My preamp bender: A Journal.

[el murdoque]

i just saw the other day by coincidendece in the german bassic.de forum that quite some folks unload their A-Bass ( or have unloaded) and the thought strived me, could be, cause they never tryed a really good Tube.

I thought the A-Bass was pretty good already, even without rolling tubes.

To be honest, I did not expect that level of quality, both in build and in sound, at that price.

 

[el murdoque]

This is both good to know for me ! I was not aware that he is using better tubes.
Yet i was also not aware that the ElectroHarmonix are the "cheap" OEM kind of thing.
But you sound as it is just that
i was lusting for some sushiBox myself ! But ordering single stomps from the US is not doable for me. (shipping and import "+ the stupid additional fees *per package* (writing fees) makes it look unreasonable to me (i have a OCD on: item vs. ship&import "balance") )

How bad is Switzerland in this regard? I have to pay German VAT on top of the total price (pedal price plus shipping cost) and I will have to wait a few days because German customs is thorough and anything but fast,
but that's it.

 

[Jason Hollar]

Just chiming in to ask opinions on any of the tube or “tube-like” pre’s for both bass and guitar?

I recently picked up a nice fender tele and was thinking something like the sushi box svt or slampeg that could pull double duty as a warm, clean boost with a hint of OD when pushed on bass, that can go a little more saturated on the guitar - for DAW front end or even a little practice / gig amp.

 

[bassbrad]

@Jason Hollar if you are looking for double duty I would steer clear of those two in particular as they are voiced pretty much for bass imho. I can say for sure that the Underground Accelerator and Smoke Stack both sound fantastic on bass and guitar from clean to full saturation and all shades in between. I also really liked the JC Emerald.

 

[bassbrad]

@Funky40 EHX is one of the worlds largest importer exporter distributors of tubes, that is how Mike Matthews was able to rebuild his company the 3rd time. While they distribute a number of lines from budget to premium & audiophile the oem EHX branded tubes are generally inexpensive and nominal in performance and tone ie the cheap poopie.

FWIW I am a huge fan of Mike Matthews and Electro Harmonix just being honest about those tubes.

 

[Funky40]

Thank you @bassbrad for clarification !

I thought the A-Bass was pretty good already, even without rolling tubes.

yes, i share that sentiment vs. A-Bass.

I think, the "adjustability access" of the A-Bass was a problem for many.
While the "bevore break" range becomes imho way better with the Gold Lion tube.
That plays also into the "adjustability factor". (small stomp, VERY dense spacing)

How bad is Switzerland in this regard?

hmm, ordering from the US probably better than for you germans
VAT is here MWST. (mehrwertsteuer) and thats 7,6% or so.
BUT: they add something like 3% for goods coming from the US, AND they add a writing fee *per package*, assoon you reach the import tax threshold.
A 200$ pedal from the US can turn so easily into a 300$ - 320.- pedal, incl. shipping and all import fees. I have a kind of an OCD when it comes to "item price" vs. "additional import fees".

 

[el murdoque]

Thank you @bassbrad for clarification !



yes, i share that sentiment vs. A-Bass.

I think, the "adjustability access" of the A-Bass was a problem for many.
While the "bevore break" range becomes imho way better with the Gold Lion tube.
That plays also into the "adjustability factor". (small stomp, VERY dense spacing)


hmm, ordering from the US probably better than for you germans
VAT is here MWST. (mehrwertsteuer) and thats 7,6% or so.
BUT: they add something like 3% for goods coming from the US, AND they add a writing fee *per package*, assoon you reach the import tax threshold.
A 200$ pedal from the US can turn so easily into a 300$ - 320.- pedal, incl. shipping and all import fees. I have a kind of an OCD when it comes to "item price" vs. "additional import fees".

Yeah, you can view the hard to access knobs as a problem. I see it more like an advantage. A preamp or an overdrive is usually set once and when you have your settings, you don't mess with them. It's quite hard to twist a knob on an AMT Brick by accident. They could have designed the foot switch more proud for better access, but you could always mount a pedal topper thing, the thomann ones fit quite well.

Okay, we don't have the 3% and we don't have a fee per package, but our VAT/MwSt is 19%, so this might be even more expensive.
I think getting the Underground Accelerator cost me just under 240 Euros. I did not rage about the fact that it would be more like a $190 pedal if I was in the US, but instead I thought about the fact that I get a high class, handmade tube driven pedal for less than the usual going rate, even if a portion of that money goes into shipping and tax.

