My preamp bender: A Journal.

[el murdoque]

This is how I spent a large part of my evening today.
Both the Q\Strip and the One Control were scheduled for delivery tomorrow and both decided to surprise me by arriving early.
I should have been practicing for the weekend gigs, but I got 'lucky': My main bands gig tomorrow is canceled due to rain. The thing on Saturday will be a jam session thing, so no need to practice. Let's get to tinkering!

The smallest pedal gets the shortest review:
One Control Crimson. I plugged it into the chain with everything at noon. I switched it on. The red light came on, but my ears could not make a difference. I toyed around with the knobs and was quite sure it's still in bypass, then I twisted the volume knob and it did adjust the volume. I tried different settings. All in all, I must admit that every time I switched it off, I liked the tone of my naked bass better. That's devastating. Not for me - but for that little red pedal. It'll be returned promptly.

After eliminating a candidate, I pitted two pairings against each other. The champion of round one, MicroBass3 against the old champion, the Sansamp PBDDI and the Trickfish Minnow against the Q\Strip.
Let's start with the latter. The short of it is: The Q\Strip won that bout. The Minnow is an amazing box, with super little floor noise and super high audio and build quality. But you know ... if the sound you can coax from that pedal and the sound I want both were at the same party, they'd be in different rooms, talking to different people and never meet each other the whole night.
My first impression stays unaltered: Where I want thick and creamy custard, the Minnow pours clear spirits.

Winning this bout seems to be a small feat for the Q\Strip, given that I have a personal dislike for its opponent.
So what did I think when I tried it out? Well, the people on youtube plucked a string and twiddled a few knobs and bam - they had a good sound.
So I set it all to noon, plugged in, plucked a string, twiddled a few knobs and bam - I had a good sound.
The Q\Strip with everything at noon sounded like it wasn't even on, same as the Minnow.
It's a different kind of transparent, but transparent nonetheless. I start getting the channel strip thing. It certainly feels like that. Did I like it? I'm not entirely sure yet. I did not dislike it, though.

So Sansamp vs. EBS.
The short of it: I liked the EBS better. It's a close one, though. The lows are just a bit more dry and articulated. Both the Sansamp and the EBS have a baked in sound that gives you a different vibe just by activating the pedal with everything at noon, but the EBS seems to have less of a mid scoop or at least a different one.

Which brings me to the last thing I did while playing around:
Torpedo vs. Filter pedals.
My setup was either using those pedals playing into the Torpedo CAB M+ or a combination of LPF, HPF and DI.
I used the Torpedos built in cabinets, mostly the 8x10 IR. And concluded that I do not like IR.
This will require further testing, though. I need to dive deeper into the Torpedo software and see if I can cook up something that makes it worth keeping the pedal.

 

[el murdoque]

Side note on the bit that sits between the preamp and the mixing desk (Cab sim vs. filters)

After the testing session last night, I asked myself what it is that I want such a unit to do.
Pondering the topic, I realized how complex the relationship between an amp and a cab is and
how a cab can be an EQ, a bandpass filter, in limited ways even a compressor or overdrive.
This entails that a cabinet can both be the limiting factor that keeps you from achieving your goals or the key element that gets you where you want to be.

I was led to believe that the Torpedo CAB M+ is doing a fair job at imitating both the cabinet and the proceedings between the power amp and the cabinet and from my (limited) experience with IR, I can confirm that. It's just that when I was using a Headrush board, I downloaded a bunch of IR files and liked none of them.
This seems to be a repeating pattern - because when I swapped the Torpedo for the simple LPF+HPF+DI affair,
I felt like restrictions were lifted from my shoulders.

I want to put it like this: With the bare tools of preamp(s), compression, high and low pass filtering I can mimic my own amplifier entity. The more elements that shape the sound are introduced, the more complex the task of manipulating the output towards a certain goal becomes.

I think I want the cabinet simulation merely because of the bandpass filtering. To take the sizzle off the overdrive and synth sounds and to reduce the boom in the room.

If further testing reveals this to be true, I think I will return the Torpedo and order the LPF+HPF unit from Broughton.



