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Monolith MAGMA Bass Preamp

#81
MONOLITHLOUD said:
thanks, we have not tried an active bass to be honest but we certainly should!
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My only fear is that the low input impedance of the Magma (94k?) helps the preamp get such a round dark sound (high frequency roll off and slight input signal reduction). An active bass will be louder and brighter based solely on the fact that the signal is buffered by the active electronics. Not to mention any eq-ing the active electronics do.

It's the reason vintage effects don't work so well with active basses.

I really think this Magma is for the passive bass + amp worshiper club. This is not a knock. I am a proud member of that club and I love everything that Monolith is doing.

Hey Monolith come to the Doom/Stoner thread. You'll be right at home.

This post has been edited for clarity.
 
#84
yeah, thats kinda what I was thinking may happen, but I was hoping to hear how it acted with an active, cos SOME vintage style stuff acts different but still GOOD with an active, and this may be the same way. Plus the signal from my Stingray is just a smidge hotterr than my passive Jazz... so who knows.
 
#85
eyeballkid said:
yeah, thats kinda what I was thinking may happen, but I was hoping to hear how it acted with an active, cos SOME vintage style stuff acts different but still GOOD with an active, and this may be the same way. Plus the signal from my Stingray is just a smidge hotterr than my passive Jazz... so who knows.
Click to expand...

One of my absolute favorite tones is my G&L SB-1 plugged into my Peavey Mark III slave amp. The input has a really low impedance that shaves of the highs marvelously. Anytime I try to build a preamp or buffer for it I get annoying "clanky" sounds. There are ways to work around it using transformers and such but I haven't had a chance to experiment with that yet.
 
#89
First, becasue a pedal DI out is all fine and well, however in such an already high dollar pedal it will drive the price up quite a bit more. At that price point, it may make cost untenuous. You get more usefulness out of the preamp with a DI out, at least from that price point perspective. It is a lot easier pill to swallow if paying those extra dollars for a preamp.

And while DI out on a pedal is nice, it is not the most useful application for a pedal. If given the oppurtunity in a live situation, I would rather have it post EQ on my preamp before sending it FOH.

MuthaFunk said:
I think a DI out on the pedal is a great idea! I'm curious why you fellas think it would only be beneficial on the head only? If this pre is all it's cracked up to be, guys will want to send it to the FOH over perhaps their backline rig DI. I know many guys end up using backline rigs of all natures and a pre pedal is a great way to bring a little consistency to ones tone. This is the very reason so many others have moved from the VT Bass to the VT Bass Deluxe or had their original VT Bass modded for a balanced DI out.

I agree with Bongo and think there would be more of a market for a ultra deluxe pedal over the head and/or rack.
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#90
I'm really impressed by the aesthetics of the rackmount. Well done. I would love to see a gut shot. I listened all the clips and have seen the video and I am quite surprised at the low amount of noise on the high gain settings. What I remember from the old Sunn Beta is that it was quite noisy at high gain settings. I noticed that in all the clips the master volume was set to a minimum. Is the line out on this baby super hot?
 
#91
TheWoodShed said:
First, becasue a pedal DI out is all fine and well, however in such an already high dollar pedal it will drive the price up quite a bit more. At that price point, it may make cost untenuous.
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What about all the preamp-pedals with DI that cost under $200? There are a lot of them. Doesn't seem like including a DI made those ones cost-prohibitive.
TheWoodShed said:
And while DI out on a pedal is nice, it is not the most useful application for a pedal. If given the oppurtunity in a live situation, I would rather have it post EQ on my preamp before sending it FOH.
Click to expand...
Except the large majority of soundmen do not want a post-EQ signal from your amp. Some of them will even fight you over that point. The purpose of the EQ on your onstage amp is to shape the sound you hear onstage--a very different EQ shape is needed for PA.

Oh wait, I forgot, nobody in this thread uses PA reinforcement... "F the FOH"... :rolleyes:

Look, I don't even care one way or the other if they include a DI, I was just suggesting it as an option, based on the freaking HUGE demand for that specific feature from a directly competing product. A demand that far exceeded the Talkbass Minority, or why would a company as large as Tech21 have added that feature? Surely they didn't want to add unnecessary cost to their pedal either?
 
#92
I think the suggestion for the DI is perfectly logical bongo but I personally dont feel it is necessary for the pedal application. Now, whether we agree on that or not is beside the point.

Will it drive the price up? Yes, it will because there is an entirely separate chip and circuit board that needs to be placed in the rackmount version of the MAGMA and from our production standpoint its more work which is more time and money trickling down to the product. The main reason we made the pedal version is to have a simpler, cheaper version of the rackmount head.From our perspective this is what makes the most sense to us.

