Fender TBP-1 preamp bliss

[Son of Bovril]

Was having trouble with the sound in our new bandroom being too boomy, so took in my TBP-1 cause the guys really like the sound of that pre in the mix.

Sound was mediocre till I found a nice new setting after cutting a bit at 100hz and rolling off some lows. I also rolled back the treble a bit...

The sound suddenly came to life! I forgot how interactive the passive controls are... rolling back the highs really thickened up the low mids. It almost felt like the sound was thick syrup, I couldn't believe the dimension to the sound that this tubey preamp gives

Think I fell in love with that pre all over again!

[mikeddd]

Mmm, thick syrupy sound! Gotta love that. I suck at setting tone controls on a bass amp. I'm pretty good at EQing in a car with a 31-band EQ (I was into car audio for years) so you would think that skill would carry over. But nooooooooo. I start twiddling knobs while I'm playing and it all sounds the same after about 15 minutes.

Glad to hear you got your sound back!

[Son of Bovril]

31 band EQ!? damn that must require some serious tweaking!!! try running your bass through that!

[Fuzzbass]

I was disappointed that the Interstellar Overdrive was discontinued when Fender bought SWR, but I've heard many great things about the TBP-1, and really, I can see how Fender would not want to offer two tube preamps. Would love to hear one someday. Glad you still love yours!

And yeah, I know the feeling: getting frustrated with gear but falling in love again after getting the settings just right. With me, however, the love usually reoccurs after I change strings... I tend to wait too long. I'm a roundwound guy, obviously!

[tombowlus]

Yeah, I still love that pre, too. It does take some tweaking, but it certainly rewards you if you have the time/patience to dial it in.

[Son of Bovril]

I find the Passive eq is very interactive with each other, if you turn up the treble it doesn't just make the sound brighter, it changes the whole tone slightly to compensate... this can be great or annoying sometimes

[ErnieD]

Originally Posted by Son of Bovril

I find the Passive eq is very interactive with each other, if you turn up the treble it doesn't just make the sound brighter, it changes the whole tone slightly to compensate... this can be great or annoying sometimes

is what I experienced with my Alembic F-1X pre, so I pulled it from my rack and started using my BBE BMax (non-T) pre instead. I seem to be able to dial in some good tones with that pre, with its' para-mids and compressor, where I feel limited with the F1-X.

But maybe its just me. I should spend some more time with the F1-X to learn it better for sure. But maybe I'm already learning more by mostly using my GB STM-900 head, I seem to dial that head right in for great tones. Still I have a couple gigs a month where I need more so I use my pre/pwer amp rig.

[Son of Bovril]

Yeah I think it really takes some time playing with a pre with the fender tone stack to be able to learn how to tweak it so you know what to expect, otherwise it can be quite frustrating, but once you do get it dialed in, it is very rewarding!