Demeter preamps

other than huge, what kind of sound are you looking for? rock grit, hi-fi, smooth compression?? it might be useful to determine the kind of sound you want before trying to find out how to get it.

 

I play thru a VTBP-201S. I love it. It's warm and has a nice degree of natural compression. It's eq is passive so there isn't a lot of control in terms of timbre. I know theHBP-1 has a parametric eq, but I haven't played thru it. But I played through a few tube pre's before deciding on the Demeter. For the money, it's the best in my opinion.

Hope that helps!

 

LakLnd5, I have to agree. I've been through a bunch of preamps in search of my tone, and wasn't expecting much when I plugged into my first Demeter... boy, was I surprised! Fat and incredibly FAST, I can see why they make it into "reference" rigs! The tone controls are subtle but powerful, as you said. I don't think the Demeters are shy on the mids, either, like the Alembics they're often compared too.

I went through a lot of equipment in search of a sound that I couldn't get until I got a Demeter. Go for it!

 

I do not have first hand experience with this unit...it is, however, made locally. I thought I'd try to help my local economy out!

ps it no longer has the wall wart

www.kernacm.com/review.htm

 

I have the VTBP 201 with the Jensen transformer. Best sound I ever had. If you want distortion, then you would probably want to look for something else. If you want a warm, clean, tone machine then I highly recommend the Demeter. It is the sh!t.

 

one of the best bass tones i've ever heard was a MM stingray thru a demeter (dunno what model - this was some time ago - it was a 1/2 rack space one) preamp, a GK 400rb and a hartke 4x10xl. i remember thinking that the demeter was the absolute sh!t - it made mundane gear like the 400rb and 410xl sound amazing.

i haven't heard one, but people say aguilar equipment is 'tonal nirvana'. they make a couple different preamps, as well as an all tube head.

 

Has anyone played thru an HBP-1? I'm curious how the solid state EQ affects the quality. It's almost $200 more than the 201s, which is still cheaper than a Kern. I wonder if it's worth it.

 

I've heard great things about Demeter, and their rep is no doubt well deserved. In addition, I have read that the only thing some people didn't care for was that they were so clean. I suppose that sounds odd, but for those looking for a tube pre with more edge or grind to it, the Demeter may not be the final word. Regardless, I would really like to try one some time, but haven't had the opportunity.

 

Pres like the Alembic and Deneter use simple tone stacks (in fact Alembic uses the standard Fender style circuit which is why it seems mid-shy to some). Compared to modern solid state pres with massive boost/cut, variable bandwidth, sweepable frequencies, etc. they give less overall boost or cut, have more interaction between bands but have less audible artifacts.

The idea is that extreme tone shaping should not be required if you have a good bass, good power amp and good speakers.

In my own experience this is true. I find the better the amp, the less I touch the EQ.

 

JT,

I thought you had the big-boy Aguilar.. DB980 (?)

How does the grind of the Aguilar compare to an IOD or SVP, (or my F-1X?)

 

As I totally agree with brianrost in spirit I disagree on a practical level. If the system is played in a controlled environment then tone shaping is not needed if you have the right stuff. But in the real world of gigging we as bassists get stuck in some awful room that booms or sucks all the low notes out of the air.

I absolutely love the tone of the Alembic 1F-X and think that it probably will work in most situations. I'm sure this would be the case with the Demeter's as well.