Noble Amps Preamp

[N. Kentucky Bass]

When I mic a double bass and run the mic through the Noble, I generally like it best totally clean with bass and treble flat. If it's a studio recording, I leave the low cut switch off too and handle that in post with a DAW. The dual tube processing makes all the difference!

 

[600 Ohms]

Everyone is so afraid of a "scooped" tone,

I'm convinced this is one of today's popular bass delusions. But to each his own!

 

[AngelCrusher]

A lot of guys think scooped and they think of fieldy or something extreme.
Reality is on a record the bass is usually scooped a bit somewhere, usually around 200-500hz depending on the music. But its done well by experienced ears.

Some guy pulling all the mids out of his amp is not the proper reference when discussing a scooped tone but it seems thats what everyone seems to think about when the word is mentioned.

 

[JimmyM]

I'm convinced this is one of today's popular bass delusions. But to each his own!

It is and it isn't. There are times when scooping your mids sounds good, but go too far and you fall right out of a dense mix. I've had it happen many times in the 80's

 

[600 Ohms]

It is and it isn't. There are times when scooping your mids sounds good, but go too far and you fall right out of a dense mix. I've had it happen many times in the 80's

No arguments. You can always go "too far".

 

[600 Ohms]

Here's another visual that I thought was cool. I wanted to see how the HPF switch affected the bass boost. You get a kind of "diagonal" relationship; the more bass gain you dial in, the lower the frequency that gets boosted the most, as the bass eq gain "fights" the filter. The more I play with this combination, the more I like it, cause you can really crank it in this mode and you can't make it sound bad.

My knob twiddlings weren't super-accurate, just quickly eyeballed. Mr Roan has designed a classic.

 

[pfschim]

very interesting to see how the eq controls act on the Noble, thanks 600, much appreciated.

I know that many are just barely pushing the EQ controls, but I really dig the sound of the Noble being pushed particularly the live sound (thru the amp/cab) in my home studio. It just puts a smile on my face while I am working on parts. I have found that I need to be more careful with FOH support on a live gig because the signal can get oversaturated if I push too much, but the controls are very easy to work with. Such a cool box-o-tones, thanks Jack

 

[hennessybass]

Yes. Thanks @600 Ohms
Very cool. I love seeing these.

That link @kkenda11 shared about the SLOIII was also great.

 

[Passinwind]

It is and it isn't. There are times when scooping your mids sounds good, but go too far and you fall right out of a dense mix. I've had it happen many times in the 80's

Just needed more gated 'verb on the snare.

 

[JimmyM]

Just needed more gated 'verb on the snare. View attachment 3764490

Totally! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

 

[Doner Designs]

Here's another visual that I thought was cool. I wanted to see how the HPF switch affected the bass boost. You get a kind of "diagonal" relationship; the more bass gain you dial in, the lower the frequency that gets boosted the most, as the bass eq gain "fights" the filter. The more I play with this combination, the more I like it, cause you can really crank it in this mode and you can't make it sound bad.

View attachment 3763669
View attachment 3763670

My knob twiddlings weren't super-accurate, just quickly eyeballed. Mr Roan has designed a classic.

Excellent charts, thanks!!

 

[pfschim]

Here's another visual that I thought was cool. I wanted to see how the HPF switch affected the bass boost. You get a kind of "diagonal" relationship; the more bass gain you dial in, the lower the frequency that gets boosted the most, as the bass eq gain "fights" the filter. The more I play with this combination, the more I like it, cause you can really crank it in this mode and you can't make it sound bad.

View attachment 3763669
View attachment 3763670

My knob twiddlings weren't super-accurate, just quickly eyeballed. Mr Roan has designed a classic.

hey @600 Ohms .. any interest in doing something similar showing various positions of the Treble control on the output ... even overlaying the results of both Bass and Treble with/without the HPF engaged ?

If you have the time/inclination, I certainly would be interested to see this.

Thanks again for what you provided so far. very cool.

 

[5StringPocket]

Here's another visual that I thought was cool. I wanted to see how the HPF switch affected the bass boost. You get a kind of "diagonal" relationship; the more bass gain you dial in, the lower the frequency that gets boosted the most, as the bass eq gain "fights" the filter. The more I play with this combination, the more I like it, cause you can really crank it in this mode and you can't make it sound bad.

