My preamp journey

[moon-bass]

I'm still looking for my dream preamp - tube based, fender tone stack plus parametric, adjustable HPF and LPF.

If Origin would make a tube based Bassrig 64 and add a parametric ..

 

[el murdoque]

I'm still looking for my dream preamp - tube based, fender tone stack plus parametric, adjustable HPF and LPF.

If Origin would make a tube based Bassrig 64 and add a parametric ..

My dream preamp is two pedals for that reason: Noble DI plus a Broughton RFE.
The Noble gives those sweet boosts up top and down low that I know from Fender tonestacks,
and like the Fender tonestacks I'd like a little hump in the mids that neither Fender nor Noble can do, hence the RFE. I get my HPF and LPF - and not only that, I get them as resonant filters - and one parametric band that lets me push the mids a bit where it lacks.




Do you have any recommendation for the preamp section of my second board?
I currently have a Broughton Studio One on there, but that thing is on loan and I'm hesitant to buy it off the owner - the current market value is a bit over the top.

It could be spread over several pedals if necessary, I have room. Here's what I need:

-A unit that can deliver a strong low B, with absolute clarity and not a hint of distortion.
-HPF / LPF
- some sort of control over 600Hz (parametric band, or something that has a built in mids knob that does around 600)
-DI out
-Tubes would be nice, but not mandatory
-Shelving treble/bass EQ would be nice, but not mandatory.


I was thinking maybe a Sushi Box Finally in combo with an Empress Para EQ deluxe.

 

[moon-bass]

My dream preamp is two pedals for that reason: Noble DI plus a Broughton RFE.
The Noble gives those sweet boosts up top and down low that I know from Fender tonestacks,
and like the Fender tonestacks I'd like a little hump in the mids that neither Fender nor Noble can do, hence the RFE. I get my HPF and LPF - and not only that, I get them as resonant filters - and one parametric band that lets me push the mids a bit where it lacks.




Do you have any recommendation for the preamp section of my second board?
I currently have a Broughton Studio One on there, but that thing is on loan and I'm hesitant to buy it off the owner - the current market value is a bit over the top.

It could be spread over several pedals if necessary, I have room. Here's what I need:

-A unit that can deliver a strong low B, with absolute clarity and not a hint of distortion.
-HPF / LPF
- some sort of control over 600Hz (parametric band, or something that has a built in mids knob that does around 600)
-DI out
-Tubes would be nice, but not mandatory
-Shelving treble/bass EQ would be nice, but not mandatory.


I was thinking maybe a Sushi Box Finally in combo with an Empress Para EQ deluxe.

So first of all, I'm jealous of you playing with the Studio One, it's highest on my GAS list right now, but I agree, the current asking price is WAY too high - I'd be willing to pay a bit of a premium, but not twice the cost of a new one.

IMO an HPF needs to be variable - I'm not as set on the LPF as that's more of a set and forget to me, but HPF needs can vary via bass and room.

That being said, obviously options are limited. The Studio One would be ideal, but a nice second would be the Messenger (or Messenger Jr). The Messenger is MUCH more available and less expensive - I just picked one up off the classifieds here, and I think there is another one available right now. Variable LPF/HPF, shelving, DI, variable mids. No tubes though. If you need tubes, I would add a Finally (that's exactly what I did).

I love tone sweetener preamps though, so there are a few other things that I have done using multiple pedals -

The aforementioned BassRig 64 plus a parametric EQ gets me there. I really like the Sine Effects Para or Nano Para.

JHS Colourbox plus stand alone HPF/LPF

Grace Designs Alix plus stand alone LPF.

I also really dig the combo of the RFE and the Finally - sounds stellar. I just feel a little guilty because I am not taking full advantage of the RFE capabilities

 

[jthisdell]

Do you have any recommendation for the preamp section of my second board?
I currently have a Broughton Studio One on there, but that thing is on loan and I'm hesitant to buy it off the owner - the current market value is a bit over the top.
...

