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Best bass preamp?

#81
Cracker7 said:
Love my Southampton Ictineo and I use the RNDI. Both are exceptional
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I'm seriously considering the Southampton Ictineo, everything I've heard sounds great. I tried the MXR M80, but returned it. I didn't like the sound, unfortunately. I've had good luck with the Tonehammer and the SCR-DI. I like what I've heard with the SolidgoldFX Beta DLX, that's a serious contender as well.
 
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#82
3789DFE7-5E04-483A-B677-B850529ADC40.jpeg The Darkglass21 AlphaOxfordOmega.

My personal favorite. They sound like they were made to play together.

With those settings, covering some Robert DeLeo with my Ric and some old ass strings.
Dropbox - S. Remains.mp3 - Simplify your life
 
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#87
I was considering trying out the EHX Nano Battalion as a slightly less than clean preamp. For anyone that has this pedal or has used it, can you get a decent clean sound out of the pedal in addition to the dirt? Also, does it have enough horsepower to drive/push any pedals after it? I tried the linden eq as a clean preamp awhile back, and while the sound was nice, it just didn't have enough ponies under the hood.
 
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#88
FaithNoMan said:
View attachment 3512558 The Darkglass21 AlphaOxfordOmega.

My personal favorite. They sound like they were made to play together.

With those settings, covering some Robert DeLeo with my Ric and some old ass strings.
Dropbox - S. Remains.mp3 - Simplify your life
Click to expand...

Nice stuff. Reminded me how much I dug Robert Deleo's sound, especially on Tiny Music.

After hearing this, and listening to a few other demos, I realized I've missed my AO since selling it off. Just bought it again, curious how well it'll sound stacked with an American sound. That Oxford combo is some sort of wonderful, though.
 
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#90
vlad_drac said:
Nice stuff. Reminded me how much I dug Robert Deleo's sound, especially on Tiny Music.

After hearing this, and listening to a few other demos, I realized I've missed my AO since selling it off. Just bought it again, curious how well it'll sound stacked with an American sound. That Oxford combo is some sort of wonderful, though.
Click to expand...

Thanks man:)

Deleo definitely captured the spirit of John Paul Jones in his grooves for sure! And his chunk breaks out at the right moments too.(like in Meatplow and the early Tool-like grind in Lounge Fly)
 
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#94
I love my Radial Bassbone V2, but that's also because I have an use for the second channel with the high input impedance for piezo pups
 
#95
I am currently enjoying a DiCosimo 360+ preamp. It's not for everyone, maybe, because its EQ points are somewhat unusual (beyond the treble and bass knobs, the variamp selector is boost and cut at 50/100/200/400/800 so it can act as either another bass or a low-mid knob, really), and its fuzz is somewhat unusual, and its voltage is somewhat unusual at 24V.... And it's not cheap.

But, where I kind of expected "classic 60s amp" to equal fat and burpy like something approximating tubes, the clean channel is just plain powerful and pure. That threw me off initially, but the more I dial it in the more I am into it. I have no idea how accurate that is to the old acoustic 360 preamp as I've never played one, but either way I think it's great.
 
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#96
I hope you see this, lots of times when threads go 5+ pages, the later posts are paid less attention....

I have an M81 and it's great. Speaking strictly from the aspect of a DI, Over the years I've auditioned and used:

Ampeg SCR-DI (twice) sold both
Too boomy and just wasn't my thing. Sorry Jimmy, I tried!

MXR M80 (bought it on a Friday, returned it on the following Monday)
The OD is just not pleasant in my humble opinion. I don't use much, but I couldn't ever dial up something that made me happy...

Pigtronix Bass Station (yea it has a DI) They don't make them any longer but they pop here, reverb etc. They have a good info-only page on them at Sweetwater.com
Sold mine in one of those grass is greener moments. Big footprint, but great! Honestly if I had it still, I'd have it, a tuner, and a bass EQ pedal in the loop section and be done.

Tech 21 Para-DI (twice) have the second one currently
It's my backup. Was my primary until recently.

MXR M81 (twice) kept the one I have and am using currently.
Switched to this one. Feels like home. Was prompted to put the M81 back into action because it has an adjustable input. When I play for my church, different bassists with different basses play and If I play a Sunday following someone with a weak bass signal, I need to be able to dial my bass back a bit. I know that should be done at the mixing console, but it's church. Volunteers are often absent, or don't notice, or don't know what to do...


The M81 is great as far as being a solid performer. It gives you subtle and very usable tone shaping. I've always found it to be a very forgiving DI when it comes to playing nice with your instrument. I have had basses didn't quite have the grounding squared away the way it should be My M81 always provided minimal hum despite my bass. I mean, not terrible hum, but there. I recall one having something not quite right with the series-parallel-single coil toggle. Another had a preamp that was a little noisy... Also, the M81 has in input and an output pot. I play church bass, and the overall mix is a real moving target. Having that control is a giant help when it comes to dialing in something you can use in deference to inexperienced or even absent sound mixing person. Overall it's just a great, quiet, reliable little DI.

I like my Tech 21 Para DI very much as well. It lives in my gig bag as an in the event of catastrophic failure backup. I figure with the blend-able in-built OD, sweep mids, and other buttons that it has, it's a keeper and could run the whole show if it came down to it. - Wouldn't exactly be my sound, but could get darn close with it and it's small size is hardly a problem to have it as a backup.

So that's my story, and am imagining that you are in close to the same boat from my read of the your OP. Hope this helps!
 
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#98
JRA said:
i have/use an ampeg classic bass pre-amp. i'm happy with it. it's cheap (around $100 when on sale). i can't compare it to other pedal pre-amps.

Ampeg Classic Analog Bass Preamp Pedal
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Hey JRA... I am looking for a solid preamp. Nothing crazy, just for mostly 70s/Classic Rock. And maybe one that provides a smidgen more overdrive. I was looking at the Ampeg Classic Analog Preamp and it sounded good on clips. Some people were complaining of a popping noise when you engage/disengage it. Also when the Ultra Low button is engaged (a pop noise). Do you think this preamp is solidly built or on the "cheap" side. Thanks.
 
#100
Kipp Harrington : hey! my experience is as follows: i think the pedal is solidly built. i don't get a pop (i just checked!) engaging/disengaging the pedal. that said: i only use the pedal to balance/manipulate the difference between my direct to amp signal and my pedalboard (i don't use a pedalboard all of the time, so....) and it's an 'always-on' pedal for my use. the control/EQ knobs are quite effective. i use the ultra-high button (engaged) but not the ultra-low --- i only engage my pedalboard for solos or efx on certain tunes. in short: i think it's a fine pre-amp pedal given my limited use of it. i would recommend it to a friend! ;)
 

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