I just purchased an Effectrode compressor and it does add some fatness to the tone. I still need to figure out how to best set it, but you're right about adding some 'woolyness.'
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Advantages of preamp pedals
- Thread starter NickyBass
- Start date
I just purchased an Effectrode compressor and it does add some fatness to the tone. I still need to figure out how to best set it, but you're right about adding some 'woolyness.'
I think for some if you are going ampless that's the biggest advantage. I play active basses so unless i'm going ampless on stage I have no use for them. They seem to be very trendy now but honestly you can take your class D amp and use the DI if you had to do that and do the same for recording. I guess if you only played passsive basses i would see more value. Everyone has different needs and tastes.
I find HPF / LPF and compressors are very useful, they clean up and allow amplifiers to work more efficiently, louder clearer and more articulate.
My three tone preamps (Broughton SVpre, Broughton Scorpion, SolidGoldFX BetaV) I find don’t add much that my Traynor amplifier basic eq can’t achieve. Except for overdrive and distortion. The Scorpion is my favourite and the only one I’m using presently.
My three tone preamps (Broughton SVpre, Broughton Scorpion, SolidGoldFX BetaV) I find don’t add much that my Traynor amplifier basic eq can’t achieve. Except for overdrive and distortion. The Scorpion is my favourite and the only one I’m using presently.
I like having one because of what others mentioned about adding "more" to a passive bass, but also I really like the security of having the backup DI out of my pedal in case my amp doesn't turn on one day.
Your profile pic makes me wonder if you also play upright bass. For piezo pickups like used on most upright basses stand alone preamps can be really handy for specialized eq, input impedance, channel switching, etc.
If none of those applied, I would not use a preamp pedal. I'd go straight into my amp with a cable.
Something else I just thought of is that there are a number of ways to "push" the rasp.
For me, I have an input volume and a master volume on my preamp pedal, also the same on my amp. you also have makeup gain on your compressor. Something worth playing with is the make the input pretty hot and then master vol. to meet the playing vol. you want. Use your compressor makeup gain to push the input vol a little and that may get you at least part of the way there...
Look to your right.
Look to your left.
Those people are soft as a newborn baby’s bottom and will cry louder and longer than said baby if you turn up your amp to a comfortable, normal volume.
A preamp pedal enables me to make my bass and amp sound like the designer of the amp intended it to sound. But at “baby’s sleeping” volume so the buttery soft people you live with and/or play with or play for won’t cry.
It’s really that simple. Ever heard a Plexi on one and one? It sucks. Ever heard your bass amp on one? It also sucks.
With preamps you can circumvent the tonal ruination of your amp on one and make it sound almost like your amp on ten and still maintain relationships with people who like “soft”.
Look to your left.
Those people are soft as a newborn baby’s bottom and will cry louder and longer than said baby if you turn up your amp to a comfortable, normal volume.
A preamp pedal enables me to make my bass and amp sound like the designer of the amp intended it to sound. But at “baby’s sleeping” volume so the buttery soft people you live with and/or play with or play for won’t cry.
It’s really that simple. Ever heard a Plexi on one and one? It sucks. Ever heard your bass amp on one? It also sucks.
With preamps you can circumvent the tonal ruination of your amp on one and make it sound almost like your amp on ten and still maintain relationships with people who like “soft”.
Absolutely zero hate to Zoom! I'm no gear snob!
I'm getting ready to add a much sought after Mesa Boogie Subway Plus to my existing EBS MicroBass 3, to run in tandem. I keep a B3N among a couple utility pedals. With a bit of tweaking, and a noise gate, it's wicked solid, and usable!!!
I see it as a broader tonal palette and the expense of clutter. Don't get me wrong. If pedals are the way you get to a tone you need to express your art, who am I to say it's folly?
Good post! I take an Eden WTDI ( which is a preamp with tone controls and onboard compressor) to all my gigs as a back up for amp failure and or in the case of back line gear.
I strictly play from my bass clean into my amp, where I do the EQ. I use a passive Jazz and typically have both volumes and the tone control dimed. I prefer the sound of either my Eden amps or my DNA amp through my DNS cabs. HOWEVER, there are times when I've played with a backline and then I'll pull out my Eden WTDI (DI stompbox with built-in Eden WT preamp). I can make any amp I have to play through sound like one of my Eden amps. Done that with Peavey, GK, acoustic, MarkBass, Ampeg, etc. by plugging my bass into my WTDI and my WTDI into the effects return of the backline amp. Doing that bypasses the backline amps preamp section and runs the preamp from my pedal into the backline's power section. Works GREAT!
Also run my WTDI directly to a soundboard in a place that doesn't want us to use our amps. And then in 2019 I did a recording session at a pro studio in Seattle and they had me run direct to the board so they didn't have a crosstalk problem with the bass and drums. They wanted me to use their DI box, but I insisted on using my WTDI. At the end of the session both the sound engineer and the owner came out to see what I was using that sounded so good.
The whole reason I bought it was because I couldn't get a decent sound out of a Peavey 112 combo that they required me to use in this small brewpub. Hooked the WTDI into it and I was a happy camper again as the little Peavey sounded like an Eden amp. And then one night I arrived there and the 112 combo was gone. No worries! Just ran my WTDI into the sound board of our PA system and played through that for the night.
One of the real conveniences of using a preamp pedal is that you already know how to set it to make your bass sound good with it. So no need to waste time trying to dial in a decent sound on a backline amp.
I don't do much with pedals (I have a chorus pedal I received as a gift), but that WTDI travels with me in my gig bag everywhere I go. It might weigh a pound and was under $200 when I bought it.
