Preamp advice

[BillyBass]

Hi all.

 

I'm after a pre amp for my board to replace the TC Electronic Spectradrive I own.  I want something smaller, like an MXR M81.  It should have input, output and EQ knobs, 1/4" input and output, a DI out.  I'm not interested in any dirt or other features.

 

Apart from the MXR M81, does anything else out there exist that fits the bill?

[joel406]

Two notes

 

C.A.B. M

[BillyBass]

1 hour ago, joel406 said:

Two notes

 

C.A.B. M

That isn't what I'm after.  I need something the size of an M81, or smaller.  No need for bells and whistles.  I'll probably end up with an M81, unless someone suggests something better, but I'd prefer to have the bass EQ set higher than 40Hz. 

 

Currently my Spectradrive  does the job but I want to get my chorus pedal back on the board and I need a bit more room.

[gazhowe]

Might work out better and more cost effective in the long run to upgrade to a bigger board. That way you could put your Spectradrive and Chorus on it now and avoid the need to compromise/limit your choice on any future pedal upgrades due to space. 

Edited September 5, 2023 by gazhowe

[Gareth Hughes]

EWS Tri-Logic 2 or Tri-Logic 3 both can have the bass at 100hz (I think - 2 is fixed, 3 is switchable between 40 and 100). It’s the same size as the MXR but you lose the DI.

[thisisswanbon]

I'm having brilliant results with the mark bass vintage pre!  It's not a small pedal, but sounds fantastic.  I use the drive to add VERY subtle perceived saturation (not even grit, really) and it just sounds big and present running straight to FOH.  The effects loop is a bit of a stupid set up (parallel loop with perma-dry mix), and the switchable drive is a bit of a miss-step as the clean blend is active even with drive disengaged (lower signal volume when dialled towards drive but drive off).  but they won't make a difference to you by the sound of it and the clean tone is totally worth the short comings.

[BillyBass]

11 hours ago, gazhowe said:

Might work out better and more cost effective in the long run to upgrade to a bigger board. That way you could put your Spectradrive and Chorus on it now and avoid the need to compromise/limit your choice on any future pedal upgrades due to space. 

You are probably right.  Having a small board is quite convenient with the tiny 'stages' we play on but a bigger board would probably fit in most of the time.

[BillyBass]

10 hours ago, Gareth Hughes said:

EWS Tri-Logic 2 or Tri-Logic 3 both can have the bass at 100hz (I think - 2 is fixed, 3 is switchable between 40 and 100). It’s the same size as the MXR but you lose the DI.

I'd never heard of these.  The lack of DI isn't necessarily a deal breaker as I could always just get a stage bug but that ups the price.  They don't seem to be available on these shores at the moment anyway.

[Bolo]

The Electro Harmonix Nano Battalion doesn't have the di out but is a nice toneshaper. I have the big version that also has the noise gate (which is the only noisy component, ironically) and d.i. 

[Supernaut]

Tech 21 Q Strip? 

[BillyBass]

11 hours ago, Supernaut said:

Tech 21 Q Strip? 

Too big for what I currently want a pre amp for but should I dust off my larger board I might try out some Tech 21 stuff.

[Boodang]

Drybell Unit 67 might fit the bill except it's not cheap and you lose the DI.

[Tripehound]

I've been using this for a while now - a bit of a Swiss Army Knife and a small footprint. May be discontinued but they show up 'pre-loved'... https://atomicamps.com/bass-box/

[BillyBass]

On 07/09/2023 at 10:20, Boodang said:

Drybell Unit 67 might fit the bill except it's not cheap and you lose the DI.

Seems to be a compressor, not a pre amp.

13 hours ago, Tripehound said:

I've been using this for a while now - a bit of a Swiss Army Knife and a small footprint. May be discontinued but they show up 'pre-loved'... https://atomicamps.com/bass-box/

Looks about the same size as my Spectradrive and is certainly bigger than the M81

 

But thanks for taking the time to reply fellas.

[Boodang]

48 minutes ago, BillyBass said:

Seems to be a compressor, not a pre amp.

It's a really nice 1176 style comp and preamp. Range control is the mid range and it has lows and high eq. 

[MartinB]

There just aren't that many "standard" sized pedals with a DI - pretty much every pre-amp+DI on the market is a big box. The best M81 alternative I can think of is a Broughton Audio Messenger Jr, but good luck finding one

A couple of things to consider:
- Have you got room for a micro DI box tucked under the board? Or could you sit the pre-amp pedal on top of a fairly flat DI box? The extra height might not be an issue if you're not switching it on and off all the time
- Do you definitely need a pre-amp, i.e. something that boosts your signal from instrument level to line level so that it can drive a power amp? If you're just after clean EQ and you can squeeze in a separate DI box, there are all kinds of great options available to you.

[Supernaut]

Or just get a bigger pedalboard?

[Tripehound]

9 hours ago, BillyBass said:

Seems to be a compressor, not a pre amp.

