Best 'non sparkly' preamps?

[CorrosionMedia]

Okay so this is a bit of an odd one cause it's basically the opposite of what most people want - I'm looking for an onboard preamp that doesn't have the typical ultra bright sparkly clean sound.

I LOVE the preamp in my Music Man Sterling (USA) and the Stingrays I've tried in the past because they have more of a clanky grown than the zing that a lot of the preamps in other basses have.
Is there anything around that kinda has that vibe?

 

[Jefenator]

I’ve always thought of Bartolini as having a darker base tone.
Also consider adding a passive tone knob. I find that works great in conjunction with active EQ. (Active treble controls set to cut don’t do the same thing at all IME.)

 

[XLunacy]

How about a preamp that still has a passive tone control out of the box ? John East comes to mind, other brands might have that as well.

 

[markanini]

Musicman does some pretty specific stuff that's tailored to pickups they use. I don't think you will find anything quite like that in aftermarket preamps, because those are more universal.

 

[ctmullins]

I’m a fan of John East’s products, and since you’re in the UK, that should make them a bit more affordable as well.

He has a two-band MM style preamp, and a three-band that is supposed to emulate the two-band when the mids are set flat. I’ve never tried them, but I have many of his BTB-01 units, and I love what they do.

 

[Alex Masters]

I have a John East Uni-Pre 5 in a couple of my basses. I love the way the passive and active circuits work in conjunction with each other. If I'm getting too much clank, dialling back the passive a bit gets me right where I want to be. Love it!

 

[pepj]

East is very glassy to my ears when it gets unusable. Too many pre amps incorporate frequencies you think you'll want, but actually don't.
East is one of them IMV.
You can always dial it down of course.

Best pre amps for me are Pope and Glock which to my tastes are very musical and not harsh or glassy.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Audere anything...bonus points for the Z mode option but I do well without it.

Riis

 

[kerrycares]

Audere and Aguilar and Mike Pope

 

[Jefus]

The Darkglass is surprisingly useful, especially with a passive tone control. I've put it in two basses of mine (G.Gould 5 and a Schecter 8) with Nordstand Big Blades and love that combination.

 

[skyline_01]

A vote for Nordstrand here. I've always thought they were pretty neutral but can also give you some growl/clank when needed.

 

[PeaveyPlayer]

Nordstrand
Seymour Duncan For sure !!!!
Darkglass

 

[MaxSpinrun]

I have John East and Audere, as others have said the can be dialed back and work very well.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

Audere preamps are pretty great, when considering the price they are amazing. Rolling the treble off on one of their 3B onboard EQs doesn't make the tone muddy IME, even with something like a split coil P pickup it still stays articulate and warm (on a good pickup).

A graphic EQ pedal might help with this too...save you from having to do a preamp swap and you'll have more control than an onboard preamp will afford you.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Okay so this is a bit of an odd one cause it's basically the opposite of what most people want - I'm looking for an onboard preamp that doesn't have the typical ultra bright sparkly clean sound.

I LOVE the preamp in my Music Man Sterling (USA) and the Stingrays I've tried in the past because they have more of a clanky grown than the zing that a lot of the preamps in other basses have.
Is there anything around that kinda has that vibe?

Nordstrand.

They have a high freq curve switch. One setting gives you high highs. The other gives you fridge highs.

They also have a gain knob, and no coloration to speak of flat. As in, with unity gain, and flat knob settings, there is absolutely no difference in tone between active and passive via pull knob passive.

 

[Geri O]

I'm surprised to see the John East preamp described by someone as anything related to "glassy". The reason I love the East because because it's bright, clear, and warm all as once and with lots of variation possiblities. I do like the Audere and I look forward to installing an Audere preamp in a friend's American Elite Jazz in the coming days. But I could make the Audere very glassy in the basses I used it in. When I discovered the East J Retro Deluxe (with the passive treble control), I knew I had hit my holy grail of preamps.

My experience with the Norstrand preamp is similar to the Audere. A quality preamp that sounds great and with plenty of possibilities.

 

[ctmullins]

I'm surprised to see the John East preamp described by someone as anything related to "glassy". The reason I love the East because because it's bright, clear, and warm all as once and with lots of variation possiblities. I do like the Audere and I look forward to installing an Audere preamp in a friend's American Elite Jazz in the coming days. But I could make the Audere very glassy in the basses I used it in. When I discovered the East J Retro Deluxe (with the passive treble control), I knew I had hit my holy grail of preamps.

My experience with the Norstrand preamp is similar to the Audere. A quality preamp that sounds great and with plenty of possibilities.

And please, let's avoid over-generalization. John East makes a number of different preamps, with several different voicings and tone shaping options. The Uni-Pre lets you adjust the treble response anywhere between 1kHz and 7.5kHz. The J-Retro (and derivative BTB) boosts at 3kHz and cuts at 1kHz. The MMSR family operates at 10kHz, with more boost than cut, but plenty of each.

It's misleading to talk about all John East products as though they all have the same sound.

 

[Killing Floor]

East+++
So versatile.

 

[Geri O]

And please, let's avoid over-generalization. John East makes a number of different preamps, with several different voicings and tone shaping options. The Uni-Pre lets you adjust the treble response anywhere between 1kHz and 7.5kHz. The J-Retro (and derivative BTB) boosts at 3kHz and cuts at 1kHz. The MMSR family operates at 10kHz, with more boost than cut, but plenty of each.

It's misleading to talk about all John East products as though they all have the same sound.

Sorry if “over-generalization” came across. Quite the opposite was my intention. No intent to mis-lead.

 

[ctmullins]

Sorry if “over-generalization” came across. Quite the opposite was my intention. No intent to mis-lead.

Not aimed at you specifically, Geri. But I do personally find it frustrating when people say things like "the EMG sound" or "the Aguilar sound" or "the Bartolini sound" or "the Ampeg sound", when these companies make a wide variety of products that are designed to cover lots of different tones.

Relevant to the OP, the various John East products will obviously have a different treble character, so don't categorically discount everything John East based on a single generalization.