Combining Tube and Solid State Preamps In One Rack

[thefunkgorilla]

Does anyone have any actual experience in combining a rack mount tube preamp(specifically Ampeg SVP Pro) and rack mount solid state preamp (BBE Bmax) in one rack? My idea is to run both signals through a one space rackmount mixer (Alesis makes a suitable model). The tube and SS signals could be mixed to suit individual tastes and the master level controlled by the mixer on the way to the Crown power amp. I have lucked into all the above equipment with the exception of the mixer. I hear guys talking about the tube/SS combo preamps as being lacking in tone quality as compared to the primo Ampeg type pre's. Any thoughts? In my experience with this type of experiment, It could either be spectacular or a muddy mess.....

 

[Nev375]

I had a peavey max preamp that had separate tube/ss channels which were blendable. And while you are correct the tone of that unit does not compare to ampeg or other boutique stuff, I got the idea of how such a setup works.

My opinion: Rather than blend the channels, I found it more useful to simply set them to different EQ curves and switch between them. Having 2 preamps contribute to the overall tone just made finding the right tone that much more difficult and complex to achieve.

Now I use a Kern tube pre and the thing I like about it most is that its very easy to find a wide range of wonderful sounding tones with just a few knobs. Fact is, its very difficult to find a bad sounding setting through that box.

Remember the motto K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid) when it comes to gear.

 

[taurus1]

I could see switching between the two for different tones but blending them for a combined tone I think would be a waste of energy and time.

 

[Passinwind]

My latest SS preamp build has a parallel EFX loop and I've tried a number of tube preamps in the loop. Works fine for clean/dirty blending with separate dedicated EQ for the dirty signal, but I tend to prefer completely separate clean and dirty rigs, including separate cabs. In my case the most useful implementation would be for doubling though, with the SS pre for EUB and the tube one for BG.