+1 for the Messenger, I have the original version and it is never coming off my board. I wish I had gotten the mini studio boost to go with it and then you essentially have a Studio One. But the Messenger is great, when I first used it at practice the guitarist was like Wait, what did you do? That sounds great, stop right there.

 

[el murdoque]

I don't know why, but Mr. Broughton does the mids just right. I've been searching for quite some time and when I got my hands on the RFE, I tore the Broughton HPF/LPF off my board and it instantly became a cornerstone of my go-to sound.
The same goes for the Studio One.
It's super easy to set and I like it a lot more than the JHS Colour Box. The shelving lows and highs in combination with variable filters are just great, and once again, the mids are just right.

 

[moon-bass]

I "like" the Colourbox, but I don't LOVE the Colourbox, at least for my needs. The HPF is useless for bass, it clips too easily, and I think the distortion is somewhat of an "acquired" taste IMO. I also like the "studio sweetening" from the Alix much more. Of course, the Alix is also twice as much $$$$

Still, it's a nice and useful box to have, I just think that there are other, better solutions for what I am looking for, especially with three bands of semi-p.

 

[el murdoque]

I "like" the Colourbox, but I don't LOVE the Colourbox, at least for my needs. The HPF is useless for bass, it clips too easily, and I think the distortion is somewhat of an "acquired" taste IMO. I also like the "studio sweetening" from the Alix much more. Of course, the Alix is also twice as much $$$$

Still, it's a nice and useful box to have, I just think that there are other, better solutions for what I am looking for, especially with three bands of semi-p.

Exactly my thoughts on the thing.
With the HPF a little more useful (12dB/oct and going low enough) it might have been a different story, but they seem to have spend a lot of thought and material on the clipping process (with basically three controls dedicated to gain), and I found the clipped signal rather uninspiring and bland.
What remains is a parametric three band with quality DI out - at around $500, which seems a bit steep for what a bassist gets out of it.

 

[moon-bass]

Exactly my thoughts on the thing.
With the HPF a little more useful (12dB/oct and going low enough) it might have been a different story, but they seem to have spend a lot of thought and material on the clipping process (with basically three controls dedicated to gain), and I found the clipped signal rather uninspiring and bland.
What remains is a parametric three band with quality DI out - at around $500, which seems a bit steep for what a bassist gets out of it.

yeah, I do have to say that it adds a touch of that studio console tone sweetening, which I do like. Also, from what I understand it was originally designed as a "studio console OD" to get that early studio distortion - which explains the gain controls. And that makes it a very pricey OD box.

 

[IvanMike]

Arkham Oracle vs Caveman BP1 Compact ~ Bass Preamp Comparison

 

[BrentSimons]

I'm still looking for my dream preamp - tube based, fender tone stack plus parametric, adjustable HPF and LPF.

If Origin would make a tube based Bassrig 64 and add a parametric ..

What about a Fender TBP-1? I think it ticks most of your boxes except the HPF and LPF?

 

[moon-bass]

What about a Fender TBP-1? I think it ticks most of your boxes except the HPF and LPF?

That's actually the preamp that started a lot of this I had one awhile back, but i am looking for pedal preamps - gave up racks a long time ago (except for stand alone heads).

I have an 800 watt Demeter HBP-1 that's kind of like a better version of the Fender.

 

[Michael Vee]

I was thinking maybe a Sushi Box Finally in combo with an Empress Para EQ deluxe.

Murdoque, I have the ParaEQ Deluxe and am going to pick up the Sushi Single Slice and Finally V2 when they are available. That should be a fine combination! The ParaEQ is remarkable. You just have to get used to the smaller knobs.

Was reading back through the thread today and saw several fond mentions of the Broughton RFE. That really is a useful pedal, I have one also.

 

[BrentSimons]

View attachment 5251450
That's actually the preamp that started a lot of this I had one awhile back, but i am looking for pedal preamps - gave up racks a long time ago (except for stand alone heads).

I have an 800 watt Demeter HBP-1 that's kind of like a better version of the Fender.

