Tube preamp suggestions...

[Mike in Chicago]

looking for a rack mountable, multi tube preamp. I like traditional tube sound, not hyper distortion or any of that clangy metal type stuff. Buttery tube sound, to push a power amp.

I've had SVT's and V4b's so won't need that response...I get it.

And I know the quick answer is start from scratch with a Streamliner 900.

Any out there I don't know about?

[CL400Peavey]

For what it does the ART PC II is an amazing deal.

[Baird6869]

Julie's Monique.

Sounds exactly what you are looking for.

[popgadget]

Demeter HBP-1 is my current favorite. Vintage Yamaha PB-1 is also a great pre, and can often be found for a reasonable price. Alembic F1X gets some love, I like the Demeter better, I ought to sell the Alembic as I don't use it.

[Lo-E]

Originally Posted by popgadget

Demeter HBP-1 is my current favorite. Vintage Yamaha PB-1 is also a great pre, and can often be found for a reasonable price. Alembic F1X gets some love, I like the Demeter better, I ought to sell the Alembic as I don't use it.

Yup, the Demeter and both Alembic models have a big following.

[bassgod0dmw]

If you liked the Ampeg sound, an SVP-CL is a VERY awesome preamp.

[dincz]

Originally Posted by Baird6869

Julie's Monique.

Sounds exactly what you are looking for.

Is she selling it?

[winegamd]

If you are looking for that buttery round full bottomed tube sound I would say the Aguilar DB659.

[two fingers]

The Alembics are nice if you STUDY them a lot. You have to learn how to tweek it before you can really dial in what you like. It just reacts differently than a lot of preamps. But if you take the time to learn it, it's nice.

[nostatic]

This

http://www.juleamps.com/bass/monique.html

Seriously. I owned the Streamliner - nice amp but it doesn't come close to tube sound and feel of the Monique.

[LongHairFreak]

There's also the VT3 line from DHA.
http://www.davehallamps.co.uk/page48.html

[Foz]

...not hyper distortion or any of that clangy metal type stuff. Buttery tube sound, to push a power amp....

That was exactly what I was looking for... found it here:

http://greenboy.us/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1795



http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps19a098e9.jpg

[gurensan]

I didn't like the Demeter because it had no tone. It sounded TOO transparent to me.

The Alembic F1-X I bought instead. I sold it again something like 2 months later. Not what I wanted, though it had some color in the store - just nothing worth noting once I got it home. Oddly, it only has a single tube that's only used for the effects loop anyway. It's not technically a "tube amp" as none of its gain is tube-generated. And what's with the DI being on the FRONT of the pre?

The newest Ampeg at the time was the SVP-PRO (iirc). I didn't like it - I don't care for graphic EQs on bass amps and there really are too many controls that do too little on them. Seriously, "Drive?" what the $%*& is that for? I heard it do nothing at all! It doesn't even distort! Perhaps I was supposed to crank the bejeezus out of it?

I tried the SVP-CL and I loved it. But it's hard to find since SOME PEOPLE don't buy anything with rack ears anymore, so Ampeg discontinued it. It goes used for the same price, sometimes MORE, than its MSRP. Good luck finding one on ebay as they get snapped up pretty quick. It's more buttery than the Alembic by a long shot. It sounds like an SVT but without the goodness that the power section adds. A little cleaner, I guess you'd say.

Them's my $0.02.

[gurensan]

Originally Posted by Foz

That was exactly what I was looking for... found it here:

http://greenboy.us/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1795



http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps19a098e9.jpg

Good looking construction. Kudos.

[iualum]

Read Purity or Kern IP-777. Doesn't get any better.

[Franklin229]

Originally Posted by two fingers

The Alembics are nice if you STUDY them a lot. You have to learn how to tweek it before you can really dial in what you like. It just reacts differently than a lot of preamps. But if you take the time to learn it, it's nice.

Agree-I have an old '70s era F2B and love it. You really don't need to mess with it that much either to get nice tonal variations.

[Arjank]

BBE BmaxT
Buttery smooth, slightly bottom heavy but crystal clear sound!
I like the natural compression it provides.
But don't expect a gritty sound when you bump up the gain, you need to find that somewhere else.

[tekdiver500ft]

Top three choices (IMO), in order: Jule Amps Monique, Ampeg SVP-CL, A Designs REDDI. I know, the REDDI is technically a DI, but it does have a preamp out AFTER the tube, so it is still a very tubey preamp.

I have to add that I think it's hilarious how so many people will denigrate a unit for NOT doing what the OP said he DOESN'T want. Am I the only one who reads the entire thread before answering.

[N.F.A.]

Alembic, Jules and REDDI.

[HitByABlimp]

My personal custom build pre-amp in a couple of months .
Awesome tube sound (headroom preferred, no distortion!), 2 x 12AX7, active 4-band tube EQ, tuner-out, parallel blendable FX-loop, DI (post-pre), 2x XLR balanced + 1x jack unbalanced outputs, (foot)switchable mute, EQ and FX-loop.