With that said, I will release the Minnow back into the stream and return the One Control, but hold onto the Q\Strip for a bit longer.
Which leaves me with the problem that my pool of potential candidates is quite empty at the moment.

 

[revd]

For preamp/DI, I'm using the Broughton Messenger. It's perfect for me.

 

[el murdoque]

For preamp/DI, I'm using the Broughton Messenger. It's perfect for me.

Can you describe how it sounds and what kind of tone you get from it?

 

[revd]

Can you describe how it sounds and what kind of tone you get from it?

Clean, more than anything. I have other pedals before it to add a bit of flavour (Broughton Studio Boost and SushiBox Space Heater) but the Messenger itself just tightens things up with its HPF &LPF. I boost the lower mids a bit too (sweepable mid range).

 

[el murdoque]

@bassbrad
Reverb just yielded a Particle Accelerator for an affordable price. I did not hesitate one second.

 

[Sascha Erni]

I also used the pandemic and associated shutdowns for giving different preamps a shot. My main band gigs ampless, so having a "flavoured" pre is important for me. If it weren't, I'd probably do what @shwashwa suggested – just use my Broughton L+HPF and be done with it. The clean gain it has on tap is quite something, and it's virtually noiseless.

Preamps I tried, including pedals not official pres but that can do the job (for me):

- TC Electronics Spark Booster: I don't use it at the moment, but I kept two of them. Swiss army knife of a pedal, especially for bass. And dirt cheap.
- MXR M81: didn't like it at all, flipped it
- Ampeg SCR-DI: liked it at first, but didn't really warm up to it. It's on perpetual leave with my sister now
- Orange Bass Butler: love it, keep it as my all-in-one go-to
- Broughton SV-Pre: love it, it's the main ingredient on my (current) board
- Broughton L+HPF: love it, but I'd also need EQ on it to work for me as a pre. Also, as mentioned above, "too clean" for what I need in my bands. It's on my board now as sort-of cab sim plus boom suppression

I switch between the Broughton board and the Bass Butler pretty much at a whim. If I don't know what I might need (jam sessions, stand-in), I usually just pack the Orange Bass Butler and a separate DI in case the band can't deal with two XLR lines for bass. It actually fits my Gator gigbag, albeit tightly.

The BB might be interesting for you, too. The DIs come with cab sims, the clean channel can go very dub-y in conjunction with the optical compressor. The clean channel lacks a mids control, you have to go with the old reduce-bass + reduce-treble + raise-volume adjustment if you need a more forward tone. The dirt channel can be extremely aggressive (and noisy), but also very tame (and a lot less noisy).

For my main band though the Broughton SV-Pre has become my "standard" sound. Helps that it sounds very SVT-like; the BB's British voicing (for lack of a better word) wouldn't work as well for the songs we play – mostly classic rock, often a bit punked up. It can go from very clean to highly saturated / dirty, stays very quiet if you take care to use as clean a power supply as possible, and with the semi-parametric mids, you can dial in pretty much any sound you want. It reduced the size of my board considerably, I now gig with the SV-Pre, a compressor, envelope filter, dirt pedal, and L+HPF, done. DI off-board. Used to be seven EDIT eight pedals plus DI.

 

[el murdoque]

The BB might be interesting for you, too. The DIs come with cab sims, the clean channel can go very dub-y in conjunction with the optical compressor. The clean channel lacks a mids control, you have to go with the old reduce-bass + reduce-treble + raise-volume adjustment if you need a more forward tone. The dirt channel can be extremely aggressive (and noisy), but also very tame (and a lot less noisy).

At the moment, the funds dedicated to this project are a bit tied in the pedals I currently own, but returning some and selling others will free up some. I will keep an eye on the used market to see if a BB comes up - if not, I'll order it new as soon as enough assets are liquidated.
And I WILL get that Broughton pedal ASAP

 

[el murdoque]

And I WILL get that Broughton pedal ASAP

Seems like I won't. I just discovered there's a German version called "Vong Filterung"

which features a DI out - a very useful addition which makes it an ideal candidate for
being the last pedal in the chain.