 

[el murdoque]

Just chiming in to ask opinions on any of the tube or “tube-like” pre’s for both bass and guitar?

I recently picked up a nice fender tele and was thinking something like the sushi box svt or slampeg that could pull double duty as a warm, clean boost with a hint of OD when pushed on bass, that can go a little more saturated on the guitar - for DAW front end or even a little practice / gig amp.

I must admit that I missed out testing all those preamps on guitar, even though I have one hanging on the wall.
My gut feeling would say to go with a sushi box pedal. I've read good things about the emerald and the Dr Wattson X - but I'd refer you to the Sushi box thread, ask your question there and go with one of the pedals that get recommended. That's what I'd do.

 

[el murdoque]

Here's my conclusion on the Sushi Box FX Smoke Signal:
Had I never played an F2-B Clone, I would have put this pedal on my board and lived a happy life.
However, I prefer the AMT A-Bass, or the Particle Accelerator and of course the Underground Accelerator to the blue channel of the Smoke Signal.

The red channel is incredible in so many ways. The interaction between gain and EQ gives you so many options to shape your drive - this easily is among the best drive pedals I've ever laid hands on.

However, this here is the preamp thread. On my pedalboard, the holy trinity of Fuzzrocious BDPG, Origin Effects Cali76 CB and Sushi Box FX Underground Accelerator remains in place.

I've been to a jam session on Sunday. I was told the theme was dub, and it was. My pedalboard and amp did deliver a deep dubby sound. No compromizes, no complaints. I used a barefaced Super Midget cabinet with an aguilar Tonehammer 500 head. Moderate volume in the room (no acoustic drums), and that super deep bass was pumping, making heads nod all around the room.
As a little surprise right in the middle of the jam, a blues was called. I simply dialed back a litte bit on the bass and set the gain a little higher on the UA, and I got a warm response, with double stops that were rich in overtones with just a hint of drive - I loved it.

This made me realize that the air is getting thin up here. I found something special that suits my particular needs in a manner that is very close to perfection.

 

[el murdoque]

A breath of life into this dusty old thread: UPS just mailed me a tracking number for my Noble Preamp. Tuesday. Yay.

 

[el murdoque]

The Noble is here.
As everyone should know, this thing is oozing quality out of every pore. It is a fantastic device just to behold.

I've had a first short test ride and reached the point where things get complicated -- or simple, I don't really know yet.

I was nourishing the naive hope that I'd simply add the Noble to the end of the line and it does its magic and everything is better from the moment it is introduced into my signal chain.

The problem, however, is the EQ. The Noble gets the signal shaped by the Underground Accelerator.
That box has the Alembic/Fender tonestack where you basically can only dial in the shape of your mid scoop.
The Noble is flat with Bass and Treble set to zero, so any kind of sound shaping here can only result in increased mid scoop.

I tried and shuffle the order a bit, effectively taking the UA out of the chain and putting the Noble last, which was a pleasant experience. The Noble can do a lot of the things the UA does:
Add tube magic? Absolutely.
Give me rich and fat bass tones? Yes.
Be just before the brink of breakup? Lacking a gain knob this is a bit more tricky - but I can use the Cali76's output knob to drive the Noble a bit harder, so yes.
Play nicely with the BDPG to get that oldschool tone? Yes!

The UA is, all in all, a bit more noisy than some other preamps I tried, but the hiss it does is caught by my HPF/LPF pedal. With the quality of the Noble's DI, I do want the Noble last in chain, though - but there is no problem here: The unit is dead silent.

I will have to rig the possible new signal chain this evening and try to see where that gets me. In this case, I'd replace the Vong Filterung with a Broughton HPF+LPF Pedal since there is no need for a DI out any more.
The upside of the Noble replacing the UA would be that I can fit it all on my current board.
I'd also have the possibility to move the UA into the dirt section of my board - in theory, I might even be able to fit both the UA and the Barbershop side by side. . .

 

[el murdoque]

well, I called work and told them that I'm in a personal crisis related to bass preamps and that they will have to expect me several hours late today (Haha, perks of being your own boss).

So far, this happened:

The current signal path is Tuner - C4 - Underground Accelerator - BDPG - Cali76 - blueSky - Broughton - Noble.

My testing was conducted with the XLR out into my mock PA (a Behringer Flow 8 mixer with an active 12/1 PA cabinet attached). I must say, I got me some sweet tones out of this rig, still smiling.
Since I came in late, I think I'll finish early today, take the dog on an extra large walk and then spend more time with this, but I think I've found something that works.

