My preamp bender: A Journal.

[el murdoque]

As was suggested in my recent thread, my looking for a new preamp has started a costly and time consuming journey which will in the end (hopefully) lead to a new pedalboard setup for my IEM equipped Reggae band.

Here is the 'is':
My current signal chain is Bass -> Pitchblack Tuner -> Source Audio C4 Synth -> Sansamp Bass Driver Deluxe [FX Loop of the Sansamp: MXR M87 Comp -> Strymon BlueSky Reverb] -> FOH

My wish: I'd like to have clearer lows. Less of that singing saturation, more bone-dry-gut-punchin'-oooomphy-goodness that makes the subs rattle with fear and exhaustion.

The Sansamp is a wonderful tool, but this is the one thing it cannot do to my satisfaction.

Since the Sansamp has speaker sim and lots of other preamps do not,
I decided to let that department be handled by a separate entity.
I see two options here:
1. The simplest thing possible: A HPF pedal, a LPF pedal and a DI.
2. Two Notes Torpedo C.A.B. M+ pedal.

With a separate entity handling the cab sim and DI output, The preamp does not need to have an FX loop and there's no need for DI duty.

The contestants:

1. The tiny one: Aguilar DB925

Boost only for Bass and Treble, that's it. Tiny housing, sturdy build.

2. The Swedish Army Knife v2: EBS MicroBass II

This has lots of buttons and lots of knobs, but they actually make a lot of sense to me.
It seems like this one is tailored closely to my particular usecase.


3. The Swedish Army Knife v3: EBS MicroBass III

Moar Knobs!
The V3 features more stuff. Completely useless to me is the comp, nice to have is the tuner - this might save some real estate on my board.


4. The talkbass' darling: Mesa Boogie Subway DI

Compared to the EBS Units, this is a rather simple affair - but it has all the knobs an amp should have.


Those are the ones that arrived at my place so far.



In the following days I will try and keep a journal about my progress with them.

 

[el murdoque]

The first bout: Getting to know each other.
With the Torpedo CAB M in the house and
some of the preamps in my bag, I strolled back from the office with no plans for the evening, so I had a first run with the EBS MBII, the Subway and the Aguilar.

All I can offer so far is how the first impressions felt.
I set up with the Torpedo doing an IR of the Ampeg 8x10 into my mixing board set flat from where I used headphones.

I had the Aggie first in chain because it has a switch, the Mesa behind that, occasionally swapping it with the EBS. First impressions were rather underwhelming until I found out that the Mesa has a 1/4" output that does nothing
Second first impressions were better, once the cables went where they are supposed to go.

The method was the same on all approaches:
Set the thing as flat as it goes, play a tune and then adjust what can be adjusted until you find your sound, while toying around with all the knobs and switches to make sure nothing escapes.

The Mesa felt unspectacular. It was working all right and all the knobs did what they were labeled to do.
It is a silent unit with next to no noise and the knobs feel nice. Judging by its weight, most of the inside of the thing seems to be air - and I would not have minded at all, had they crammed it into a smaller enclosure.
I can't really complain about anything this unit does, It all works just fine - but it did not blow my socks off.
So I did not find my perfect preamp in the Mesa within the first five minutes of trying it, but that's not a pass, either.

The EBS felt like a powerful tool right from the start. Their manuals are well documented and actually tell you what the knobs and switches do in a very detailed way, which is nice. The options are a little overwhelming at first, though. I toyed a round with it for quite some time and found more than one sound that is useful - but the emotional impact was about as strong as it was with the Mesa - I can make this work, but my socks are still on.

The one impressive thing was the Aggie. I always had it in chain and tried to find something useful to do with it, but it did not really work out. It has boost only - and my signal is rather strong on the bass and rather weak on the treble, which makes further boosting bass not an option and boosting treble rather useless.
Both the Mesa and the EBS are meant to be used as always on pedals, though - the Mesa does not even have a switch and on the EBS you can mute and switch A/B, but not disengage the preamp. So I took the Aggie towards the end - to be honest I was already in the process of carefully putting it back in the carton to return it - and I connected it and gave it a go without any other pedals before or after (apart from the Torpedo).
What can I say - If I was to pick one setup right there on the spot and play that live, The Aggie would have been it. Just a bit of bass boost and that's it.
The baked in sound does match with my preferences and the limited options mean you're there right with the twist of a single knob.



The EBS MicroBass III just arrived. I will test that one later today.

 

[chiphaleonbass]

Interesting! Have you considered the Tonehammer preamp? Has switches and a little more versatility than the little preamp pedal, but if you like the sound might be something to consider

 

[Hummergeist]

I'll be watching this thread!