Looks about the same size as my Spectradrive and is certainly bigger than the M81

 

But thanks for taking the time to reply fellas.

What's on your pedal board at the moment?

[Baloney Balderdash]

Don't know if this will be too big, but I can warmly recommend the NUX Melvin Lee Davis Bass Preamp + DI, Melvin Lee Davis signature bass preamp.

 

It's digital, but of really high quality, letting you chose between 3 different amp emulation (and NUX promise more will be added somewhere in the future), which is NUX's own modeled MLD signature amp, an Aguilar Tone Hammer amp, or a Norstrand StarLifter preamp, and 8 different IR based cab simulations from stock, but with the option of loading more 3rd party IR cab simulation of your choice onto the pedal.

 

It sounds no less than amazing, is really versatile in terms of the variety of tones you can get from it, and of excellent build quality, but is really affordable and astonishing value compared to what you get (138£/159 Euro at Thomann).

 

 

Regarding the size it is 115mm wide, and just 105mm deep (that is less wide and deep than the depth/height of a standard Boss pedal, and considering the top mounted jack sockets it wouldn't actually take up much more space than a standard Boss pedal).

 

Edited September 20, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[Lozz196]

On 20/09/2023 at 17:44, Baloney Balderdash said:

Don't know if this will be too big, but I can warmly recommend the NUX Melvin Lee Davis Bass Preamp + DI, Melvin Lee Davis signature bass preamp.

 

It's digital, but of really high quality, letting you chose between 3 different amp emulation (and NUX promise more will be added somewhere in the future), which is NUX's own modeled MLD signature amp, an Aguilar Tone Hammer amp, or a Norstrand StarLifter preamp, and 8 different IR based cab simulations from stock, but with the option of loading more 3rd party IR cab simulation of your choice onto the pedal.

 

It sounds no less than amazing, is really versatile in terms of the variety of tones you can get from it, and of excellent build quality, but is really affordable and astonishing value compared to what you get (138£/159 Euro at Thomann).

 

 

Regarding the size it is 115mm wide, and just 105mm deep (that is less wide and deep than the depth/height of a standard Boss pedal, and considering the top mounted jack sockets it wouldn't actually take up much more space than a standard Boss pedal).

 

This looks very nice, quick question, when the Drive is selected is there an increase in volume or does it remain constant?

[Baloney Balderdash]

On 23/09/2023 at 11:48, Lozz196 said:

This looks very nice, quick question, when the Drive is selected is there an increase in volume or does it remain constant?

There is, yes.

 

So you can really only use the drive, either as an always on effect, as an integrated part of your always on basic "clean" tone, for a tube like grid, or as a dirty boost function.

 

Personally I don't mind though, as I think it adds a really nice touch of tube like harmonic richness and subtle grid as a part of my always on basic "clean" tone.

 

But yes, not really useful as a unity gain drive effect that can be switched on or off as you wish. 

 

 

Edit!: I remembered incorrectly, at least at the setting I use, there actually isn't a notable volume jump between drive being engaged or not.

 

Edited October 7, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[thisisswanbon]

14 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

This looks very nice, quick question, when the Drive is selected is there an increase in volume or does it remain constant?

I always found the drive to be switchable when I used one of these, the IR you use has some play in how much the volume increases based on what frequencies are boosted etc.  The drive wasn't hugely to my taste though and I found it more usable as a slightly dirty 2nd channel than a full on drive.

 

Worth remembering though it's always good to have your drive slightly higher than your clean sound, as drive is compression by design and a little bit of extra volume just helps it sit right in the mix.

Edited September 23, 2023 by thisisswanbon

[bartelby]

The NUX MLD pedal is great. I created an IR of my 2 15" cabs and it sounds really good.

[Baloney Balderdash]

On 23/09/2023 at 11:48, Lozz196 said:

This looks very nice, quick question, when the Drive is selected is there an increase in volume or does it remain constant?

Seems like I remembered wrong, since I've only used it with drive on permanently, to spice up my basic clean tone, as part of it.

 

At least at the setting I use it, that is with a relatively low gain drive and mixed with clean signal at a 50/50 ratio, there isn't really any notable volume jump between drive being engaged and not.

 

Actually if set right you have a variety of tones available, just using the 2 foot switches, without any notable volume jumps:

 

- IR cab sim alone (or just straight dry DI signal)

- IR cab sim (or just straight dry DI signal) with drive

- amp emulation/EQ + IR cab sim (or eventual without IR cab sim)

- amp emulation/EQ + drive + IR cab sim (or eventual without IR cab sim)

 

All, with the right settings and IR cab sim, actually useable tones.

 

You can even set it so your amp is fed with a signal without IR cab sim, but the XLR DI signal that the PA mixer is fed with the IR cab sim signal.

 

 

Edited October 7, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[SumOne]

Bass Simplifier is about MXR size, lots of features squeezed in.