Will there be a drive-volume-tone version of the circuit? Not sure man, we haven't made it that far. We are experimenting with class D power amp design to potentially build a MONOLITH power amp to use as a slave or just throw it all in one box. At this point we are doing the things that are comfortable for us to maintain our standards and still make a solid product.
 
#93
bongomania said:
What about all the preamp-pedals with DI that cost under $200? There are a lot of them. Doesn't seem like including a DI made those ones cost-prohibitive.
Click to expand...

Except, this pedal is already over the $400.00 mark without the DI.

bongomania said:
Except the large majority of soundmen do not want a post-EQ signal from your amp. Some of them will even fight you over that point. The purpose of the EQ on your onstage amp is to shape the sound you hear onstage--a very different EQ shape is needed for PA.
Click to expand...

It appears our experiences vary greatly. Most live sound men are willing to work with you on this, and do not fight you over it. Most are happy when they don't have to fork over their own DI box, whether it is a post EQ DI out or one in a pedal as DI have a mysterious tendency to walk off.

bongomania said:
Oh wait, I forgot, nobody in this thread uses PA reinforcement... "F the FOH"... :rolleyes:
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Maybe some did. but I did not. In a response that quotes me, I would appreciate that you keep it within the parameters of my specific response otherwise it appears that you are implying something that I did not say, even if that is not your intent, please.

bongomania said:
Look, I don't even care one way or the other if they include a DI, I was just suggesting it as an option, based on the freaking HUGE demand for that specific feature from a directly competing product. A demand that far exceeded the Talkbass Minority, or why would a company as large as Tech21 have added that feature? Surely they didn't want to add unnecessary cost to their pedal either?
Click to expand...

First, I do not think it is a directly competing product anymore than a Bass Big Muff competes against a Pete Cornish pedal. Second, you are comparing a boutique maker to a large manufacturer. As I stated previously, I do not think that the market for this pedal is the same as the VT.

We may not see eye to eye on this, but thank you for the discussion none the less. Gives the owner much more to consider, and by that he can make more refined decisions. By that, we all benefit.
 
#94
bongomania said:
Oh wait, I forgot, nobody in this thread uses PA reinforcement... "F the FOH"... :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Some of us don't. I was merely joking. Incredibly sorry if I upset you. Life is very serious.

Some people would like a DI out on a pedal, some don't care. Monolith said they didn't have plans of putting one in. You voiced your opinion that you think it would sell better if it had one. Your opinion has been noted. If you need a DI on your pedal board you can buy one. There is no need to continue this argument 3 pages, which is what it looks like is going to happen here.
 
#97
Hey all.
In case all of you who are in this thread are not also subscribed to the Stoner/Doom thread in progress I thought I should update you as to the discussion/deal in the works.

After much discussion and lusting about the Monolith Magma preamp on the Doom thread, Wade (of Monolith) offered a TB discount after being contacted by Lazurus.bird...
Wade has offered us TB'ers a package group buy offer. The preamp usually sells on the website for $779 plus shipping. He initially offered that if we could get 3 TB members to order a Magma that he would give us a 25% discount making the preamp $585 plus shipping...

Me and Laz have stepped up to be on the list (Laz pending the sale of his SVT)...

Wade has just upped the offer to 27% off if we get 3 members (just one more) and has offered us a group deal of 30% off if we get a total of four TB members to order making the Magma $545 and change plus shipping!

so any of you wanna hop in and get an TB introductory offer deal? Alot of us have been talking about wanting one, and Wade says he thinks it would be better if a few of us instead were talking about USING one. I agree.

I m sure if anyone has questions you can ask Wade (Monolithloud) for specifics and he will likely chime in here to clarify/verify all the above...

MODS: I believe this is all acceptable to TB rules as a self community organized buy that was initiated by TB members contacting another member who makes a product... if not, I apologize and please inform me/us how to go about this "by the rules".

thanks all..
two in... (Eyeballkid, Lazarus Bird)
two more hopefully.......... you in??
BTW.. if more than two members want in on the deal I would guess any additional folks should ask Wade directly if he would be open to offering that price to more or not, but I wouldnt expect it cos the offer is very gracious to me. So Im guessing its an 'early bird' kinda deal.


EDIT... TB'er Jason! just joined in so that makes 3...
still open to one more it looks like.
posting with "IM IN!" in this thread or the DOOM thread will mean you agree to be a part of it... first time stamped post gets in! but Bassboysam does have dibs on the last spot for a few hours since he was part of the initial discussion.


please note that all "orders' will be handled in accordance with monoliths built to order deal as on the website..
confirm individually with MONOLITHLOUD.
 
#98
I'd love to join for the community organized buy, but I can't afford it at the moment, and can't really justify buying it, since I just bought an SVT-VR 2 months ago. Great deal though, hope you find some guys who will join you. And if you do, post lots of audio clips!
 

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