I recently acquired a new Mike Pope Design MPP-1 Bass Preamp. You can find the details at www.michaelpopedesign.com. I'll start by saying that I'm a tone purist. I've always achieved my best tone in the studio going straight to the board, and I try to replicate this tone on stage. I've always had a difficult time getting the dynamics of my playing to come through on live gigs. Touch and articulation tend to get muddled once the frequencies on stage start to bleed and certain frequencies start resonating more than others. This is why I approached Mike about his preamps.
I have the MPP-1 single channel bass preamp running through the effects receive of a stereo walter woods. This powers (2) Markbass 121H cabinets, and for bigger stages I add the Markbass 151P and run Walter in stereo.
This preamp is impressive. A bit complicated, but nothing you can't get a hold of fairly quickly. There are basically 2 frequency points for each band. Similar to how guitar players think of their tone, Mike doesn't use numbers and instead uses Crunch and Air for treble, Round and Punch for the Mids, and Thick and Deep for the Bass.
The treble frequency is usable, unlike any I've ever heard. Boosting the Air frequency, you can achieve a more "open" sound which never sounds harsh, even when you boost it all the way. Crunch centers the frequency a little lower and dips more into the high mids, and can add a lot of pitch definition. Cutting the air acts a bit like a passive tone control which can help cut string noise. It also helps in getting a dark and funky finger tone.
The mid frequency does just what it says. Boosting punch helps achieve a really barky and cutting tone, cutting that frequency can get the "honk" out of your sound. Boosting round is what Mike calls the "mwah" maker. It boosts the low mids, and its frequency point is perfect for fattening up your bridge fingerstyle tone. Perfect for my 70s position jazz basses.
I never cut mids, it just doesn't work on stage, but there is an additional midrange control called edge. It's center indent is flat, but cutting yields a rotary slap contour, which, thankfully, doesn't have to be as drastic as most other amp companies make it when they give you a preset button. Boosting is somewhat similar to boosting the mids with the punch setting on. It is sort of a go to midrange control on the fly. In corresponding with Mike, which, by the way, is a real treat, I called it the immediacy control. If your tone is a little too "up front" it is a good control to round it out a bit, and boosting it can help bring more "attack" into your sound.
The bass controls thick and round are both very useful. The deep switch really boosts some low stuff and is great when you're not going front of house. The thick setting has been most useful in a band context. This is where I think bass players have the most trouble in a mix. Often times, bass frequencies just resonant like crazy and don't sound tight or controlled. They also tend to compete sonically with drums and keys. Boosting the bass control makes you realize that you got this preamp from a bass player that understands our unique sonic problems.
The preamp in general just gives your bass a sort of "sonic space". You don't sound like your competing and, in turn, mudding up the other instruments in the group. Since using it, bands I've played in simply sound better. I also don't have to turn up nearly as much. I can hear myself better at lower volume settings, and the bass still sounds full.
All of these controls are great, but thankfully Mike started the whole thing off completely flat. It is a straight to board sound, and to me, that is perfect. The frequency controls are just RIGHT to help us get out of trouble. It's also one of the most impressive low noise/low distortion preamps available.
Other features include 2 mute switches, one cuts out all signal except to tuner out, and the other cuts on stage signal leaving DI and headphone output on. There is a clip light, an input pad, a DI gain sent to a Jensen transformer, a ground lift, a separate line in (for IPod), and a headphone output. This is all incased in a very sturdy single space rack unit. I recommend the preamp highly, and Mike is great to deal with. He's very informed and speaks the bass tone language. Below is a pic of a rig I'll be keeping for a long time.
I have the MPP-1 single channel bass preamp running through the effects receive of a stereo walter woods. This powers (2) Markbass 121H cabinets, and for bigger stages I add the Markbass 151P and run Walter in stereo.
This preamp is impressive. A bit complicated, but nothing you can't get a hold of fairly quickly. There are basically 2 frequency points for each band. Similar to how guitar players think of their tone, Mike doesn't use numbers and instead uses Crunch and Air for treble, Round and Punch for the Mids, and Thick and Deep for the Bass.
The treble frequency is usable, unlike any I've ever heard. Boosting the Air frequency, you can achieve a more "open" sound which never sounds harsh, even when you boost it all the way. Crunch centers the frequency a little lower and dips more into the high mids, and can add a lot of pitch definition. Cutting the air acts a bit like a passive tone control which can help cut string noise. It also helps in getting a dark and funky finger tone.
The mid frequency does just what it says. Boosting punch helps achieve a really barky and cutting tone, cutting that frequency can get the "honk" out of your sound. Boosting round is what Mike calls the "mwah" maker. It boosts the low mids, and its frequency point is perfect for fattening up your bridge fingerstyle tone. Perfect for my 70s position jazz basses.
I never cut mids, it just doesn't work on stage, but there is an additional midrange control called edge. It's center indent is flat, but cutting yields a rotary slap contour, which, thankfully, doesn't have to be as drastic as most other amp companies make it when they give you a preset button. Boosting is somewhat similar to boosting the mids with the punch setting on. It is sort of a go to midrange control on the fly. In corresponding with Mike, which, by the way, is a real treat, I called it the immediacy control. If your tone is a little too "up front" it is a good control to round it out a bit, and boosting it can help bring more "attack" into your sound.
The bass controls thick and round are both very useful. The deep switch really boosts some low stuff and is great when you're not going front of house. The thick setting has been most useful in a band context. This is where I think bass players have the most trouble in a mix. Often times, bass frequencies just resonant like crazy and don't sound tight or controlled. They also tend to compete sonically with drums and keys. Boosting the bass control makes you realize that you got this preamp from a bass player that understands our unique sonic problems.
The preamp in general just gives your bass a sort of "sonic space". You don't sound like your competing and, in turn, mudding up the other instruments in the group. Since using it, bands I've played in simply sound better. I also don't have to turn up nearly as much. I can hear myself better at lower volume settings, and the bass still sounds full.
All of these controls are great, but thankfully Mike started the whole thing off completely flat. It is a straight to board sound, and to me, that is perfect. The frequency controls are just RIGHT to help us get out of trouble. It's also one of the most impressive low noise/low distortion preamps available.
Other features include 2 mute switches, one cuts out all signal except to tuner out, and the other cuts on stage signal leaving DI and headphone output on. There is a clip light, an input pad, a DI gain sent to a Jensen transformer, a ground lift, a separate line in (for IPod), and a headphone output. This is all incased in a very sturdy single space rack unit. I recommend the preamp highly, and Mike is great to deal with. He's very informed and speaks the bass tone language. Below is a pic of a rig I'll be keeping for a long time.
Looking forward to hearing more about it and hopefully trying one out sometime.
and I'm sure his new creation will become great too.