The Broughton is expensive to import - $40 for shipping plus tax means a grand total in the neighborhood of $250,-

 

[el murdoque]

Monday update:

Vong Filterung and Sushi Box FX Particle Accelerator have been shipped.
The One Control and the Torpedo are shipped back to the seller for a refund.

 

[el murdoque]

Haha, the way these things go. I placed the order for the Vong, paid the price, got the tracking number and one Broughton HPF+LPF pops up on reverb and nearly at the same time in a local forum, another one.
At first, I was put off a bit because I know the quality of components and workmanship of Josh's pedals and would have preferred that - but when the Vong arrived I took of the bottom lid and found it to be very well made, too. Plus, it comes with a DI out.

I put it into my chain instead of the separate LPF HPF and DI units and what can I say?
This is as boring as it is great. Two filters and a DI in a box. You turn up one dial, the mumble bass frequencies are gone. You turn the other and the ceiling gets lowered. The third is for volume, but only on the 1/4" out.

It does all the stuff I need from a cab sim and nothing of the stuff I don't want from a cab sim.
I'm happy with that end of the chain now. This one is here to stay.

Also, I've compiled a (short) list of Preamps I would like to get my hands on to try them out:
-The Noble DI
...for obvious reasons...

-Jule Amps Simone
...because Burningskies

-AMT Bricks A-Bass
This is based on the same preamp as the Sushi Box FX Particle Accelerator.

-Eden WTDI
I'll look for one on the cheap, as these are not that expensive anyway.

-FMC Retrobass
a small German builder, the pedal itself is discontinued - but I'll keep my eyes peeled.

 

[el murdoque]

Particle Accelerator has arrived.
When I took it out of the box, it felt light.
Turning it around revealed the inscription on the back plate

Handmade in Ridgecrest, CA
with high-quality components
and unbridled sass

Which made me smile.


I also got a few minutes on the test bench. Unplugging the Microbass III and putting the Particle Accelerator in its place worked out first try - I feared that the PA has a bigger thirst than the Microbass, but the wall wart that came with the Microbass was able to supply enough juice for the tube to light up.

Tonal Impressions:
The Gain has a wide range, so the pedal can do very clean sounds, which is what I wanted.
The EQ section seems to be very subtle at first, but I quickly realized that this means the knobs can actually be dimed without the sound becoming unusable. It is very well made and laid out. The neutral sound is a bit darker than I would have anticipated.
With the EQ at noon and the gain/master set to unity, my tone becomes more focused when I switch it on, which I like. There is a baked in tone and I like the flavor in general, but the highs felt a bit muffled.

I tried my standard settings with a solid bass boost and a treble cut (Bass 3 o'clock, Treble 9 o'clock) and the mids at noon, but ended with bass a tad over 2 o'clock, mids at 1 o'clock and treble at 2 o'clock.

The vibe I got from the pedal is that of utility. My impression is that the sound seems to be less of a bedroom sparkle and more of a workhorse that can carry a band on its back.

Since I had previously experimented with my BDPG, it was still in the chain, so I kicked it on.
Sweet Mother of Jesus on a Rollercoaster Screaming with Joy. Old School Reggae Vibes so good, I nearly felt Family Man nod his agreement from 5000 miles away.
This will give me a modern full range sound strong on lows (PA alone) and sweet gooey thumps in combo with the BDPG.

To completely replace the Sansamp deluxe, I'd need some sort of low gain overdrive with a small footprint that I can kick in on the few passages where we leave the reggae turf and pay respects to Mr. Hendrix.


I wanna say thanks to @bassbrad for insisting on me trying out that particular pedal. I would not have given it a second look otherwise, yet it made it to the ever so small pile of possible candidates.

This makes me even more curious about the AMT A-Bass, because as far as I gathered, it is based on Alembic F-2B, too but it uses a standard ECC83 format tube which could be replaced easily.
However, I need to sell some pieces from the pile of preamps that did not make it or otherwise my SO will have my head on a plate if another pedal shows up.

