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A whole new world. IEM.

Bassgore

Bassgore

Oct 28, 2018
22
14
Sweden
#1
Hey guys.

Newbie here but have read so many threads that when I close my eyes it says Talkbass.com inside my eyelids.

Would much appreciate your input on following problem.

Short story.

1000's of gigs with amps - cabs, wedges and whatnot.
Always came to the venue with either my own head och the complete backline to assure that I had a great sound. (yeah, I heard it :) )
Nowadays I have suddenly been getting offers to travel with my bass all over the world, live and studio sessions, and an Ampeg head isn't as cool in the overhead compartment as it used to be.

The problem with the world today is, for me, backline rentals, which doesn't always provide the gear requested or worn out gear that's lost the punch.
And.....IEM.

Got some great 64Audio in ear but the bass always sound so weirdly non-punchy, flat and cold.

So

What minimal, travel friendly, gear can give me - A warm tubey sound, a non problematic signal, that I can send to FOH and make it easy for everyone, FOH tech, Monitor tech etc.

Been reading up on REDDI... but geez. Price is quite awesome, maybe as it should be... :)

Any tips, tricks, help, points would be deeply appreciated.

Best regards

Bassgore
 
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#2
I love my Noble preamp for this, takes away the rubbery tone and sounds great in IEMs and FOH. Powers other pedals too. It's not cheap, but I haven't looked back. It doesn't really distort though so you'd need to use a pedal or two if that's your thing.

People rate the Shift Line Olympic too which looks similar but cheaper.
 
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#3
Phagor said:
I love my Noble preamp for this, takes away the rubbery tone and sounds great in IEMs and FOH. Powers other pedals too. It's not cheap, but I haven't looked back. It doesn't really distort though so you'd need to use a pedal or two if that's your thing.

People rate the Shift Line Olympic too which looks similar but cheaper.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I’ve read some really great things about Noble but can’t find a dealer or something in Europe..

And overdrive, fuzz is not my main thing at all. Got som pedals for that tho that I hardly ever use.

Will read up on Shift Line
 
#4
I used to fly with a REDDI but a mishap that ended up dislodging the tube scared me off of doing it. So nowadays I usually just bring a VT Deluxe. Not quite the same but cheaper, easier to tote in a suitcase, will run forever on a single battery, and sounds sufficiently Ampeggy for me not to worry too much about it not being a real tube device. If you don't need presets, the original will do just fine, as will the VT-DI.
 
Last edited:
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#5
JimmyM said:
I used to fly with a REDDI but a mishap that ended up dislodging the tube scared me off of doing it. So nowadays I usually just bring a VT Deluxe. Not quite the same but cheaper, easier to tote in a suitcase, will run forever on a single battery, and sounds sufficiently Ampeggy for me not to worry too much about it not being a real tube device. If you don't need presets, the original will do just fine, as will the VT-DI.
Click to expand...

Thanks Jimmy.
Will try a VT.
How would a Ampeg SCR-DI hold up against VT... and will it do the trick?
 
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#8
Bassgore said:
Thanks Jimmy.
Will try a VT.
How would a Ampeg SCR-DI hold up against VT... and will it do the trick?
Click to expand...
SCR is killer too. A little cleaner but very easy to use. But it uses batteries much faster and I like having presets for different dirt levels so I tend to go with the VT Deluxe instead.
 
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#11
Wood and Wire said:
Do you miss the speaker sim, and blend control, of the VTDI, or is that not really an issue with the Deluxe?
Click to expand...
No to either. VTD has a speaker sim that works just fine for me and I hate blend knobs and only use them if there's no other possible solution to getting enough low end. And only my Animato clone requires me using it.
 
#12
JimmyM said:
No to either. VTD has a speaker sim that works just fine for me and I hate blend knobs and only use them if there's no other possible solution to getting enough low end. And only my Animato clone requires me using it.
Click to expand...

I just sometimes find it strange (when using back line) to have a speaker sim, going through another speaker - and if that's mic'd, it's going through even more speakers.

At least the VTDI gives the option of turning the speaker sim off (or are you saying the Deluxe allows you to bypass it too?)

Occasionally I want a blend control, but only when I've got extreme levels of bright distortion, for effect.

Will definitely have to give the Deluxe a go at some point.

Have you compared it with their Fly Rig? (or whatever it's called - I can't remember, but it has lots of pretty coloured lights)

Cheers!
 