Besides the rack mounting was there soemthing you didn't like about the TBP? I've never had the opportunity to try one.
Noice! I've always wanted to try out a Navigator as well!
Brent

 

[tombowlus]

Noice! I've always wanted to try out a Navigator!
Brent

I have had a Navigator since the late '90s, and I still really love it. Definitely holds its own, many years later.

 

[el murdoque]

Murdoque, I have the ParaEQ Deluxe and am going to pick up the Sushi Single Slice and Finally V2 when they are available. That should be a fine combination! The ParaEQ is remarkable. You just have to get used to the smaller knobs.

Was reading back through the thread today and saw several fond mentions of the Broughton RFE. That really is a useful pedal, I have one also.

I totally agree. In my own journal, I wrote about the ParaEQ Deluxe, and also about the Broughton RFE.
My current setups are:
Cali76 -> Broughton RFE -> Noble
The Broughton brings the mids up a bit around 600Hz and trims the edges, then the Noble does it's thing and everything is golden.

Cali76 -> Empress ParaEQ Deluxe -> Spaceman Equinox -> Effectrode LA-1A.
The Cali is so much my taste I bought another one. The Empress does nearly everything an EQ could dream of, but it cannot pull off the pulltec trick - and while it already has an impressive array of knobs, in combination with the Equinox the EQ section of my small board is downright intimidating. The Effectrode already sees a compressed signal, and I have it set super mild so it just fattens it up a wee bit and adds the tube mojo, plus it certainly has some EQ going - the lows get a bit of a slam (velvet sledgehammer) and it takes a bit off the top.

I think the ParaEQ Deluxe is a great tool when you know what you want. It is a bit sober and does not add any of the magic / mojo / je-ne-sais-quoi that some pedals bring to the table, but it is so incredibly useful - and couples well with any of the magic tone sweetener pedals of your choice to make a complete tone crafting unit.

 

[moon-bass]

it cannot pull off the pulltec trick

I can't believe that I had just recently heard of this. What do you think about it? I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on a pedal that will do this, but not convinced yet.

 

[moon-bass]

Besides the rack mounting was there soemthing you didn't like about the TBP? I've never had the opportunity to try one.
Noice! I've always wanted to try out a Navigator as well!
Brent

There was nothing about the TBP to not like and everything to love! It's an absolutely fantastic preamp, one of my favorites - and just like I did with the pedal preamps, I went through dozens of rack preamps. Of course, then I got rid of my rack gear ..

The Navigator the amp/preamp combo - it has a 1,000 watt class D amp inside it - it's the Navigator 1000, preamp and power amp in one, and it weighs ~10 lbs.

 

[el murdoque]

I can't believe that I had just recently heard of this. What do you think about it? I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on a pedal that will do this, but not convinced yet.

There is the Equinox that does the whole trick and there is that other pedal that I can't recall right now, the smaller blue one that has only the bass side.
In a nutshell, it's a weirdly shaped EQ that addresses two very interesting frequency ranges. It basically ignores the whole mid range and goes for the lows and highs.

What it does is it takes a good signal and makes it more good. I really enjoy it and would not recommend it to everyone. But on the small list of people I'd do, you rank high ;-)

 

[moon-bass]

There is the Equinox that does the whole trick and there is that other pedal that I can't recall right now, the smaller blue one that has only the bass side.
In a nutshell, it's a weirdly shaped EQ that addresses two very interesting frequency ranges. It basically ignores the whole mid range and goes for the lows and highs.

What it does is it takes a good signal and makes it more good. I really enjoy it and would not recommend it to everyone. But on the small list of people I'd do, you rank high ;-)

this is on it's way!!

Lowrider – ZeroFive Audio

 

[Ethereal Thorn]

I have had a Navigator since the late '90s, and I still really love it. Definitely holds its own, many years later.

If my back wasn't trashed from the Army I never would have sold my Eden Navigator pre it still is one of my favorites I just cant handle carting the rack case around anymore sadly