I'm not heavy handed with compressors, I just like a little bit. And I should also say that I wasn't as impressed with the LAB until I tried it with the Noble. Not sure why, it just responded differently. There was also a post here someplace that someone mentioned that the secret sauce was pushing the make up gain higher than the compression. Most of the time I see the LAB used it's with make up gain run parallel with the compression knob. So if the compression is at 12, then make up gain is at 12 also. I found that I like to run my compression at around 10-11, and then run the make up gain around 1 or 2. This give me a really nice sound/feel when used with the Noble. I have a Cali76, but the LAB just feels a bit better to me overall. When I play with a band, it's always a quiet stage, so i'm running just IEM, no amp. The sound of the LAB with the Noble is everything I could want in a clean tone. Hope you get a chance to try it!
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Noble Amps Preamp
- Thread starter IanMartinAllison
- Start date
Replace that Cali76 with a Union Tube LAB compressor with just a touch of compression - Chefs kiss!
I'm the same. I really have to wonder how much confirmation bias is floating about. The Noble is expensive, scarce, takes months to acquire and has a mega ton of hype surrounding it. I wouldn't be surprised if people quietly move it on, for a profit as people have GAS and don't want to wait for a new one to be made, and simply don't want to go against the flow and say "Meh". Some of the blind tests online are so biased, with some comparisons having more drive than others, so whilst "blind", its not a fair comparison. So i'm really not convinced myself, but still very curious as, like I said, there is loads of hype around the Noble.
I have used mine for almost nine years. I miss it if it is not in the chain. If that is confirmation bias, I am good with that!
Yeah... we might be waiting a while for that Noble hype to die down. The hype has been going for years.
I've had my Noble for 3 years now. Like Kentucky stated, I miss it if its not in the chain. The FOH and recording engineers miss it if its not in my chain as well. They can hear it and can tell the difference when it is or isn't in there.
Buy once and cry once.
I've had my Noble for 3 years now. Like Kentucky stated, I miss it if its not in the chain. The FOH and recording engineers miss it if its not in my chain as well. They can hear it and can tell the difference when it is or isn't in there.
Buy once and cry once.
With an 11 month wait list, I don't think demand ("hype" assumes some false basis for the interest) is going anywhere. Clones and digital models are now on the scene, but the Noble reigns supreme.
Well of course if you take it out they will notice. Do they notice when you replace with another quality piece?
Fools and their money are parted for an endless number of reasons.... If you think there is no hype involved with that demand, you need to look around. This very site is generating a lot of it
But you’re convinced that their is nothing to the Noble but I believe you also said you never tried one. Maybe I’m confusing you with someone else. Maybe I’m drinking Koolaid (it was actually Flavor aid) or maybe there is really something special to the Noble.
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Is the argument that the noble does nothing or is the argument that there are other quality pieces of equipment? Of course there are other pieces of quality equipment and results are subjective for the most part.
To answer your question, yes they did notice when I ran my chain through another quality piece. I use a tonehammer DI into my noble. A few weeks ago I ran straight out of the tonehammer DI and the difference was noticeable. I believe the tonehammer would be considered a quality piece in a lot of circles.
Have you tried one? When and if you do, your experience may be different then mine.
My point is that the Noble sounds good and I like it. In my context and for my playing, it's a gamechanger.
So reading all these reactions made me realize there was one other benefit to keeping a Noble in the chain, and that is the Noble helps my dog sleep better. I don't know what to say, but when I slip the Noble out of the chain, the poor dog starts howling like a banshee. The dog made me do it!
Yup. I have tried a LOT of effects pedals with the Noble. After all these years, the only neighbors with permanent visitation are the tuner and HPF. I play bass. I like it the tone and gear to be "basic."
If you need some saturation, is the Spark the go-to? Are there other drive pedals you like better? When you need it? I never need anything but a clean tone, but one of these days I imagine a little drive might find its way into a song or two. I keep trying different pedals out, but nothing has wowed me yet.
Spark was fine, but I share your emotion of lack of wow. Frankly, after years of tweaking and experimenting with effects, I've become bored with that process and am happy with what I've got. I recently decided to branch out and am spending more time with a drum kit. Figuring out how to do four things at once has brought me a lot of respect for good drummers. As for the bad ones--well, TB regulars know what happens to them!
I mean: sure. GAS and hype are things, but it doesn't follow automatically that the thing being hyped has disproportionate value. Noble is scarce and expensive partially because these things are made by a few people in California. But that alone has value for some people: Jack reached out after I ordered mine -- albeit 11 months ago -- to ask some details on what I was using it with, and I let him know the full chain and I was "looking to break things up to have more control flexibility over tone, and from what I’ve heard (and heard) your preamp seems to be the best way to integrate the tube sound without being forced to take other artifacts". He seemed genuinely interested that the preamp was going to work for me, something you see rarely when buying equipment.
There's a lot of different reasons to invest in equipment. I used to own a lot of Alembics: I loved every single one of them, but they just weren't practical when gigging salsa (3-4 times a week, 3 hours each), so I switched to an FSO. But gigging is behind me and I just want to tone-surf and enjoy hearing myself play -- I've paid my dues. I don't judge others being skeptical of what gear works the best for them, but I'd discourage people from falling for the temptation to feel smarter than everyone in their gear choices. Many of the big Noble fans have many many years of playing with numerous gear: I say let em play.
Jack is great. Genuinely cares about his customers.
Jack has personally helped me with questions / issues several times. And shown interest in getting the best results -- even years after I made the purchase. I have never seen this type of engagement from any other vendor. Frankly, most vendors really don't give a cra* about people. All they want is the revenue, and once they've got it, they're outta here.
