Preamp pedal

[JBMysteron]

SO
I have two Fender basses, a USA Deluxe Jazz and a 2010 Mexican with some heavy mods and Bartolini pickups

I've been using a boss EQ with the Mex to try and mimic the USA DLX Active Preamp. Only problem is my EQ is a little noisy and has a bit of tone suck as it is a Boss GEB-7

Looking at getting a nice preamp pedal to stick on my pedalboard, I really cbf installing an active preamp in my Mex, plus I like the flexibility of playing in passive mode that the USA provides (and would like that option with my Mex).

Thoughts?
True Bypass EQ pedal?
Rusty Box?
Tone Hammer?
Tech 21 BDDI or VT Bass or Oxford or Leeds

[scHism]

MXR Bass D.I., it does not color your tone on 12o'clock EQ settings, true bypass, has noise gate, has gain/distortion.

[ccbass71]

Check out the Radial Bassbone. Two separate inputs and eq settings. It is a DI not a preamp. It will not drive a power amp. You can use active/passive if needed. I love mine.

[Eublet]

The Bassbone is preamp, but it just doesn't have the output to drive a poweramp. It requires a power source though and I got tired of it for that reason alone. It's also a very clean preamp, so no ability to do any kind of overdrive.

MXR is nice but the overdrive is more like a distortion. Very electronic sounding. All other features are really nice.

Tone Hammer for the win here. Wonderful unit with maximum flexibility and great tone.

[P-oddz]

+ 1 Tone Hammer.

[NKUSigEp]

Aguilar Tone Hammer, Sadowsky Pre/DI, and the Tech 21 SABDDI are all great pedal preamps. I've heard the Xotic Tri-Logic is amazing too but I don't have experience with it or anything else.

[c0d3h4x0r]

So I already run both a Tech 21 SansAmp Bass DI (for its very good tube-like coloration), followed by an MXR Bass DI+ (for use as a distortion pedal only), at the tail end of my effects chain. I've found that placing them earlier in the effects chain (before my wah pedal, flanger pedal, etc) results in really strange/unnatural effects when I have them all engaged (for example, some RATM tunes use flange+distortion, and it sounds all wrong if the distortion or coloration come before the flanger).

At the front of my chain, I run an EBS MicroComp bass compressor pedal.

The problem is that I recently acquired a passive Mexi Jazz bass, and with that weaker signal coming into the effects chain right from the start, none of the effects sound right compared to the way I had them all dialed in for my two active (2x9V) basses. I've been using the GAIN knob on the MultiComp for now to compensate from that point forward in the chain, just cranking it up when I play the Mexi so the signal is hot enough through the other effects. But I still lose proper compression when I do it this way.

What I really need is a simple preamp pedal BEFORE the MultiComp pedal... something that does not color or shape the sound in any way, but is strictly a clean preamp pedal. I guess it wouldn't have to be exclusively made for bass, as long as it had a wide enough frequency response range to capture the low end. Any suggestions?

Before anyone suggests moving the SansAmp pedal to the front of the chain and using it as my preamp, the problem is that I want the SA's coloration regardless of which bass I plug in... if I engage the pedal to get a preamp boost, and disable it when I play the active basses, then I'm only getting the coloration on the Mexi, which is no good.

[RickenBoogie]

So, what you're looking for is a clean boost pedal. There are many, ranging from cheap, (Ehx LPB-1), to expensive, (but worth every penny, Creation Audio Mk.4.23)

[My name is Mudd]

Best mid-price-range booster = Catalinbread Super Chili Picoso.

[c0d3h4x0r]

EHX LPB-1 doesn't stay clean according to other forum discussions I've read. Past a certain point, it introduces some amount of grit, which I don't want.

The Picoso is out of my price range and I don't see any obvious online US dealers of the product nor any physical retailers near me.

Thoughts on the MXR Micro Boost? Price is certainly right, and reviews/discussions elsewhere say it remains clean/clear through it's entire range, which is exactly what I want for bass. Plus it runs off a standard 9V supply line so I can run it off the 1-Spot like everything else I've already got on my board.

[c0d3h4x0r]

Also wondering if I might be better off getting a 9V preamp unit for Jazz bass, such as this one: http://www.audereaudio.com/Scripts/p...sp?idproduct=5

[c0d3h4x0r]

Did more research on the Audere JZ3 Jazz bass preamp, and while people report loving its tone-shaping, they also report it doesn't boost the overall signal noticeably relative to no preamp. So it's looking like the MXR Micro Amp may be the most straightforward and cost-effective solution to my problem.

[c0d3h4x0r]

I bought a Seymore Duncan "Pickup Booster" clean boost pedal today from my local music shop, and it does exactly what I need. Thanks everyone for the advice!

[alainkills]

Rusty box!

[c0d3h4x0r]

"Rusty box"?

[dharmashawn]

Originally Posted by alainkills

Rusty box!

Yes, the Rusty Box is an amazing gift with a fantastic name! I have not used mine as a preamp, but the difference in tone with/without is second to none. Just checked their website and see that they are catching on and b/o till late June.

not me but:
Tronographic Rusty Box Soundclips

[Smurf-o-Deth]

Ignoring all relevance, I <3 my Rusty Box.

[caeman]

If you like the use of an EQ pedal, maybe consider the Source Audio EQ pedal when it comes out in June-ish. Multi-band EQ with presets. This is the route I have decided to go with my board, as I need a low gain solution, but want a nice EQ to tune stuff.