 

[bassbrad]

Particle Accelerator has arrived.
When I took it out of the box, it felt light.
Turning it around revealed the inscription on the back plate

Handmade in Ridgecrest, CA
with high-quality components
and unbridled sass

Which made me smile.


I also got a few minutes on the test bench. Unplugging the Microbass III and putting the Particle Accelerator in its place worked out first try - I feared that the PA has a bigger thirst than the Microbass, but the wall wart that came with the Microbass was able to supply enough juice for the tube to light up.

Tonal Impressions:
The Gain has a wide range, so the pedal can do very clean sounds, which is what I wanted.
The EQ section seems to be very subtle at first, but I quickly realized that this means the knobs can actually be dimed without the sound becoming unusable. It is very well made and laid out. The neutral sound is a bit darker than I would have anticipated.
With the EQ at noon and the gain/master set to unity, my tone becomes more focused when I switch it on, which I like. There is a baked in tone and I like the flavor in general, but the highs felt a bit muffled.

I tried my standard settings with a solid bass boost and a treble cut (Bass 3 o'clock, Treble 9 o'clock) and the mids at noon, but ended with bass a tad over 2 o'clock, mids at 1 o'clock and treble at 2 o'clock.

The vibe I got from the pedal is that of utility. My impression is that the sound seems to be less of a bedroom sparkle and more of a workhorse that can carry a band on its back.

View attachment 4393316

Since I had previously experimented with my BDPG, it was still in the chain, so I kicked it on.
Sweet Mother of Jesus on a Rollercoaster Screaming with Joy. Old School Reggae Vibes so good, I nearly felt Family Man nod his agreement from 5000 miles away.
This will give me a modern full range sound strong on lows (PA alone) and sweet gooey thumps in combo with the BDPG.

To completely replace the Sansamp deluxe, I'd need some sort of low gain overdrive with a small footprint that I can kick in on the few passages where we leave the reggae turf and pay respects to Mr. Hendrix.


I wanna say thanks to @bassbrad for insisting on me trying out that particular pedal. I would not have given it a second look otherwise, yet it made it to the ever so small pile of possible candidates.

This makes me even more curious about the AMT A-Bass, because as far as I gathered, it is based on Alembic F-2B, too but it uses a standard ECC83 format tube which could be replaced easily.
However, I need to sell some pieces from the pile of preamps that did not make it or otherwise my SO will have my head on a plate if another pedal shows up.

So glad it made the cut so far, keep in mind that the tone section is not an active EQ but the Fender style tone stack that is very interactive. @Sushi Box FX builds his pedals now using full size 12ax7 tubes, you have one of the earliest ones built using a sub mini tube.

Looking forward to your report on the Vong

 

[HoochfromP]

Glad you're happy with your PA - guess it was mine just before i sold it through Reverb. Enjoy your pre's journey !

 

[el murdoque]

Glad you're happy with your PA - guess it was mine just before i sold it through Reverb. Enjoy your pre's journey !

Thank you for putting that up right when I was looking for one!
Mine came from France, so I guess it is!

 

[NoiseNinja]

As far as cab sim goes I personally prefer a LPF/HPF solution to more accurate (accurate in terms of sounding like a real bass cab that is), but therefor also intrusive, IR based cab sims.

A LPF/HPF solution won't sound like a real cab, but it will leave more of the natural voice of your bass intact, free for you to sculp as you wish with further EQ'ing, an IR based cab sims will sound pretty accurately like the cabs that it samples, but the EQ, bar some IR based units that allows for further EQ editing to a certain extend, will be more or less fixed to the sound of those cabs.

The advantage to that though is that you, at least if you IR based cab sim supports loading 3rd party IR files, will be able to get your cab sim to sound as almost any bass cab ever made, you just need to find the right one on the internet, on which there are plenty of offerings of both free and payed for ones.

If you go the IR route I can warmly recommend the NUX Solid Studio IR and Poweramp Simulator , which beside being quite affordable, allows for the use of about double the resolution IR files than any other cab sim unit on the market at that price point I know of, and in fact even than most higher end ones.

