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Do I NEED a pre-amp pedal?

#21
No, you don't need one, particularly if you're happy with your sound. If you want one because you want some more tonal shaping options, then go for it. It can be a fun rabbit hole to dive down. But it's not a necessity.

I have multiple amps and far too many pedals, including a few preamps. Lately I've been playing more ampless gigs and I've done a few with a passive bass into a Line6 HX Effects and a Radial JDI direct box. The FOH guys were completely happy with the signal I sent them and what I heard in the mains and my IEMs sounded great.
 
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#22
Do you play through an amp? Does the amp have a preamp? Does the preamp have the frequencies you like/find useful? If the answer to those is a resounding hell yeah, then you don't really need it a preamp. If the answer to some/all is no, then you definitely could use a preamp.


BUT

Do you need overdrive/more gain? Do you go straight into the board? Do you want to split your sound to the board and the amp? Do you want to have a certain flavor/consistency in your sound and take it everywhere you go? If the answer to those is a resounding hell yeah, then you definitely need a preamp.
 
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#23
W Collins said:
Ive never used a pre-amp pedal. I play a Jazz with flats. The first pedal it sees is an always on Cali 76 CB. The pre-amp sticky got me wondering what I'm missing out on.

While our obvious answer is always "yes" to MoArGeAr?, do I need a pre-amp pedal? The top rated pre-amps on the sticky are quite a spend. What will it do for me? Is it an eq fine tuning thing?
Click to expand...

Flats through that compressor sound amazing. A tube preamp in my experience seems to make the best qualities of the tone more prominent. But for the subtle ones, it's not enough of a difference for an untrained ear to notice compared to a compressor alone, and I don't know if the distinguishing qualities get lost in the mix from the audience perspective. My perspective is that it's definitely worth it for music that breathes enough to truly hear the finer qualities of the bass tone IMO, probably unnecessary for just holding down the low end in a loud band unless you need it for making tone when going DI.
 
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#25
W Collins said:
Ive never used a pre-amp pedal. I play a Jazz with flats. The first pedal it sees is an always on Cali 76 CB. The pre-amp sticky got me wondering what I'm missing out on.

While our obvious answer is always "yes" to MoArGeAr?, do I need a pre-amp pedal? The top rated pre-amps on the sticky are quite a spend. What will it do for me? Is it an eq fine tuning thing?
Click to expand...
No. I'm a guy who has a lot of preamp pedals, but I like experimenting. If you are happy with your sound, you don't need a preamp pedal.
 
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#26
I think it depends on your application. I use a preamp (with an ernie ball music man) into my darkglass M900. Its a Two Notes Lebass, it helps give the amp that nice subtle tube breakup and I love the sound of the drives in many preamps (thats for rockier stuff). In my funk project I tend not to use it to keep as clean as possible.
 
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#27
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Stair into the tube and the answer will become clearo_O
 
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#28
If you don't have an amplifier playing live, you might like a signal chain that includes your compressor + preamp + a DI box. This can help shape and enhance your tone before sending it to the soundboard.

In my setup, I've found that the combination of a Cali76 compressor, a DCX Bass preamp, and a JDI DI box works well for me. I don't do any crazy settings on the preamp though; a slight bass and treble boost is enough to give some character a passive bass.

Additionally, I have a tuner and a noise gate in my setup, although they may not directly relate to the question at hand.
 
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#30
Hello!
the short answer is => yes, you need it :D
the longer one sounds like this => there are two possibilities:
- you are not happy with your tone now => you need it :D
- you're happy with your tone now, but that does not mean you should/could be happier => you need it :D

and...you need one with a built in od/dist circuit, and...any preamp on the market will work for your purpose...if you read "Darkglass" on the pedal case :D
 
#31
Gigas444 said:
Hello!
the short answer is => yes, you need it :D
the longer one sounds like this => there are two possibilities:
- you are not happy with your tone now => you need it :D
- you're happy with your tone now, but that does not mean you should/could be happier => you need it :D

and...you need one with a built in od/dist circuit, and...any preamp on the market will work for your purpose...if you read "Darkglass" on the pedal case :D
Click to expand...
...only if it says "X" on the case...then there is reason for happiness :smug:
 
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#36
If you're happy with what you have, then you don't need a preamp. But one can be handy to have on certain ocasions.

If you find your eq lacking or want a certain colour on your sound, then a preamp is a great tool to achieve that.

If you play on diferent venues and use diferent backline, then a preamp is usefull to have consistency of tone wherever you play.

If you have to play direct for any number of reasons, then a preamp with a DI is the perfect tool for that.

And last, if something happens with your amp and it starts malfunctioning during the gig it's always good to have a preamp with DI on your board or on your bag to be able to go through the rest of the gig.
 
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