lot of options at the lower levels of the drive and I like subtle so it works for me. The ability to mix the tube and FET modes opens up some more options too. The lower-mid frequency switch has 3 very usable settings and I like them all. This is the best sound-shaping feature on it in my opinion. The tilt feels like it would be really useful but has to be used very much in moderation as it can get extreme quickly. I wouldn't say it had a distinct signature sound like the Ampeg preamps have for example but I like the sound of my bass to shine through and it does that well. I tend to go into Ampeg amp sims in the computer if I want that sound anyway. Other things that are handy are the headphone out and aux in. I'm doing mostly practice late at night, and recording into the computer and it does the job very well for that. I've not used it live as I'm not playing live at the moment and my Markbass died on me so I have no amp! I actually bought this pedal as an amp replacement. It's solidly built and looks good. Oh, it has an FX loop too which I'm sure I will absolutely need one day but have no idea what for yet.

 

That's great - real world experience is worth a hundred YouTube "reviews"!  Thanks very much for taking the time to respond in detail.

[mario_buoninfante]

+1 for the Laney Digbeth Pre.
I haven't tried dozens of preamps in my life but, I can definitely recommend this.
The tube (simulation) is really really good, warm and well balanced sonically and has its own volume. The FET channel is clear and dynamically rich. The MUTE switch can be used as BYPASS as well. The TILT knob (seesaw lo-pass/hi-pass EQ) is musical and, probably one the most important thing for me, it has a 4-band EQ and the lo-mid have a 3-way switch that set the freq and Q-point (kind of semi-parametric). Also, it has a SEND and a RETURN.
There's a thread here on BC where the pedal is discussed in great detail that contains measurements/graphs and demo-files from BC users.

Edited March 21, 2023 by mario_buoninfante

[Jackroadkill]

9 minutes ago, mario_buoninfante said:

There's a thread here on BC where the pedal is discussed in great detail

Excellent - I'll see if I can dig it out.

Edited March 21, 2023 by Jackroadkill

[Mornats]

6 hours ago, Jackroadkill said:

Excellent - I'll see if I can dig it out.

In case you couldn't find it: 

 

[Franticsmurf]

Another +1 for the Digbeth. I can't compare it to the Tech 21 but for me there's plenty of options tone wise in the Digbeth. I play in two different bands; one needs a nice clean tone with a bit of top to cut through the massed ranks of stringed instruments, the other is a more traditional blues/rock band where the grit of the tube channel sits nicely in the mix. I love the Tilt option - I use it to fine tune the end result to the room.

[Jackroadkill]

I've gone for a Laney Digbeth; if I'm honest it probably won't be the only one!

[Mornats]

10 hours ago, Jackroadkill said:

I've gone for a Laney Digbeth; if I'm honest it probably won't be the only one!

I hope you like it. I put my jazz bass through it the other day and found lots of usable EQ options both with and without the tube grit. Don't forget to mix the FET and tube channels for more control. And remember that little tweaks are where it's at especially with the tilt.

Edited April 23, 2023 by Mornats

[Jackroadkill]

It's arrived - I like it!

[Bolo]

The Electro Harmonix Battalion is missing from the list.

I've just gone through a similar search and have found a second hand one. Waiting on it to come in the mail.

 

[Rollin Thunder]

On 13/03/2023 at 09:35, dmc79 said:

There’s also a Two Notes Le Bass for sale currently. There’s nearly always someone selling a Preamp/DI box here 

 

 

Highly recommended, Real Tube two channels A clean B drive. In Parallel  cold fusion hot fusion A drives B, gives you 4 sound options in the same setting. Been recently superseded by the Revolt but still some new out there and second hand

[Rollin Thunder]

On 27/04/2023 at 07:19, Bolo said:

The Electro Harmonix Battalion is missing from the list.

I've just gone through a similar search and have found a second hand one. Waiting on it to come in the mail.

 

Another good starter preamp