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Noble Amps Preamp

I pulled the trigger last month. Noble preamp should be here by the end of July, just in time for second half of festival season. Chain will be:
Dingwall SJ5 –> fea DB-CL —> Noble —> FOH/JH Audio IEM
Will likely throw octave pedal and Terraformer in there too.

I decided to list the fea comp as I’d like to try the Cali76CB.

It’s a good time to be a bassplayer! :D
 
I pulled the trigger last month. Noble preamp should be here by the end of July, just in time for second half of festival season. Chain will be:
Dingwall SJ5 –> fea DB-CL —> Noble —> FOH/JH Audio IEM
Will likely throw octave pedal and Terraformer in there too.

I decided to list the fea comp as I’d like to try the Cali76CB.

It’s a good time to be a bassplayer! :D
It sure is!
The FEA DB-CL is awesome with the Noble, it’s so clean and transparent. I recently aquired a Cali76TX but I’m not sure I need it, I get all the tone I want from what I already had.
I still need to experiment though and I might try serial compression to see if I can gain anything from that. Getting the Cali76-TX really makes you appreciate how quiet the FEA labs gear is though..!

Miss my octaver, but Im also lusting for a source audio C4 and the new Spectrum intelligent filter.

Good times ahead for sure!
 
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I pulled the trigger last month. Noble preamp should be here by the end of July, just in time for second half of festival season. Chain will be:
Dingwall SJ5 –> fea DB-CL —> Noble —> FOH/JH Audio IEM
Will likely throw octave pedal and Terraformer in there too.

I decided to list the fea comp as I’d like to try the Cali76CB.

It’s a good time to be a bassplayer! :D

That's gonna sound tasty!
One of the easiest, best sounds I ever had was a last minute board I put together for a church service..
Korg Pitchblack.. Cali 76CB.. Noble to FOH... Simple, perfect, amazing sound
 
I've backslid into the land of simplicity. Naked Noble. That's my new motto. Mostly recording only these days and as I was recently re-amping a bassline for a buddy who isn't fortunate enough to have a Noble, noticed distinct degradation in the signal chain when it ran from the tuner and then through Vintage Microtubes and Sneak Attack pedals. Both were disengaged and all three claim to have "true bypass." But when I plugged the signal directly into the Noble, its quality was audibly better. And there was a distinctly more robust shape to the waveform in my DAW.

Hence the new hole in my pedal board. After tune up, I can quickly unplug that box and jack straight into the Noble. Naked Noble. I'm afraid it's come down to that state of operation. Sonic purity at its best!

Edit: This scenario used a '97 Fender Jazz Deluxe 5 with Sadowsky preamp turned off. And Lindy Fralin pickups.

NakedNoble.JPG
 
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Naked Noble. I'm afraid it's come down to that state of operation. Sonic purity at its best!

View attachment 3448476

Yeah, man. I get session calls now and then, and I plug the bass into the Noble and the Noble into the console. I ask the engineer not to slap an amp sim plugin on it--just listen first. That always convinces them!
 
I've backslide into the land of simplicity. Naked Noble. That's my new motto. Mostly recording only these days and as I was recently re-amping a bassline for a buddy who isn't fortunate enough to have a Noble, noticed distinct degradation in the signal chain when it ran from the tuner and then through Vintage Microtubes and Sneak Attack pedals. Both were disengaged and all three claim to have "true bypass." But when I plugged the signal directly into the Noble, its quality was audibly better. And there was a distinctly more robust form to the waveform in my DAW.

Hence the new hole in my pedal board. After tune up, I can quickly unplug that box and jack straight into the Noble. Naked Noble. I'm afraid it's come down to that state of operation. Sonic purity at its best!

View attachment 3448476
This is my exact setup for recording and live. Can't get any better.
 
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I've backslide into the land of simplicity. Naked Noble. That's my new motto. Mostly recording only these days and as I was recently re-amping a bassline for a buddy who isn't fortunate enough to have a Noble, noticed distinct degradation in the signal chain when it ran from the tuner and then through Vintage Microtubes and Sneak Attack pedals. Both were disengaged and all three claim to have "true bypass." But when I plugged the signal directly into the Noble, its quality was audibly better. And there was a distinctly more robust form to the waveform in my DAW.

Hence the new hole in my pedal board. After tune up, I can quickly unplug that box and jack straight into the Noble. Naked Noble. I'm afraid it's come down to that state of operation. Sonic purity at its best!

