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Noble Amps Preamp

#321
If I had one, I can do it in my studio. I guess that is the Catch 22 for me..lol.

So the shelving is not at 150hz? I thought that is where it started the cut? That feature is real interesting to me. Maybe you are talking about the EQ points though?

Scoop at 700 is pretty cool. That's way better to me than the Sadowksy which scoops at 300. I hate losing low mids on a Jazz bass. Sure, it "sits in the mix" and sounds good solo, but I was getting tracks back that I was killing on and I could barely hear myself due to the scoop. Stylistically, it just was not my sound.

I play on a lot of hip hop sessions where I need to sit above an 808 and a kick sample, and that 150hz shelf is perfect for such a session.
 
#322
AngelCrusher said:
If I had one, I can do it in my studio. I guess that is the Catch 22 for me..lol.

So the shelving is not at 150hz? I thought that is where it started the cut? That feature is real interesting to me. Maybe you are talking about the EQ points though?

Scoop at 700 is pretty cool. That's way better to me than the Sadowksy which scoops at 300. I hate losing low mids on a Jazz bass. Sure, it "sits in the mix" and sounds good solo, but I was getting tracks back that I was killing on and I could barely hear myself due to the scoop. Stylistically, it just was not my sound.

I play on a lot of hip hop sessions where I need to sit above an 808 and a kick sample, and that 150hz shelf is perfect for such a session.
Click to expand...

Hi @AngelCrusher - Correct, the corner frequencies for the bass and treble controls are at 80Hz and 3.5kHz. The low cut switch rolls off the bottom end with a 150Hz corner. Full specs are at the bottom of this page: Preamps : Noble Amplifier Company

I see about a third to half the guys using the low cut switch, vs not. If you do cut lows then you can boost them back in via the bass knob to taste. This gives more focus to the 80-120Hz range, where without the low cut you'd be getting more boost around 40-80Hz. My thought on the low cut switch was to keep the bass above the kick drum in the mix, exactly as you've said.

Some swear by cutting the lows and then cranking the bass knob fully on, but that is only one of the many possibilities (see the Tim Lefebvre vid on our YouTube for his take on this). :thumbsup:
 
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#324
markjazzbassist said:
read post 96 in the thread by jack roan himself. its passive fender tone stack.
Click to expand...
He actually says "it's a modified Fender tone stack" if you read it carefully.
I'm not sure why, but you seem to be implying on this and other threads that Mr. Roan simply copied the preamp section out of a Fender Bassman 400, and this couldn't be farther from the fact of the matter or more uninformative.
 
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#325
odin70 said:
What about the reddi was it that your soundman didnt like?
Click to expand...

They said it was too "dark" sounding, and that was with roundwounds and with my P bass tone knob wide open. Obviously, based on all the reviews, the REDDI is a great piece of gear, but it was evidently not the right choice for our room / situation. The natural tone of the Noble, with it's simple EQ knobs and the low-cut switch seems to be right on target for us.
 
#326
This unit kicks butt!!!!!!!!!!! Only thing is... wish the quarter inch out had a switch to not use the preamp. I usually will just run it into the fx loop with backline. If there is no fx loop though kind of running gain stage into gain stage.
 
#327
Jack Roan said:
Hi @AngelCrusher - Correct, the corner frequencies for the bass and treble controls are at 80Hz and 3.5kHz. The low cut switch rolls off the bottom end with a 150Hz corner. Full specs are at the bottom of this page: Preamps : Noble Amplifier Company

I see about a third to half the guys using the low cut switch, vs not. If you do cut lows then you can boost them back in via the bass knob to taste. This gives more focus to the 80-120Hz range, where without the low cut you'd be getting more boost around 40-80Hz. My thought on the low cut switch was to keep the bass above the kick drum in the mix, exactly as you've said.

Some swear by cutting the lows and then cranking the bass knob fully on, but that is only one of the many possibilities (see the Tim Lefebvre vid on our YouTube for his take on this). :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

From my amp, home use, etc, I prefer the deeper bass you get when not using the low cut switch, but I'll probably try the Lefebvre way on my next time live to see if the engineer likes it better. My main gig is at a satellite church plant that meets in a middle school auditorium. The PA isn't great, so I'm thinking that the mains may handle the lows better without the really deep bass. The last two times out he came up to the stage and turned up my amp saying it sounds better than the house (wow...how often do you get turned up by the sound man! :)). Normally we don't have a drum set (just a cajon), so there is no need to leave room for a kick drum down low but I'm probably asking too much of the crappy PA. Probably will try both flat and the Lefebvre method next couple of times out and then restore a bit of the sub-bass on stage using the 40 hz bass control on my amp.
 
