• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Noble Amps Preamp

#2,226
Levin S said:
You’re no foreigner here, bud! I’ve been using my Noble with my uprights for years now and I always manage to get a good tone.

One thing that I’ll say, is that I do use the phase invert feature of my Fdeck HPF a good bit and the Noble doesn’t have one. It may not be the ideal way to tame feedback, but it sure is quick lol.
Click to expand...

It's a great little box for sure, at one time I owned all three different ones, the phase switch is fantastic when it works and useless when it doesn't. I really like the Variable phase on the EA Doubler and wish someone

would put that into a pedal sized box.
 
#2,228
N. Kentucky Bass said:
The tubes in my Noble just went microphonic so I replaced them. All you could hear with the old ones was scratchy white noise from an amp. The unit is 3 years and 2 months old, careful handling. Not a big deal, but curious what tube failure experiences others have had. The Noble is pretty darn rugged but tubes are what they are.
Click to expand...

4 years, 1 month... still quiet.
 
#2,230
83A375E2-4303-4944-892B-64264B9548E6.jpeg

Here’s my first proper board with my Noble. I used to have it on a Nano with my Cali and tuner but after a few years finally got around to finalising a slightly bigger board. It’s a metro 16 for those wondering. Providing you purchase a right angle IEC the Noble just fits sideways.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Christian Houmann, Kevan Campbell, pfschim and 8 others
#2,231
I did a jammy song with the Noble. Since its based around chordal playing with the bass I rolled off all the lows from the bass but engaged the low cut and compensated with bass from the Noble. I was surprised how well the Noble was able to steer clear from mud. Thoughts? (The video is kind of a bummer, because its on the wildfires in Australia. Sorry for being a downer.)


 
  • Like
Reactions: jmone, BasturdBlaster and ahc
#2,232
rictrose said:
View attachment 3664028
Here’s my first proper board with my Noble. I used to have it on a Nano with my Cali and tuner but after a few years finally got around to finalising a slightly bigger board. It’s a metro 16 for those wondering. Providing you purchase a right angle IEC the Noble just fits sideways.
Click to expand...
man, I did the same thing with the right angle plug IEC cable and then half the dates I was on it ended up being the wrong angle and I had to do some silly routing of the power cable. Good idea, but not as helpful as I originally thought it would be.

Noble still sounds great in any event, so no big whoop. but still makes me laugh at myself for trying to be clever. :laugh:
 
  • Like
Reactions: rictrose
#2,233
pfschim said:
man, I did the same thing with the right angle plug IEC cable and then half the dates I was on it ended up being the wrong angle and I had to do some silly routing of the power cable. Good idea, but not as helpful as I originally thought it would be.

Noble still sounds great in any event, so no big whoop. but still makes me laugh at myself for trying to be clever. :laugh:
Click to expand...

I know what you mean - just get a long enough cable and so it can reach even if the power is in the “wrong side”.

Loving this small pedalboard
 
#2,236
Just wanted to drop in to say how much I love my Noble and Bergantino setup, and to say what a pleasure it was to meet finally meet Jack in person at NAMM this year! We talked a bit in Anaheim then I was able to meet up with him in the Bay Area where he shared with me the very cool story of how he came to build Noble up. Thanks again for the great hang Jack!!

3A6BE933-D3A4-4686-9BC4-530CCFCD5F55.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: ExaltBass, Iv@N, Guitarodeo and 5 others
#2,237
IvanBassist said:
Is is here! :hyper:
Click to expand...


Cool video once again Ivan. I get your excitement. I'm back in the Noble house for a second go round. It's all making sense for me this time. I've thought a lot about what you are describing, and Jack spells it out (as what might pass as hype if it weren't true) on his web site): " Tubes distort gradually with low-order harmonics, which are perfect musical intervals. The second harmonic is an octave, the third harmonic is a fifth above the octave, the fourth harmonic is a second octave, etc. This is the reason tubes sound so good, and you will notice it. Their subtle distortion provides the natural harmonics lacking in electronic instruments, and restores the dimension and feel of your bass as it was intended to be heard." This resonates with me, literally. IMO that is precisely the magic of this box, in addition to the design simplicity and active throughput. Every note is singing in multiple harmonics, beautifully sagging, then responding when you dig in. It even makes me want to sing more, and that takes some pushing. And ear plugs.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: bass08053 and N. Kentucky Bass
#2,238
hey @Iv@N, when you are checking out your new Noble DI, I'd be interested in your thoughts about some of the more extreme settings.

When I got mine, I watched several videos of various players and one that really struck me was Tim Lefebvre's where he advocates spinning the Noble tone dials all the way up and using the HPF switch to tame some of the low end that scenario creates. Tim talks about pushing the tubes into pretty serious saturation territory (although I don't hear a ton of outright distortion from doing this ... which is cool). While it's kind of against my usual practice of EQing pretty lightly on any amp I use, but man that thing sounds great that way. At least to my ears. Not sure if it would work very great for FOH situations (the Nobel is a DI after all) .. but in stand alone and certain recording situations it's a very nice tone.

Given your other demo vids of the Mesa Subway amps, I'm very interested in your take on various settings on the Noble.

enjoy!
 
  • Like
Reactions: brennanmcnally, IvanBassist, gkbass13 and 1 other person
#2,239
pfschim said:
hey @Iv@N, when you are checking out your new Noble DI, I'd be interested in your thoughts about some of the more extreme settings.

When I got mine, I watched several videos of various players and one that really struck me was Tim Lefebvre's where he advocates spinning the Noble tone dials all the way up and using the HPF switch to tame some of the low end that scenario creates. Tim talks about pushing the tubes into pretty serious saturation territory (although I don't hear a ton of outright distortion from doing this ... which is cool). While it's kind of against my usual practice of EQing pretty lightly on any amp I use, but man that thing sounds great that way. At least to my ears. Not sure if it would work very great for FOH situations (the Nobel is a DI after all) .. but in stand alone and certain recording situations it's a very nice tone.

Given your other demo vids of the Mesa Subway amps, I'm very interested in your take on various settings on the Noble.

enjoy!
Click to expand...
Well, I've had it since Wednesday and haven't had that much time to experiment with it, yet, but today I'll be doing a day of recording with it.
So far, the only "extreme" setting I've tried was boosting the treble all the way, which I found actually usable in some particular situations, because it's not harsh or piercing.
The bass control w/o the HPF engaged is definitely pretty massive, but the variable HPF on the WD-800 suits my needs a bit better than using the switch on the Noble, i think

I'm not so sure how much EQ I'm going to be using out of the Noble, because I like my mids, but the feeling and response it provides set flat is pretty amazing I have to say.
A few students of mine were here the other day and they were surprised by the difference in feel compared to a non-tube DI
 
  • Like
Reactions: pfschim and ExaltBass

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back