Mike Pope rack preamp - anyone tried it out?

HeavyJazz77 · #1 02-03-2013, 06:11 AM

I love the features of this pre, but given the price tag it's only sensible to tap the masses for a historic user. To those of you who use or have used it, what are your thoughts?

Got2SadowskyNYC · #2 02-03-2013, 06:25 AM

Yes. They are very good. Expensive, but very good.

HeavyJazz77 · #3 02-03-2013, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Got2SadowskyNYC

Yes. They are very good. Expensive, but very good.

I spotted a floor unit version awhile back... Do those still exist?

Got2SadowskyNYC · #4 02-03-2013, 07:27 AM

Floor unit like the RMI Basswitch? I've never seen this. I've only seen the racks.

I wouldn't be surprised if Mike comments to this thread before long.

unlined4string · #5 02-03-2013, 07:50 AM

I think the floor (or desktop) unit is called the Mitre Box. I recall Brad Johnson posted that he has one.

Got2SadowskyNYC · #6 02-03-2013, 07:56 AM

Ah yes. It's not a floor unit. It's a stripped down pre. I never used one. It's not even mentioned on his site so I doubt it available.

Got2SadowskyNYC · #7 02-03-2013, 07:58 AM

I wish the MPP1 was available in a floor model.

unlined4string · #8 02-03-2013, 08:42 AM

As to the question of how the MPP-1 sounds, I have used it quite a bit for live and recording, and I like it.

My impression is that it is transparent. It doesn't add much coloration to the sound of the bass even when using the onboard tone shaping features. Whether that will work for you depends on the basses you're playing and your tone goals.

It's not a preamp to choose because you want the preamp to impart a certain characteristic "baked in" tone. It's one to choose because you really like the sound of your bass as is, and you don't want the preamp to mess it up.

Bassist30 · #9 02-03-2013, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeavyJazz77

I spotted a floor unit version awhile back... Do those still exist?

Not sure, but I would love to get a floor unit. Mike Pope not only a great bassist but an amazing knowledge of electronics.

gillento · #10 02-04-2013, 06:40 AM

Mike has stopped building the excellent MPP1....
As for a floor preamp, the Basswitch is definitely as great sounding and built as the Pope rack stuff!

Brad Johnson · #11 02-04-2013, 10:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by unlined4string

As to the question of how the MPP-1 sounds, I have used it quite a bit for live and recording, and I like it.

My impression is that it is transparent. It doesn't add much coloration to the sound of the bass even when using the onboard tone shaping features. Whether that will work for you depends on the basses you're playing and your tone goals.

It's not a preamp to choose because you want the preamp to impart a certain characteristic "baked in" tone. It's one to choose because you really like the sound of your bass as is, and you don't want the preamp to mess it up.

That's a great summation of how my Mitre Box works. It let's everything I plug in sound like it sounds, just bigger. Transparent AND full. It doesn't mess it up.

It has all of the connectivity I need in a small 1/2 rack width package. This combined with a nice high powered power amp in head format would be hard to beat. I think I've mentioned that to him a couple of times.

I think Mike made two of these. Here's the unicorn on a gig last week with my Clarus 4 Series 2, Glasstone Lil G neo 2-12 and two of my Brubaker sixes... sounded amazing.

pbass6811 · #12 02-04-2013, 10:42 AM

Yeah, I used to own one. I think I was one of his first retail customers. In fact, the one on his website and in his ad on these pages is the one I used to own! It is, without a doubt, one of the BEST rack Pre's on the planet! It's super flexible and very transparent if you need it to be. That's probably the one piece of gear I wish I still had. I was going through my "I need a rack full of gear to sound & look like a pro" phase. Unfortunately, as soon as that phase was over, I sold everything in that rack. I do miss it. They are definitely NOT cheap, but it is money well spent...

Here's my rig from back in the day, before the other gear started getting crammed into the rack(I had to buy a bigger rack for the crossover, the compressor, and the maximizer the eventually found its way in there...I couldn't keep schlepping that rack after I filled it up, so I dumped it all and bought a Genz Benz Shuttlemax 12.0)

If I'm not mistaken, I think I sold mine to unlined4string! Glad it's treating you well!