View attachment 3763669
View attachment 3763670

My knob twiddlings weren't super-accurate, just quickly eyeballed. Mr Roan has designed a classic.

What software did you use to generate these plots?

 

[600 Ohms]

hey @600 Ohms .. any interest in doing something similar showing various positions of the Treble control on the output ... even overlaying the results of both Bass and Treble with/without the HPF engaged ?

If you have the time/inclination, I certainly would be interested to see this.

Thanks again for what you provided so far. very cool.

Sure thing. I already have the measurements shot.

 

[600 Ohms]

What software did you use to generate these plots?

FuzzMeasure

 

[600 Ohms]

Okay then.

Here, the bass knob is flat, 9:00, 1:00 (noon and 1:00 were pretty similar) and 5:00 (full). At full-up, you're boosting 18-19dB. I'm not sure if that tiny bump right at 30Hz is just my unit or an artifact of the measurement process. I'll never boost it that high anyway, and it is smooth when you use the HPF switch.

Treble is flat, 9:00, 12:00, 2:00, 3:00 & 5:00. Full-up, you're boosting over 21dB.

That tiny attenuation below the shelf frequency reminds me of something similar on my Undertone Audio MPEQ-1s, where there is a "Shape" control that lets you affect the contour of the slope just before or after the shelf, and you can make it do cool filter tricks (Manual image © Undertone Audio):

 

[been_effected]

Okay then.

Here, the bass knob is flat, 9:00, 1:00 (noon and 1:00 were pretty similar) and 5:00 (full). At full-up, you're boosting 18-19dB. I'm not sure if that tiny bump right at 30Hz is just my unit or an artifact of the measurement process. I'll never boost it that high anyway, and it is smooth when you use the HPF switch.
View attachment 3774483

Treble is flat, 9:00, 12:00, 2:00, 3:00 & 5:00. Full-up, you're boosting over 21dB.

View attachment 3774484

That tiny attenuation below the shelf frequency reminds me of something similar on my Undertone Audio MPEQ-1s, where there is a "Shape" control that lets you affect the contour of the slope just before or after the shelf, and you can make it do cool filter tricks (Manual image © Undertone Audio):

View attachment 3774485

SUPER interesting...

Now I just wish I had a visual way to sculpt EQ in my Helix, and I could emulate something similar...

 

[600 Ohms]

On Tim L's Patreon, he showed off his early-days prototype Noble. Anyone see that? Tubes and transformer all sticking out. The two tones demo'd were both knobs at noon vs, the HPF switch (previously called "DEEP" when in the off position) and cranking the bass. I've been loving that latter tone all day. Here's what it looks like between those two conditions:

You get a tiny bit more midrange in the both-at-noon setting, and slightly less in the HPF-full bass setting, which is also making the bass filter more like a bell than a shelf. Either way, it's a winner.

Also those funny little bumps in the previous post are the program, I think, cause I have been getting them randomly. It's a little fussy the way it takes levels, possibly the level of my mic pre, which I have to adjust to a rather narrow window for the measurement. They don't seem to be non-linearities in Noble itself.

 

[pfschim]

great stuff 600ohms, thanks so much for doing this. very cool to see what I have been hearing. Does not change my mind about how I like to set the Noble, but it does put some data behind that understanding. much appreciated!

 

[Ryo0227]

Hello.

I have a few questions about Noble Preamp/DI. There are no reviews in Japan, where I live, and I'm hesitant to buy this equipment because it's quite expensive. So, I'd love to get some feedback from people who have already used this preamp.

I don't have a bass amp at home, so I connect my UAD apollo twin to my PC and use headphones to record and practice.
I like the lightly overdriven (compressed) bass sound, so I honestly don't like the clean sound of the DI Box alone...
I'm using Aguilar Tone Hammer with the AGS switch on as the default.
I love the tone of this one. Because I feel like I'm standing in front of a bass amp and monitoring it.
However, it feels like the low end is gone. Sometimes I wonder if there is an amp-like pedal that has the right amount of distortion.

Looking at YouTube and Instagram, I wondered if Noble wasn't a pedal with an easy to understand tonal character like the numerous bass overdrive pedals (or amp simulators).

• How much distortion do I get when I put the Passive Bass through this Pre/DI?
• Is there a little bit of saturation when you turn up the EQ or volume knob?
• Do you think the Noble is a pedal that can create an amp-like tone?

Thanks for reading this one, even though it's long! I'd love to hear from you.