A cheap solution to the LPF/HPF would be a Zoom B1 Four, that has a build in LPF and HPF model, as well as a full featured 1 band parametric equalizer model with a full set of adjustable parameters, and since it allows for 5 effects per patch, you could set up a patch including both a LPF and a HPF, plus a 3 band fully parametric equalizer, and you could even program several patches with different settings you would be able to switch between on the fly.

As far as I am concerned with something as relatively simple as EQ filtering the Zoom unit would be as good as almost any other digitally based equalizer.

If you are willing to spend more though, take a look at the Source Audio EQ2, got to be the absolute best and most feature rich and flexible EQ offered on the market currently, fully programable 10 band parametric EQ, with LPF/LoShlv and HPF/HiShlv filter functionality as well, it even allows you to use 2 x 10 EQ bands set differently and then mixed in parallel if you should wish, for even more tone shaping possibilities.

 

[el murdoque]

Looking forward to your report on the Vong

And I'm looking forward to what you have to say about the Underground Accelerator

I played around a bit more with the PA and BDPG and Vong setup. I was alone in the house, so I fired up my small PA and amplified the Signal through my mixer with the channel strip set to neutral - everything at noon.
Playing the bass straight into the PA sounded like --- well, you know like that sounds.
Activating only the Vong did not address that directly.
Activating the PA tightened up the sound around the middle, gave it big lows and retained just enough of the high content to give the sound definition. The tightening up in the middle bit is what struck me, though.
And once again, BDPG into PA into Vong --- and the PA gave me big, juicy lowend sweetness.

There's not much to report about the Vong. I already put velcro on the back because it's here to stay.
IMO that's a pure utility pedal that does its job without noise and without color. Here's how it works:

In my case, I will use it as an always on pedal at the end of my signal chain, where it will provide the DI out signal for IEM and FOH.

I own the Broughton LPF pedal and when I compare the Vong's HPF and the Broughton, they feel similar to me.
I activate the pedal, turn the filter into the 'open' position, start playing and slowly close the filter until all unwanted sounds are gone while the wanted sounds are still there, done.

I repeat the same procedure with the HPF and the pedal is set.

It's funny how a simple pedal like this gives me a broad grin on my face, while a complex machine like the Two Notes Torpedo C.A.B. M+ that surely can do all that and then some does overwhelm me with options and features.

I think that has to do with my pedalboard philosophy.
From careful observation over the years I concluded that I do prefer analog whenever I can get it and I like pedals that do only one thing (and that very well).

 

[el murdoque]

As far as cab sim goes I personally prefer a LPF/HPF solution to more accurate (accurate in terms of sounding like a real bass cab that is), but therefor also intrusive, IR based cab sims.

Thank you for your detailled input - I am, however, pretty set on staying with my current HPF/LPF/DI combination because that is exactly all I need plus nothing on top.

I tried IR time and again, different devices and different IRs, but it never made me happy.
I deduced that that there might be a good IR/Device combo out there that suits me just fine, but I'm simply not willing to invest the time and effort it takes to find it. So unless it finds me, it's not gonna happen any time soon.

 

[NoiseNinja]

Thank you for your detailled input - I am, however, pretty set on staying with my current HPF/LPF/DI combination because that is exactly all I need plus nothing on top.

I tried IR time and again, different devices and different IRs, but it never made me happy.
I deduced that that there might be a good IR/Device combo out there that suits me just fine, but I'm simply not willing to invest the time and effort it takes to find it. So unless it finds me, it's not gonna happen any time soon.

Well that was my point, I prefer a HPF/LPF combination too, over an IR based cab sim, in fact exactly what I say in the sentence you quote me for.

 

[bassbrad]

@el murdoque Thank you for that reporting, I am looking forward to having a chance to run some variations of pedals into my PA into amps in the real world, for now we seem to be in the perpetual lock down mode therefore not much chance for live music. I am hoping to have both a full tube Particle Accelerator X and a Underground Accelerator as soon as @Sushi Box FX gets the batch done. I too love my Fuzzrocious BDPG V2 mine glows in the dark! I have a BDPG V1 as well in an Art Deco acid etched case.