does this kind of preamp exist in USA?

[mellowgerman]

sure, but i think you guys have just made my point about trying to fix bad-sounding basses with extravagant EQing for me

I'm going to pretend I didn't hear/read that

 

[mellowgerman]

Delano sonar 3 band preamp and nordstrand 3 band preamp are exactly what you are looking for...

there are many retailer in the u.s.

good luck

thanks!
I just looked them up though and they only look to have the selectable mid frequencies... I dig this noll preamp because it has selectable frequencies for bass and treble too... or did i read the delano/nordstrand specs wrong?

 

[walterw]

Erm... a lot of amps offer you this degree of control. Nobody argues that you need a different bass if you use so many controls in your amp, right?

well i might, but at this point you guys would probably think i was being a troll

i will argue that a good bass (or amp, or guitar) is one that "wants" to sound good; that is, its inherent tone is naturally pleasing, and doesn't require that much correction.

of course, the "P-bass into sansamp" grindy rock tone that's naturally right for me is probably useless for the 7-string modern gospel guy, so the rig that "wants" to sound good for him will be obviously different.

The purpose of a preamp, on the actual bass, is to give you the possibility to get very different tones without twiddling knobs on an amp, and being able to generate the sound you want from the bass itself rather than from the amp.

i can certainly see the advantage when running through gear with minimal controls (like powered bergantino cabs, or just a direct box).

 

[SebbyNC]

i can certainly see the advantage when running through gear with minimal controls (like powered bergantino cabs, or just a direct box).

I can see another advantage: when you go to a jam session and don't have time to tweak the amp, or if you don't want to change the original bassist's amp settings for example.

 

[Xx: V L F :xX]

My bass sounds good no matter how I EQ it. I added a J-Retro to my Jazz when I moved to Nashville since I never play through an amp here. Every bar or venue has a decent sound reinforcement system, at worst. I always play directly into my Radial DI. The added tone control lets me go from a Metallica cover songs to country music songs without changing basses. If the bass sounds good, it sounds good and having more EQ control just adds to its versatility.

 

[cnltb]

Hey everyone. I'm currently considering adding a preamp for my starfire bass. The one that I've found (exactly the controls I'm looking for) is a Noll TCM-3P. The problem is it's only available in Europe. I suppose I would be okay with buying one of these, but with the exchange rate ($ to Euros) I'd much rather find something similar domestically.
So I'm wondering if there is any preamp available by US-brands that has the same or a similar layout?

why not just order from europe?
If you really want it it may just be worth it.