 

[el murdoque]

I just came back from band practice.
To sum it up: The lead guitarist is a multi instrumentalist (guitar, drums, bass) and a very accomplished FOH dude. He's the guy that gets the call when something big comes within a 50 mile radius.
He's one of those guys that come across as super grumpy, but will show up if you need help.
It is a rare occasion, one you mark in your calendar, when you hear this guy actually praise something.

Tonight he praised my bass sound. He said he liked every single sound I created and every pedal I used fit nicely.
And he did so without being prompted.

Yay. (Needless to say that I thought so, too).

This is the current incarnation of my board.
The path is Tuner - C4 - MBD2 - UA - BDPG - Cali76 - BlueSky - LPF/HPF - Noble.

 

[el murdoque]

One problem occured, though:
The UA was back to being noisy again. When idling, it crackles like a campfire. That might or might not have to do with the buffer of the Peterson tuner because with that setup the Peterson is directly in front of the UA.

I just rerouted a few cables to put the UA between the comp and the reverb, because I thought is a good idea to run one drive pedal before compression and one after - to get the best of both worlds, and yet again found gold in doing so.
The UA is set to a very bright sound to get a bit of finer articulation back into my worn flatwound strings. With the current settings, that gets me a nice, subtle drive when I play hard enough to engage the comp, and the higher notes are creamy thick with saturation and the harmonics get a pearly texture. The MBD-2 OTOH is creating a fat drive with a solid booty. In combo, it gets a bit nasty (but in a good way), but I also get a high pitched whining sound that's a bit annoying. I have the UA powered by the Noble's PSU and the rest of the pedals powered by the Cioks, so I'm not sure what else I can do about that. That's not vastly important, though - I don't have a pressing need (or any need at all) for the grind the MBD-2 and UA do when they play into each other - it's just that I'd like to have every possible issue sorted.

So, a simple change made a great pedal board even greater. And I'm all set for the upcoming gig season. I might toy around with the drive spot where the MBD-2 is sitting, but that's more for fun than anything else.

I suppose this thread may be coming to ... let's not get so drastic and say end, but I'm currently very happy with my preamp game and I don't see the need to work on that at the moment.

Maybe another band thing comes up in the future where I need a diffrent pedalboard and I'll pick it up from there, or maybe someone does something that tickles my fancy reignites my GAS, but for now, I'm more than good.

 

[munkeyfish]

Sounds lime the UA isn't getting enough power from the symptoms.

500mA @ 9vdc Warmup, 250mA @ 9vdc After Warmup, I know the Noble should handle it. But maybe try a different supply to see if it makes any difference? That is how I found out one of my multi's took more power than my supply could give steadily and that's how I found the goodness that is Cioks! (Dang multi took 600ma and my supply only offered 500/550? on one tap, made the noise you described)

 

[el murdoque]

Sounds lime the UA isn't getting enough power from the symptoms.

500mA @ 9vdc Warmup, 250mA @ 9vdc After Warmup, I know the Noble should handle it. But maybe try a different supply to see if it makes any difference? That is how I found out one of my multi's took more power than my supply could give steadily and that's how I found the goodness that is Cioks! (Dang multi took 600ma and my supply only offered 500/550? on one tap, made the noise you described)

Nah, I tried a few options. My Cioks is a DC-7 that does 660mA where it is the same. I also tried a laptop battery (which only does 400) with the same result. The whine originates from the MBD.

 

[el murdoque]

I have changed the order of pedals - and swapped out the MBD-2 with a SS/BS Mini.
Both helped a lot. The phase issues are gone now.
My pedalboard is set to unity from my passive bass, buffered when it hits the tuner, until the comp is reached, from there the signal travels much hotter. The UA now lives right after the comp again, and the hotter input stills most of the noise.

Also, there is an Ictineo headed my way. Finally. It was suggested by @bassbrad in post #6, but it took this long to pry one from the fingers of the previous owner, using money as a crowbar

 

[SemiDriven]

I have changed the order of pedals....

Yep...sometimes that's all that is needed to cancel/change phase issues.

 

[el murdoque]

Yep...sometimes that's all that is needed to cancel/change phase issues.

The SS/BS dropped into my setup like it was made for it. I set the pedal for a sound I liked and it just integrated itself into the whole system, fitting like a glove.

I'm not a fan of swapping pedal orders, sacrificing something in order to make problems go away.
I much rather swap the pedal in question for another that sounds more to my liking and integrates into my setup better.

 

[el murdoque]

The UPS van shall make a stop at my place within the next three hours, delivering the Ictineo.