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I used to run a pedalboard - then I got a Mesa TT-800. Two tube-based preamp channels as well as fantastic DIs that sound great. It is small enough that I don't mind at all bringing just the head for my rig. I run it either to FOH "ampless" or with 1 or 2 Barefaced BB3 cabs.
If you plan on using an amp, shop around to find one with the features and tone you want. If you can't find one that does what you want, maybe a preamp pedal will give you the tone and features you want. While a preamp pedal adds flexibility and versatility, it's also something extra to carry and setup. It's also another potential failure point in your signal path.
I would consider a preamp pedal primarily if my amp could not produce the sound I want, or if I wanted to run ampless. When running ampless, the preamp pedal would put gain and tone controls at my fingertips. Dialing in my own sound is way easier than trying to talk an audio tech through it. Also mixing boards are sometimes set up with the monitor sends pre EQ...meaning the audio tech cannot specifically dial the sound of your bass into the monitors. Also, the EQ on the channel strip really should be used to dial your sound into the main house mix.
I don't own a preamp pedal or preamp/DI pedal. I have assembled some stuff with the essentially the same functionality. I bought a used Empress ParaEQ V.7 significantly after it was discontinued. If I had known Empress would eventually release an updated Mk2, I would have waited
. Given the choice I would choice a Mk2 ParaEQ Deluxe. Input impedance is 1 Meg on the Mk2 and V.7.
I also have Aphex Punch Factory, which is a compressor with a DI. Input impedance is 10 Meg. The DI out is always post compressor. Chances are the audio tech will compress the bass a bit, so I don't consider this a game stopper. Compression on the regular out is switchable. So I could dial in light compression for the DI and click the switch so the signal going to my amp is not compressed.
If I were running an amp, I would place the ParaEQ after the Compressor/DI. If I were running ampless I would place the ParaEQ before the Compressor/DI.
There are lots of choices with lots of different features. IMHO, The first step is figuring out the tone and features you want. The second step is figuring out how much you are willing to spend.
I would consider a preamp pedal primarily if my amp could not produce the sound I want, or if I wanted to run ampless. When running ampless, the preamp pedal would put gain and tone controls at my fingertips. Dialing in my own sound is way easier than trying to talk an audio tech through it. Also mixing boards are sometimes set up with the monitor sends pre EQ...meaning the audio tech cannot specifically dial the sound of your bass into the monitors. Also, the EQ on the channel strip really should be used to dial your sound into the main house mix.
I don't own a preamp pedal or preamp/DI pedal. I have assembled some stuff with the essentially the same functionality. I bought a used Empress ParaEQ V.7 significantly after it was discontinued. If I had known Empress would eventually release an updated Mk2, I would have waited
. Given the choice I would choice a Mk2 ParaEQ Deluxe. Input impedance is 1 Meg on the Mk2 and V.7. I also have Aphex Punch Factory, which is a compressor with a DI. Input impedance is 10 Meg. The DI out is always post compressor. Chances are the audio tech will compress the bass a bit, so I don't consider this a game stopper. Compression on the regular out is switchable. So I could dial in light compression for the DI and click the switch so the signal going to my amp is not compressed.
If I were running an amp, I would place the ParaEQ after the Compressor/DI. If I were running ampless I would place the ParaEQ before the Compressor/DI.
There are lots of choices with lots of different features. IMHO, The first step is figuring out the tone and features you want. The second step is figuring out how much you are willing to spend.
I do play upright. I use an Acoustic Image head, which works well with the impedance, eq, mic blend, etc...but I guess I can add another advantage to a pedal. I COULD use it on upright too. Hmm, I wonder how the Noble would sound on upright?
First I went only rack preamp. Then I added a pedal preamp. Then I added a bunch of pedals. Eventually I ditched the rack preamp and use the pedalboard for everything. Way more versatile and eliminating 2U of rack space/weight/everything else is worth it.
Based on reputation...probably pretty good. 10Meg input impedance, so no problem with a piezo. However it has limited tone controls, so I would consider adding a utility EQ. IMHO at least one sweepable mid is usually really useful...more is better.
The need for a utility EQ goes up with volume requirements...but you probably already know this
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This made me think of something. If someone has a pedalboard already, then maybe the pedal preamp would be an easy thing to transition to. I have a compressor and a tuner on my board at the moment. I am not 100% sold on the compressor. I'm still learning the ins and outs. But, if I did keep it in the chain, a pedal preamp might be an easier decision.
i can do all of the 'tone shaping' i need from any of my amps, except: when i use EFX (e.g., SA C4), and for the EFX i use = easy to stomp them all 'on' and know that i've set the preamp to enhance the shennanigans in the rest of my modest chain. the preamp pedal is just to help color the EFX in a subjectively pleasing way without thinking about any of it too much, or taking any of it too seriously...bass to amp works fine if i'm not using EFX.
one exception, possibly (although it's pretty new to me), is the edison pre (learned about it from @2saddleslab).
https://www.nightowl.industries/edison-preamp
i can see using this one piece as an 'always-on' preamp, all of the time (independant from my little EFX party), between bass and amp. i say that because i'm enjoying the warmth/bounce that the tube preamp yields. it's still a novel experience for me, so i don't know where it will go, but i'm sure enjoying it ATM.
TL;DR: bottom line: i'm real sure there are no rules: discover what you like, if anything, and play it to your satisfaction. there are no advantages to a preamp unless you discover the advantage(s) for yourself.
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