#13
I've been doing IEM's for about six years now and I agree with JimmyM. It's all about my Tech21 VT Bass, I use the straight pedal version. I've also tried the Bass Fly Rig but went back to a small pedal board. I use a PedalTrain Nano+ which has the aforementioned VT Deluxe, Tuner, Fairfield Circuitry Accountant (for using a pick) and an Eden VTDI when I want that sound which is not that often. The other thing I did when I first started using IEM's is I bought a very nice hi-fi style headphone amp, it's a Schiit Asgard and it really makes the IEM's sing. My headphone cable is bundled with my guitar cable.
 
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#14
Bassgore said:
Hey guys.

Newbie here but have read so many threads that when I close my eyes it says Talkbass.com inside my eyelids.

Would much appreciate your input on following problem.

Short story.

1000's of gigs with amps - cabs, wedges and whatnot.
Always came to the venue with either my own head och the complete backline to assure that I had a great sound. (yeah, I heard it :) )
Nowadays I have suddenly been getting offers to travel with my bass all over the world, live and studio sessions, and an Ampeg head isn't as cool in the overhead compartment as it used to be.

The problem with the world today is, for me, backline rentals, which doesn't always provide the gear requested or worn out gear that's lost the punch.
And.....IEM.

Got some great 64Audio in ear but the bass always sound so weirdly non-punchy, flat and cold.

So

What minimal, travel friendly, gear can give me - A warm tubey sound, a non problematic signal, that I can send to FOH and make it easy for everyone, FOH tech, Monitor tech etc.

Been reading up on REDDI... but geez. Price is quite awesome, maybe as it should be... :)

Any tips, tricks, help, points would be deeply appreciated.

Best regards

Bassgore
Click to expand...
If it was me in that situation I’d probably just go ahead and buy the noble bass pre and cry about the price for a day or two then be done with it. It’s starting to show up everywhere and lot of these guys have nice taste in bass tones


 
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#15
Nephilymbass said:
If it was me in that situation I’d probably just go ahead and buy the noble bass pre and cry about the price for a day or two then be done with it. It’s starting to show up everywhere and lot of these guys have nice taste in bass tones


Click to expand...


Noble is suppose to be a killer but I can’t find a retailer in Europe...so far at least.

Is considering going with the VT bass or Ampeg SCR....or a Reddi...or both.... hm
 
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#16
scowboy said:
I've been doing IEM's for about six years now and I agree with JimmyM. It's all about my Tech21 VT Bass, I use the straight pedal version. I've also tried the Bass Fly Rig but went back to a small pedal board. I use a PedalTrain Nano+ which has the aforementioned VT Deluxe, Tuner, Fairfield Circuitry Accountant (for using a pick) and an Eden VTDI when I want that sound which is not that often. The other thing I did when I first started using IEM's is I bought a very nice hi-fi style headphone amp, it's a Schiit Asgard and it really makes the IEM's sing. My headphone cable is bundled with my guitar cable.
Click to expand...

I wlll absolutely check out T21 and VT...
But... Does it sound High Tech?
I could love a box in the shop, at home...but when on stage I suddenly feel lack of punch or sounding too high tech.... it has happened a lot with stomp boxes.
Not to mention pickup changing on the bass...geez. Done that fifty times it seems :-(
I really can’t trust my ears... I think I know when I feel it... I hope :-)
 
#17
The Noble seems to be the #1 Solution.
If you wanted one, you'd have to bite the bullet and order it straight from noble. I've been keeping an eye on the EU used market for a Noble preamp for about 18 months now and only found one or two old posts of units that sold long ago for a price really close to the retail price.
If you knew and trust anyone in the US you might try and avoid the tax. I don't know how much Sweden charges, but over here in Germany, that'll be close to €300 just to collect it from customs.

The cheaper, easier solution is one of the Sansamps. Either the BDDI or the VT series. Both are fine.
I've gigged with a BDDI for a couple of years now. The major advantage of that pedal is its simplicity.
Its robust, durable, light, easy on the current draw and what the few knobs do really makes sense.
I've played several gigs where the FOH guy set the gain, listened for a few bars and was happy. My channel completely flat, no comp, no HPF, no work for that guy to get a decent sound out front.
 
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#19
I'd personal get a preamp of some sort, whatever flavour you like (Ampeg'y, Orange'y, neutral, whatever) and run that into a cab sim or something with a cab sim.

If I were building a fly-rig/preamp for more classic tones, I'd probably choose the Tech 21 Q-strip and a DSM Omnicabsim.
 
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