 

[el murdoque]

Interesting! Have you considered the Tonehammer preamp? Has switches and a little more versatility than the little preamp pedal, but if you like the sound might be something to consider

I actually have a Tonehammer 500. The one thing about the Tonehammer pedal that irks me is how stupid the AGS switch is.

 

[bassbrad]

There are quite a few preamp or amp in a box pedals you ought to consider while you're at it that will bring different flavors and colors to your little party. Broughton, Sushi Box, One Control, Joyo and many others are doing great things.

I'm using a combination of Sushi Box Particle Accelerator (Alembic F2B) and Southampton Ictineo in my recording setup and a @johnk_10 FET-F2B on my pedal board because I prefer that tone. Sushi Box pedals use tubes running at high voltage levels so have excellent fidelity while still operating on 9v. He offers several classic and popular bass amp models.

 

[el murdoque]

There are quite a few preamp or amp in a box pedals you ought to consider while you're at it that will bring different flavors and colors to your little party. Broughton, Sushi Box, One Control, Joyo and many others are doing great things.

I'm using a combination of Sushi Box Particle Accelerator (Alembic F2B) and Southampton Ictineo in my recording setup and a @johnk_10 FET-F2B on my pedal board because I prefer that tone. Sushi Box pedals use tubes running at high voltage levels so have excellent fidelity while still operating on 9v. He offers several classic and popular bass amp models.

I must admit that I've crossed any pedal off my list that has a tube in it. My recent experiences have told me that tubes need to be done in boutique-grade quality or you will get dirt. I want clean lows, as clean and articulated as possible, all the way down to the B.

The Ictineo looks fun, but there's none to be had in the EU at the moment and I don't want to pay full price plus taxes for a pedal to try out - all the ones I have ATM are either bought 2nd hand at a price where I can get rid of them with no loss, or loans or ordered from somewhere that gives me a 30 days return period.

The Broughton Messenger would have the same problem, but I like the Broughton Stuff so much that I'm willing to eat the loss should it not make it onto my board.

Would you care to recommend some more pedals? Primarily I'm looking for massive, yet clear lows.

 

[el murdoque]

Yesterday, I had family over so there was not much time for testing. However, I had to try the EBS MicroBass III just to make sure the unit is in working order (I bought it second hand). So I took it for a short spin. I already read the manual and set all the knobs to what I thought I might like while I was still in the office - connected it and BOOM. Instant love affair!
Well, let's not talk about love so soon. But This was the first case where I liked something instantly out of the box. There are a ton of knobs and functions, but it feels like the V2: Lots of options, but easily understood instead of intimidating.

I will part ways with the EBS MicroBass II and the Subway - I'd like to get my hands on a Subway+, though - but these are simply impossible to find ATM.

The Aguilar is most likely going back, too.
The next thing on my list would be a Tech21 Q-Strip.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Yesterday, I had family over so there was not much time for testing. However, I had to try the EBS MicroBass III just to make sure the unit is in working order (I bought it second hand). So I took it for a short spin. I already read the manual and set all the knobs to what I thought I might like while I was still in the office - connected it and BOOM. Instant love affair!
Well, let's not talk about love so soon. But This was the first case where I liked something instantly out of the box. There are a ton of knobs and functions, but it feels like the V2: Lots of options, but easily understood instead of intimidating.

I will part ways with the EBS MicroBass II and the Subway - I'd like to get my hands on a Subway+, though - but these are simply impossible to find ATM.

The Aguilar is most likely going back, too.
The next thing on my list would be a Tech21 Q-Strip.

My first choice would be the Q-Strip with something like a Fairfields Barbershop on the front end. Sold mine as I condensed everything to a Tech 21 Bass FlyRig. The EBS III came in a close second.

Riis

 

[munkeyfish]

EBS III is on my short list. I have a Fender Downtown Express and The MXR as well as a Slampegg X.

All of I had before getting my Bassman 500, so some things will change.

I'll follow this as well.

 

[Hummergeist]

Also interested in the EBS III

 

[Hummergeist]

From last summer, I went through the Fishman Platinum, Ampeg SCR DI, Boss GT 1000 Core, Tech 21 VT Bass DI, right now I'm going DI out from a little EBS practice combo! I feel like this is a journey that never ends, though I wish it would.

 

[BLDavis]

I'm gonna keep an eye on this thread too since I've been on a similar quest lately myself. Lots of good choices out there but my fun money is a bit limited at the moment.
I'll be very interested to know how you feel about the Broughton Messenger if you get a chance to try one.
B.