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#330
SamuelSandoval said:
I ordered mine a few days before Thanksgiving and delivery was fast. But even if you have to wait, trust me it's worth it.
Click to expand...

True, I agree. I just have to wait on everything I get now because I play handmade basses and now I'm close to buying this handmade Pre..lol. So I'd like to not wait for once if possible, but I totally understand if I have to. I've never heard a Pre before to where I start putting together finances before the video demo is even over..haha.
 
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#332
M Sterling said:
There was a few weeks wait when I ordered mine. Jack met the time estimate perfectly and the pre was delivered quickly.
Click to expand...

I asked for an estimate because I have had problems with other boutique outfits and am not patient. Got it within 2-3 weeks....ahead of what he had estimated.
 
#333
AngelCrusher said:
If I had one, I can do it in my studio. I guess that is the Catch 22 for me..lol.

So the shelving is not at 150hz? I thought that is where it started the cut? That feature is real interesting to me. Maybe you are talking about the EQ points though?

Scoop at 700 is pretty cool. That's way better to me than the Sadowksy which scoops at 300. I hate losing low mids on a Jazz bass. Sure, it "sits in the mix" and sounds good solo, but I was getting tracks back that I was killing on and I could barely hear myself due to the scoop. Stylistically, it just was not my sound.

I play on a lot of hip hop sessions where I need to sit above an 808 and a kick sample, and that 150hz shelf is perfect for such a session.
Click to expand...

Looks like Jack answered. The EQ controls are shelving type and those are the EQ points I was referring to - boosts and cuts everything below the bass freq and above the treble freq.

I think the low cut switch is on more of a slope - the spec page says 8db per octave cut beginning at 150 hz.
 
#334
AngelCrusher said:
True, I agree. I just have to wait on everything I get now because I play handmade basses and now I'm close to buying this handmade Pre..lol. So I'd like to not wait for once if possible, but I totally understand if I have to. I've never heard a Pre before to where I start putting together finances before the video demo is even over..haha.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I don't like waiting either man. And a bit of anxiety is understandable when you know you gotta make a little bit of a line for such a great pre like the Noble.
Here's a pic of mine if it makes you feel any better... or worse haha
I put on Sadowsky knobs on mine, not because I wanted to put Sad knobs on the Noble but rather because I wanted to use the Noble's knobs on my jazz bass haha

image.jpeg
 
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#340
tedw said:
I got mine last week and played in 3 church services (medium sized room, seats 500 to 600, monitoring is via IEMs). I played Lull PJ4 with Chromes, both pickups on full and the tone knob dialed back a bit. On the Noble, I set the bass and treble dials at 10:00 and engaged the low cut switch (since our room tends to be dark). I'm no genius when it comes to sound engineering, so I rely a lot on feedback from our sound engineers. They loved the sound and asked me never to change it. It's not easy to please them as much as this, so this means a lot to me. I was also experimenting with new IEMs (Sensaphonics AARO system), and the bass sounded great in my ears... inspiring in fact. I know that this is not the only tube DI out there and I've previously tried the REDDI and Monique. Both are great but for some reason they did not get the love from our sound guys. One thing that I really like about my new setup is that all I have to bring is the bass, tuner, Noble DI and IEMs..... and a few cables. Much simpler compared to what I was doing. Anyway, as far as I'm concerned, the Noble is totally worth the $$$.

In my practice room, I've just been running the Noble via the 1/4" out the effects return of my Acoustic Image Clarus, and it sounds really great with any of my speakers. If I ever need an on-stage power amp (I rarely do), that's what I'll be using.

Hope that helps anyone who is on the fence :)
Click to expand...

I was tinkering with mine this weekend and basically decided to try your setting next time out (low cut engaged with bass at 10 o'clock). I'm thinking the subsonic rolloff may be part of the secret to making the FOH guys happy. It sure makes a difference in my basement. Normally the ductwork vibrates like crazy at high volumes, but when I engage the low cut switch and use the bass boost to restore the low end it still sounds strong and beefy but the house shakes a lot less. Sometimes I accomplish a similar goal (to tighten up the lows) by cutting low mids between 300-500 hz, but this may be a better answer.
 
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