Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
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
- Thread starter IanMartinAllison
- Start date
its in the Cali76 manual, also called parallel compression. I believe it refers to a fairly high comp ratio setting with the Dry setting set pretty high as well, so you are highly compressing a smaller amount of the overall output signal.
here's a wiki reference for it as well.
Parallel compression
here's a wiki reference for it as well.
Parallel compression
I know there have been 1000 posts already on the Cali76 / Noble combination. But can you briefly tell me what you feel the Cali76 does for you the way you're using it with the Noble? I'm not a compression expert so forgive me if it's a dumb question...
not a dumb question at all. I'm not a compressor expert either, and talking about tone is (as Frank Zappa or Martin Mull once said) like dancing about architecture. But, I have used a few pedals (BBE Opto and EBS MultiComp) and a few amps with one knob type comps on them over the years and had some experience with comps in recording work since the 70's.
For one thing the Cali76 has a few more controls than the others I have used so it's more tweakable. As I mentioned above, using the parallel (NYC, sidechain) setting allows you to get quite a bit of compression but keep your signal mostly (more?) unaffected by pushing up the Dry control (so more of your bass signal). The result, to my ear is all the good stuff about compression .. dynamic control and even-ness, and punch/heft to individual notes, with little of the usual comp downside which for me is usually experienced as choking the notes.
Now I also find the Cali76 to be pretty "musical" sounding .. to my ears it's not super transparent at all .. it adds an openness and depth, as well as some sweetness in the high end for definition ... again to my ears.
So how I experience it is the Cali punches up my signal, evens out my dynamics a bit, then that goes to the Noble for what it does .. tube warmth and whatever superlatives you want to use about the Noble. At the end of all that I run an HPF to cut the mud below about 40hz and keep all the other tone goodness.
very happy with this signal chain for the past 2 years.
now back to your normal Noble DI programming
Last edited:
With covid and all, the only musical collaboration I've done is "virtual" via recording alone or against other tracks and producing mixed versions of songs. With electric bass, I'm always tracking with Noble at perfectly flat settings and no HPF. No compressor. No nothing except the Noble and the P-bass (tone dialed on 100%). It's the only way to have total control over the mix, by injecting EQs, compressions, etc. in context of all the other instruments. Hard to unbake a cake!
For example, in a recent EB recording against a classical guitar, I ended up cutting bass frequencies when I assumed I'd be adding a bit. Not what I originally anticipated but you go with what sounds better.
From a producer's perspective, you may start out with a "sound in your head" but what it takes to create that sound can sometimes be a surprise. Tracking flat and isolated from other effects gives you maximum flexibility to shape the sound in post. Live sound is a different thing.
For example, in a recent EB recording against a classical guitar, I ended up cutting bass frequencies when I assumed I'd be adding a bit. Not what I originally anticipated but you go with what sounds better.
From a producer's perspective, you may start out with a "sound in your head" but what it takes to create that sound can sometimes be a surprise. Tracking flat and isolated from other effects gives you maximum flexibility to shape the sound in post. Live sound is a different thing.
'perfectly flat setting" I totally get what your saying and if the person asking for the bass track asks for that, that's what I send. But I use the Noble with some EQ along with the Cali76CB and even a cab sim pedal and people ask me for that sound too, so its just different expectations. I give them what they ask for.
Thanks, pfshim, for your answer to my question. Hopefully, I'll get back to playing one of these days. The Noble has always been great and now I think I'll pick up a Cali76CB to go with it!
No such thing as a dumb/stupid question. You can't learn if you don't ask.
not a dumb question at all. I'm not a compressor expert either, and talking about tone is (as Frank Zappa or Martin Mull once said) like dancing about architecture. But, I have used a few pedals (BBE Opto and EBS MultiComp) and a few amps with one knob type comps on them over the years and had some experience with comps in recording work since the 70's.
For one thing the Cali76 has a few more controls than the others I have used so it's more tweakable. As I mentioned above, using the parallel (NYC, sidechain) setting allows you to get quite a bit of compression but keep your signal mostly (more?) unaffected by pushing up the Dry control (so more of your bass signal). The result, to my ear is all the good stuff about compression .. dynamic control and even-ness, and punch/heft to individual notes, with little of the usual comp downside which for me is usually experienced as choking the notes.