 

[el murdoque]

From last summer, I went through the Fishman Platinum, Ampeg SCR DI, Boss GT 1000 Core, Tech 21 VT Bass DI, right now I'm going DI out from a little EBS practice combo! I feel like this is a journey that never ends, though I wish it would.

I tried and dismissed the Ampeg SCR and the VT, never met the Fishman, but never felt curious to try it.

It can be a journey down a rabbit hole. I was a very happy camper with my entire setup.
Then I hit a milestone both in my personal and my business life and had the stupid idea of celebrating that by giving myself a high end boutique bass. And like a system of old water pipes, you can't just swap out one piece without adjusting the rest of the system. Well, I feel like when I found the preamp that does what I need right now - and I will keep the Sansamps I'm running - then I'll be set for the time being.

 

[el murdoque]

My first choice would be the Q-Strip with something like a Fairfields Barbershop on the front end.

The Barbershop is indeed the one dirt pedal that's on my list should I buy a preamp that has no dirt options included.
There is a Q-Strip on Ebay right now, I'm hoping to score a decent price - otherwise I'll order it with thomann.

 

[bassbrad]

@el murdoque with luck something will come up used and you can try one of my suggestions, I certainly respect your need for being frugal as am I

@el murdoque I understand your criteria and had been having the same poor result with 'tube' pedals until I tried a Sushi Box. That is the reason that I recommended looking at the @Sushi Box FX because of his very own criteria, design standards and most importantly results. Most "tube pedals" run at a lower voltage that barely utilize the sonic potential of tubes while the Sushi Box pedals run at 200v or higher resulting in a clean and full fidelity sound at lower gain settings and robust saturation with very controllable tonal fidelity as gain increases up to full breakup if that is desired. My Particle Accelerator submini tube compares favorable to an Alembic F2B in clarity and fidelity, I can only wonder what a full size PAX or any of his other versions can accomplish until I receive my Underground Accelerator.

 

[kesslari]

I like your approach. Given that you're East of the Atlantic, the EBS sounds like a major winner.
The Q-Strip gets a lot of love.
The Triickfish Trilobite (and Minnow) have gotten some good press here as well.
I was going to refer you to @scubaduba 's thread but then realized it's tube.

 

[el murdoque]

@el murdoque with luck something will come up used and you can try one of my suggestions, I certainly respect your need for being frugal as am I

@el murdoque I understand your criteria and had been having the same poor result with 'tube' pedals until I tried a Sushi Box. That is the reason that I recommended looking at the @Sushi Box FX because of his very own criteria, design standards and most importantly results. Most "tube pedals" run at a lower voltage that barely utilize the sonic potential of tubes while the Sushi Box pedals run at 200v or higher resulting in a clean and full fidelity sound at lower gain settings and robust saturation with very controllable tonal fidelity as gain increases up to full breakup if that is desired. My Particle Accelerator submini tube compares favorable to an Alembic F2B in clarity and fidelity, I can only wonder what a full size PAX or any of his other versions can accomplish until I receive my Underground Accelerator.

Bassbrad, thank you for using the word frugal to describe my quest. My SO certainly thinks otherwise - I've tossed more than a grand at that minor problem at the moment. Selling some of the acquired pedals will free up a large amount again, but I'm monitoring my local sources for used pedals closely to snag off anything that might be of interest.

And thank you for defending your suggestions. I will include the Sushi Box in my wanted list. Since I'm running the preamp into the cab sim anyway, there's no need for an FX loop or a DI out anyway and smaller real estate would provide the option of adding another tone shaping pedal. I still have a Fuzzrocious BDPG sitting on my shelf and might toy around with that if I get my clean clean tone settled.

 

[bassbrad]

Bassbrad, thank you for using the word frugal to describe my quest. My SO certainly thinks otherwise - I've tossed more than a grand at that minor problem at the moment. Selling some of the acquired pedals will free up a large amount again, but I'm monitoring my local sources for used pedals closely to snag off anything that might be of interest.

And thank you for defending your suggestions. I will include the Sushi Box in my wanted list. Since I'm running the preamp into the cab sim anyway, there's no need for an FX loop or a DI out anyway and smaller real estate would provide the option of adding another tone shaping pedal. I still have a Fuzzrocious BDPG sitting on my shelf and might toy around with that if I get my clean clean tone settled.

BDPG is a favorite saturated amp tone and you are most welcome.

 

[Mr. voodoobass]

When i have just wanted a clean tight tone with big bottom. I have sometimes used my eventide h9 and the eq-comp algorithm. It’s essentially then a q-strip. Total overkill to use as only a preamp, but i’m sure the sansamp q-strip would do just a good job at it.