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Noble Amps Preamp

#362
Thanks for the advice, guys.

I've definitely used 1176s or L2As or Distressors in the studio, and loved the results, but I've never had stellar results live. I've used a few pedal compressors (EBS, Diamond) and found myself losing interest after a couple gigs with them. This of course could be due to me not using them properly, but I never found them to improve my tone and/or playing that much.

I did a gig last weekend with my Noble, and the monitor guy was absolutely stomping on the signal with a DBX166 in his rack. It sounded pretty awesome in my in-ears, but I could definitely feel the lack of dynamics in my playing. It just made me think that there might just be a middle ground to light compression not being noticeable and heavy compression being too much. Pretty sure that medium compression would be the obvious response there, I've just never been able to really dial in that middle ground other than mixing in a studio.

Of course, the tubes in the Noble (and likely to some further extent the preamp tubes in my DB750) give me some inherent compression, but the gear nerd in me is always battling with my minimalist side, especially when it comes to compression.
 
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#364
corsicangroove said:
Oh yes man the Cali is killer and match perfectly with the noble .
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I have not tried the Cali76 but have been pleased with running a Markbass Compressore in front of the Noble. It's obviously better since it has an E on the end. Just like a shoppe is better than a shop. :-)

Seriously though, the Markbass has a tube and uses the tube to do the compression. When I was messing around with gain ahead of the boxes I thought I was hearing the Noble tubes distort but later learned that the grind was from my compressor. Of course the Noble tubes will growl too if you put some gain in front of it.

Not trying to advertise the MB or knock the Cali but figured since this thread is being followed by a bunch of tube preamp fanatics the idea of a whisper quiet tube compressor mated with the Noble might be an interesting idea for some. I guess maybe it's a little bit like having a multi-stage tube preamp where one tube pushes another? Seems to be fairly well built too - I dropped it this weekend with no apparent damage.
 
#365
I think most people use the Cali76 for parallel compression. So that way you can squeeze the tone hard and blend it back in to your clean tone. It is a studio mixing technique(also known as New York compression) that can work quite well. For live, it is not really a must have for me at that price point, but ill parallel comp some tracks in my studio once I get the Noble and see if my mind changes.
 
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#366
Does anyone have any experience with this and an Alembic F2B? How far apart are they on the tonal spectrum? Can the F2B get this thick?I'm at a decision point. There aren't many sound clips of the f2b to compare, and I've been talking to a guy locally about picking one up, but this noble sounds killer.
 
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#369
AngelCrusher said:
I think most people use the Cali76 for parallel compression. So that way you can squeeze the tone hard and blend it back in to your clean tone. It is a studio mixing technique(also known as New York compression) that can work quite well. For live, it is not really a must have for me at that price point, but ill parallel comp some tracks in my studio once I get the Noble and see if my mind changes.
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One of these days I'm going to try parallel compression. My Markbass amps have parallel effects loops so that would make for an easy setup to experiment.
 
#370
Doner Designs said:
One of these days I'm going to try parallel compression. My Markbass amps have parallel effects loops so that would make for an easy setup to experiment.
Click to expand...

If you haven't done this - It's really beneficial I think for every player to turn their laptop or PC into a basic DAW. Just use a basic A/D like a focusrite and then free software like Traktion. You will be able to monitor your tone with headphones (AKG monitoring ones are great) and hear a ton of detail. Additionally, plugin compressors usually have a mix knob so you can easily do parallel comps. You can also build pedal chains with all the different effects and really see what works for your tone. Not only will it help you learn EQ and compression, but you will be able to hear the Noble in far better detail.
 
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#373
samthebassist24 said:
Has anybody used the Noble through an Ampeg SVT Classic? I like the sound I get out of the amp but I feel like it's missing something and the Noble looks like the answer to that.
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When you are already running an all tube setup, what would the benefit be of having an added or different tube preamp? Just curious Looking for different EQ points or the built-in HPF? I'm a Noble fan and user....just curious. Of course one benefit would be the option to send FOH a different preamp/EQ signal vs what you use on stage. For that reason I always go into the main input on my amp so that I can do further stage tone shaping after the FOH send.
 
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#374
Doner Designs said:
When you are already running an all tube setup, what would the benefit be of having an added or different tube preamp? Just curious Looking for different EQ points or the built-in HPF? I'm a Noble fan and user....just curious. Of course one benefit would be the option to send FOH a different preamp/EQ signal vs what you use on stage. For that reason I always go into the main input on my amp so that I can do further stage tone shaping after the FOH send.
Click to expand...

I think you could make the same argument for using the Noble with any amp. My DB750 has a tube preamp section, so using the DI out on the amp is somewhat of a similar idea as the Noble. Having said that, the tone is completely different. I've always loved my tone with the Aggie, but the Noble is in a whole other world. My guess would be that you would get the same effect with an SVT, V4b, or other tube amp. Different flavours of tubey goodness.
 
#375
I'm putting together my nano board while I wait for the Noble. The wait is painful..lol.

I did find a pedal I think could be amazing with the Noble - the 5th gear. It is a small OD pedal. It gets dirty, but not like a fuzz. It's pretty much perfect for pushing tubes, and I think I will be able to get some really great tones out of it. Anyone else have one?
 
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#376
Doner Designs said:
One of these days I'm going to try parallel compression. My Markbass amps have parallel effects loops so that would make for an easy setup to experiment.
Click to expand...
I tried my Alembic F2b running into the loop of my Markbass heads........Unfortunately I could not get the F2b directly into the poweramp as the effects loop is parallel and the markbass EQ interacted with the sound

Now...if I still had my F2b...I could run it straight into my Magellan 800 poweramp........Doh!
 
#377
Just received the preamp today & took it to a venue that I play at on an ad-hoc.. Written thoughts to come!
 

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#379
AngelCrusher said:
Awesome man. When did you order? I can't wait for mine.
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On 2nd March - Jack shipped it out on the last possible day of the 6 week estimate he gave me. Pretty nice when it's normal to expect build orders to delay with any manufacturer.
The Noble really gave a full, substantial, warmed-up vibe to the couple of basses I tried it with.. & it likes to be cranked!
 
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#380
jasesng said:
On 2nd March - Jack shipped it out on the last possible day of the 6 week estimate he gave me. Pretty nice when it's normal to expect build orders to delay with any manufacturer.
The Noble really gave a full, substantial, warmed-up vibe to the couple of basses I tried it with.. & it likes to be cranked!
Click to expand...

Ok..yeah Im about two weeks out then based on your ship date. Honestly can't wait. Glad you are liking yours so far.
 
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