I am jonesing for a new preamp. My church rig is an Avalon U5 --> Crest CA-6 --> Bergantino HT322. I now need to use my U5 for some other applications so I'm looking to get another preamp. What would you guys recommend? My bass is a Ken Smith and I play gospel and funk. Also, I eventually want to get a Berg IP310 so it needs to work well with that too. Please help.
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Help Me pick a Preamp
- Thread starter rick1906
- Start date
Maybe a demeter hbp1-h.
The Alembic f1-x is also wicked cool and you can get one for a decent price used; I had one for a while.
I didn't much care for the aggie 659, too brittle, too sterile and overall tone wasn't for me. Some people love them though, just not my bag.
The Alembic f1-x is also wicked cool and you can get one for a decent price used; I had one for a while.
I didn't much care for the aggie 659, too brittle, too sterile and overall tone wasn't for me. Some people love them though, just not my bag.
What kind of tone would you like?
Very tubey? Alembic F-1X or Kern IP-777
Tubey? Aguilar DB659 / BBE BMax-T
Tubey, but fast? Demeter VTBP-201S or HBP-1
Solid and fast? BBE BMax / PJB Bass Buddy / PJB P-1 / Glockenklang Bass Art Classic
Very versatile? Aguilar DB680 / Read Purity / Ashdown RPM-1 / Ampeg SVP-Pro / Tech 21 RBI or RPM
Never heard either of those descriptors applied to the DB659, but I know that upgrading the stock tubes can make it sound a lot better than stock.
Of the preamp's I've owned or tried, IMO lo-freq's preamp's list is 100% on the money. 
I own two preamps at this time; a Demeter HBP-1 and a Read Custom Purity. IMO both preamps sound great but have separate qualities.
IMO the HBP-1's parametric eq section has a good amount of flexibility. As lo-freq's stated: "Tubey, but fast."
To my ears the Purity has a warmer, more tubey sound compared to the HBP-1. I also dig it's eq bypass switch. It's a shame the Purity is no longer in production.
I've owned an Alembic F-1X, which IMO is another killer preamp. IMO the Purity has a warmth similar to the F-1X's.
For a tubey-sounding preamp with a rockin' tone, I like Ampeg's SVP-Pro preamp.
I own two preamps at this time; a Demeter HBP-1 and a Read Custom Purity. IMO both preamps sound great but have separate qualities.
IMO the HBP-1's parametric eq section has a good amount of flexibility. As lo-freq's stated: "Tubey, but fast."
To my ears the Purity has a warmer, more tubey sound compared to the HBP-1. I also dig it's eq bypass switch. It's a shame the Purity is no longer in production.
I've owned an Alembic F-1X, which IMO is another killer preamp. IMO the Purity has a warmth similar to the F-1X's.
For a tubey-sounding preamp with a rockin' tone, I like Ampeg's SVP-Pro preamp.
There's a lot of REALLY nice preamps out there, just depends on how much debt you want to put yourself in. Bang for your buck it's hard to beat the BBE B-max or B-maxT, if you want to rock, Ampeg/Ashdown, if you want to sit and listen to yourself play all day long because you can't believe how amazing it sounds... Alembic.
I do wish I had tried some different tubes in it while I still had it. I was so impressed w/the f1-x that I immeadiatly jumped on the f1-x after being relatively unimpressed w/659.
But now I'm trying to decide between my Kern and my Read (after buying and still trying a bunch of tubes). A VERY hard choice to make.
I've owned an Eden WP-100, an SWR IOD, and an Ampeg SVP. The Eden is hands down my fav. The Swr was great for the rock band I played with, as was the Ampeg. They both had a variety of tones, but the Eden was really versatile, and it was nice having a footswichable mute, boost, and enhance. The EQ is powerful and the compressor is outstanding. It's got plenty of connectivity, too.
I bough an Ashly BP-41 at a local MusicGoRound. Extremely clean and extremely transparent. I couldn't be happier.
Also, those Yamaha pre's from the 80's are quite good. And cheap!
Also, those Yamaha pre's from the 80's are quite good. And cheap!
