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Best rack preamp
- Thread starter Riefe88
- Start date
There are a lot of options, what's your budget?
For Bass:
MichaelPopeDesign.com MPP-1 Bass Pre-Amp
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For Bass:
MichaelPopeDesign.com MPP-1 Bass Pre-Amp
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Many out there ... of those I have actually used, the one like best is the Glockenklang bassart pre.
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What are you after in terms of tone, price etc?
What have you trial'd? $600-800 will buy a whole lot o' preamp but your "holy grail" could very well be a $350 discontinued Ampeg SVP-CL or $225 SansAmp.
Riis
Riis
Or read some of the other threads - an iPad.
Or a small PC.
You can rack mount it on a slide out tray. Or a monitor tray that pops up when you open-it.
Or a small PC.
You can rack mount it on a slide out tray. Or a monitor tray that pops up when you open-it.
That's exactly what I was going to suggest. Find a used SVP-CL and you'll be very happy.
If you're talking for tracking bass direct, or tracking mics on a bass or guitar cab, I don't know if its the best, but our studio had demos of the new Burl B1 and Burl B1D preamps. They have an input and output gain, letting you get a little transformer "compression" or even drive, and also switchable mic pre impedance, letting you get proximity effect or no proximity effect when mic'ing a cab. They are really designed for tracking bass or guitar. Some of my favorite pre's for tracking bass direct and mic'ing bass cabs that I've heard. Thought I would mention it since it's not a well known product (yet). We loved them so much we bought one of each for our API lunchbox. Around $700 ea but you gotta have a lunchbox too (can find on ebay for $400).
If you don't want to but a lunchbox, check out the UA Twin Finity 710, a really great only-channel-strip-in-my-home-studio type of box. Goes for $799 and you can do similar input/output gain staging with a blend between transformer and tube circuits. I've heard of good tube and tranny mods for this box too. Sounds better than the LA 610 channel strip and is cheaper.
If you don't want to but a lunchbox, check out the UA Twin Finity 710, a really great only-channel-strip-in-my-home-studio type of box. Goes for $799 and you can do similar input/output gain staging with a blend between transformer and tube circuits. I've heard of good tube and tranny mods for this box too. Sounds better than the LA 610 channel strip and is cheaper.
Wow a lot of great info thanks guys!!! But yeah I'd love to have something that would be the best of both worlds recording/live..But something to use for my live rig primarily .. I've looked in to sansamps rack mounts and I'm diggin the RBI.. But I was looking for something along the line of a tubed pre amp.
ah. maybe this should have been in amps, so it's clear you're looking for a pre for your live rig, not a recording pre
no biggie... reading back that kinda made me sound like a jerk, but i thought you were asking about recording pre's. good luck!
- Jun 16, 2005
- 3,584
- 31
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Spector, Aguilar, Darkglass
For the times I want a pre-amp, I love my (very) ol' Ampeg SVT-IIP. And my SansAmp Bass Driver DI programmable is also fairly awesome through a big-ish rig.
As others have noted, it depends on what you're wanting from your tone! The SVP-CL PRO is a great tube pre. If you're looking more vintage tone, fender tbp-1. Most any amp company makes or has made a rack pre that's the front end of their amps, so if there's a particularly company you're partial to....
I'm confused....the SVT-3pro HAS a tube pre-amp section. Why would you get another to put in front of it in the chain? (Other than the fact that my SVT-3pro is extremely unreliable, of course, so I never gig with it).