View attachment 3448476

If you were running a passive bass you may have just needed a buffer up front in the pedal chain.
 
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for live work I am still totally digging the Noble + Cali76CB (in parallel compression setting) thing. great combination IMO/IME.

anyone ever compare the Alembic F1X pre to the Noble ? I used an F1X with a crown power amp many years ago and liked it, but I have not had one for a long time.
 
for live work I am still totally digging the Noble + Cali76CB (in parallel compression setting) thing. great combination IMO/IME.

anyone ever compare the Alembic F1X pre to the Noble ? I used an F1X with a crown power amp many years ago and liked it, but I have not had one for a long time.

Well, I have compared the Broughton Super Stack to the Noble. The Super Stack is a Fender tone circuit with a 12ax7 tube, so very similar to the Alembic F-1X. No DI out, so not exactly equivalent to the Noble. That said, I personally prefer the Super Stack to the Noble. They both have that slightly scooped sound, especially if you use the bass and treble EQ as both units can significantly boost the bass and treble (Super Stack mids are cut only).

So, yeah...similar in a way, but the Noble has a DI out and will power other pedals AND can be ordered. The Super Stack is pretty tough to come by. I sold my Noble and instead use the Super Stack (Invalid Link Removed) running into a Broughton Resonant Filter EQ (https://www.broughtonaudio.com/product-page/resonant-filter-equalizer). I like this combination MUCH more than the Noble and find it to be more flexible...although not a DI.
 
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Well, I have compared the Broughton Super Stack to the Noble. The Super Stack is a Fender tone circuit with a 12ax7 tube, so very similar to the Alembic F-1X. No DI out, so not exactly equivalent to the Noble. That said, I personally prefer the Super Stack to the Noble. They both have that slightly scooped sound, especially if you use the bass and treble EQ as both units can significantly boost the bass and treble (Super Stack mids are cut only).

So, yeah...similar in a way, but the Noble has a DI out and will power other pedals AND can be ordered. The Super Stack is pretty tough to come by. I sold my Noble and instead use the Super Stack (Invalid Link Removed) running into a Broughton Resonant Filter EQ (Invalid Link Removed). I like this combination MUCH more than the Noble and find it to be more flexible...although not a DI.
interesting, thanks for the insights.
I had a hard enough time finding a Noble DI and have been enjoying its particular flavor very much .. as a pre, DI and pedal power block. I doubt I will try to get into hunting for the Broughton pedals as those seem to really be unobtanium.

The Broughton Super Stack and the F1X both use just one 12AX7, where the Noble uses 2 12AU7's. I wonder how the Noble's use of tubes in its circuit differs. Perhaps the pre uses one 12AX7 and the DI uses the other (to drive the transformer perhaps ?). I don't know, does anyone here understand how these devices differ in their use of tubes in their circuits ? I'm just curious, I'm wandering very close to my knowledge limits with this question. Either way, it won't change my mind about the Noble, that's for sure.
 
I'll comment that the Noble often gets referred to as a "fender circuit" or a "fender tonestack." It's no really, where as the F1X is.
I think even Jack (maker of Noble) said that the EQ was "fender inspired." The Noble has shelving EQ where as a fender does not... at least my understanding.
 
I'll comment that the Noble often gets referred to as a "fender circuit" or a "fender tonestack." It's no really, where as the F1X is.
I think even Jack (maker of Noble) said that the EQ was "fender inspired." The Noble has shelving EQ where as a fender does not... at least my understanding.
yep, I understand that the Noble is more Fender-like than an exact Fender tone stack. I was just curious if anyone had compared it side-by-side with one of the actual Fender tone circuits as would be found in the F1X, F2B, Fender TPB and the like.
 
I'm curious too. I'm a fender fan ('77 bassman and TBP1 pre in the stable).
Read my post up above. I A/B'd the Noble against a Broughton Super Stack (Fender tone circuit with 12ax7 tube a la Showman/F1X, etc.) I sold the Noble and use the Super Stack all the time. They are NOT the same at all. I would say the Noble is very "hi fi" sounding in a way and a bit hyped whereas the Super Stack is fat and smooth with a bit more "feel" when playing through it.
 
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I wish I could find a Super Stack.
There will be another run of Super Stacks in late summer according to Josh Broughton's schedule he communicated. Sounds like NOT July, so I'm guessing August. Watch his website and feel free to PM me with any questions. If you're on the ball on the release date (which he will publish on the website as it gets closer) you should be able to get one.
 
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