Preamp or not ???

[Boppingtheory]

I usually play a DB in small gigs with a SWR Workingman's 12" run with a KK Bass Max and in my opinion the sound is excellent, even if I had to tweak the controls for a while to find out a natural sound.
If a should gig in a medium-large place, where a PA system is needed, could a preamp be really necessary in order to send a good signal to the mixer through the DI of my personal amp?
How can it "affect" my sound 'cause I wouldn't lose mine ? Thanks a lot.

[Bass Guitar]

Hi,

Sorry to post my answer here as well, but just in case you did not read it in your post in the other forum, here is the link:

Preamp or not

[Bob Gollihur]

As I wrote you privately, the Bass Max generally gets along better with conventional "bass guitar amps" than most piezo-based pickups, many of which absolutely require the ultra-high impedance input.

The best way to determine it is to borrow a preamp with an input impedance of 1 megohm or greater -- it doesn't have to be a bass-specific preamp, because its primary purpose is to serve as a buffer between the pickup and whatever you're plugging into. Use no EQ at the preamp; the best preamps for this purpose are transparent-sounding IMHO. If it sounds good, pursue a preamp. If it doesn't do anything or much, stay with the direct approach.

www.bobthebassguy.com