Now I also find the Cali76 to be pretty "musical" sounding .. to my ears it's not super transparent at all .. it adds an openness and depth, as well as some sweetness in the high end for definition ... again to my ears.
So how I experience it is the Cali punches up my signal, evens out my dynamics a bit, then that goes to the Noble for what it does .. tube warmth and whatever superlatives you want to use about the Noble. At the end of all that I run an HPF to cut the mud below about 40hz and keep all the other tone goodness.
very happy with this signal chain for the past 2 years.
now back to your normal Noble DI programming
You nailed the description I get with my Cali76. It has been the best compressor whether I played it through the Noble or Khan.
yep, I like the Cali76 in front of the VT Deluxe too, adds a nice feel to everything ... paricularly in that parallel setting for me.
so question i just got a new noble this and haven't had a chance to use it a ton but it sounds great.
today i plugged it in using the quarter inch out into my amp and theres this clicking sound happening coming from the noble. is this a defect that I should contact the company about?
today i plugged it in using the quarter inch out into my amp and theres this clicking sound happening coming from the noble. is this a defect that I should contact the company about?
I'd say so. Mine is dead quiet, physically (no clicking) and electronically (no hum).
sorry to hear this is happening, I'm sure Jack will be all over it if you contact him.
he has been on TB in the past too under @Jack Roan, so you can try leaving a message for him here too .. besides direct email or calling.
good luck!
Last edited:
Is the 1/4-inch output on the Noble preamp balanced, or unbalanced? (Apologies if this is a dumb / repeat question.) Thanks.
IvanBassist
Commercial User
- Jun 8, 2008
- 3,743
- 11,118
- Disclosures
- Content Manager at Darkglass Electronics, Dingwall Guitars Artist
Recently received my Noble and I’m wondering how to plan my board... I see people putting pedals before the input as well as after...any thoughts and advice would be greatly appreciated
I can't say that I have any great insights to share, but I put my comp (Cali76CB) first in the signal chain after the bass, before the Noble, because that's just how I always use a comp ... and it has seemed to work well for my needs and playing style.
I don't use a ton of other FX, but generally I put them in front of the Noble too. I experimented with putting a few of them (Phat Phuk boost, MXR Envelope Filter) between the Noble and my amp (either a Mesa Walkabout or Mesa WD800) but they both sounded better (to me) between the comp and the Noble. The only exception is an HPF (fDeck ver 3) that I use between the Noble and the Walkabout (WD800 has its own HPF).
I guess what I'm aiming at is to have the Noble be the last thing flavoring my signal before it hits the amp. Has been working well for the past 2 years since I got my Noble.
good luck, one way or the other I'm sure you will love your new Noble, it just flavors the signal in such a nice way.
enjoy!
Hey folks! Anyone have buzzing issues with their Noble?
Mine was built in 2015 and I’ve gigged it a lot. I noticed a buzz a while back and after trying the ground lift, I chalked it up to bad power. I’ve tried multiple power sources in multiple locations and that wasn’t it. I swapped the tubes for some new ones and matched the existing set as close as possible - still buzzing. I made sure there was no corrosion or issues with tube seating, and they look great.
My board sits up off the floor on my amp, so there’s no chance of a rowdy drunk spilling on it lol and the buzz isn’t the end of the world, just a bit annoying.
Thanks for any insight!
Mine was built in 2015 and I’ve gigged it a lot. I noticed a buzz a while back and after trying the ground lift, I chalked it up to bad power. I’ve tried multiple power sources in multiple locations and that wasn’t it. I swapped the tubes for some new ones and matched the existing set as close as possible - still buzzing. I made sure there was no corrosion or issues with tube seating, and they look great.
My board sits up off the floor on my amp, so there’s no chance of a rowdy drunk spilling on it lol and the buzz isn’t the end of the world, just a bit annoying.
Thanks for any insight!
Have you tried to reinsert the power cables into the Noble itself? I had some buzzing and thought it was dirty power but ended up going away (and is now silent) when I rearranged my board, including removing all the power plugs and reinserting them. Pretty sure one was not inserted all the way.
Hope it helps.
Hope it helps.
That was totally it. There was some debris on the ports that a little keyboard duster took care of.
Good call, brother!
Good call, brother!
