Are there any 1U rack pre's that you really like for bass live - that aren't as expensive as the ones you've been listing here? I guess I mean any 'normal' or bass specific pre's.
Thanks, Gareth
so far, the SVP-CL has been the closest to the UA. its only problem is that it has somewhat of a low output signal. i run mine into an Aphex 661, even if i don't use any compression, to raise its level. other than that, IMO, it might be the best one out there. the Alembic F2B, F1-X and Demeter HPB-1J are also very nice, and if you are patient, can be found for reasonable prices.
on the gig last night, i was concerned about having enough eq for tone shaping a room that i've never played before, so i took both the ISA430 and the UA. the room was VERY subby sounding so i used the ISA for the first two sets and it was not too difficult to tame the room with it. the Accugroove cab is extremely clean sounding compared to my Vox 1212/6 cab (which has more mid-bass growl) so it almost felt too clean with the ISA430 MKII at times. but it did sound absolutely HUGE though, had alot of punch, and was really rich and smooth sounding.
on the 3rd and 4th sets, wondering the UA would have enough eq to handle the situation, i patched it in anyway. i ended up swithing the low shelf eq to 70hz and cut it at -6db, and boosted the 4.5Khz at +3 for cutting thru. i also clicked the gain to +10 to give i a little grit ( i usually run it at +5), set the drive level at 7.5 and set the compressor on its '4' setting. i set the compressor's threshold to use it more like limiter so it barely was doing anything except adding its tone to the signal. on that stage, it tracked all of the notes better, and the tiny bit of overdrive made it sound very punchy. so far, its the best sounding preamp that i've ever used, so its going with me to my next gig next saturday. i think i'll take either the Avalon, or the ISA again just to try them in a different room.
