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Noble Amps Preamp
- Thread starter IanMartinAllison
- Start date
Interesting to hear this. When the Magellan first came out, I was thinking about buying one to replace my ShuttleMAX 9.2. Then I got the Noble and thought "if I just go in to power amp input, what difference does the amp really make?" I think you may have just answered my question.
Curious, can anyone (with first-hand knowledge) compare/contrast the Magellan and ShuttleMAX? Specifically, the power amp sections?
Thanks!
I've done it both ways - direct into the Magellans power amp, and through the instrument in. When all flat, I couldn't hear a noticeable difference between the two routes. So, I've just used the instrument in, and I love the added control I get with the contours, and footswitchable drive channel. When I bought the Magellan I thought I would go direct most of the time, and that having a good full purpose bass amp would be a good added option.
Did you run bass active or passive. Seems like it would overload front end active. I'm gonna try passive.
- Apr 19, 2001
- 2,302
- 3,047
- Disclosures
- Beta tester Source Audio, demos/reviews of many others
So can anyone direct to me to clips that A/B with and without the noble? I found 1 on YouTube but that's it, I'd like to hear a few others. Seems the only thing I end up finding are using he preamp but with no dry comparison. They all sound great, but I need to now 'how' great.....
I've gone both ways. My actives are Sadowsky, but my passive '59 P Bass loves this pre. I don't run the gain on the Noble very hot... 8:30-9:30 - Master on the Genzler at noon, and adjust the gain to fit.
Doner Designs
Steve Doner
- Jun 2, 2012
- 5,784
- 6,819
- Disclosures
- Doner Designs is an alias for Steve Doner
I have done a comparison using a One Control loop/bypass pedal (a very handy device to have). To my ear it's a subtle thing (assuming everything is flat on the Noble and you don't overdrive the tube with a hot signal input). The difference may not record particularly well and I don't really know how to do recording (it's on my to do list to learn).
One thing I can say is that when the tone controls are set flat on the Noble it's very transparent - from an EQ standpoint it does not have a signature sound (to my ears). That's a good thing in my opinion since it has the tone controls unlike most direct boxes that it may be compared to (like the REDDI). It does however add a tubey flavor to the signal.
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The main reason I bought this was for recording. If I just was doing live it would still be a sweet piece of gear, but not a game changer. Now that being said, it works great for live fly dates and playing direct gigs, which is where I am going with this live. I have always DI'd my bass for years live and I just use my amp and speakers as a monitor and rehearsal tool. I started doing this in the late 90's once I went to in ears, because I could hear whatever I wanted and not destroy my hearing.
The ultimate reason for it is you do a lot of sessions and you want to carry your same tone to the gig.
It makes huge difference in recording really. The main thing is that tubes add harmonics to your signal so it's way easier to mix a bass tone that is audible and sounds 3D. But you can also get more extreme with the EQ in the box because the signal coming in is so warm and controlled. In other words, your highs don't sound brittle and crappy when you boost them.
I am also running a guitar through it now just for the heck of it, and it sounds freaking sweet. I am using a tube amp sim, but going w/ guitar direct to DAW basically ensures that I can get really clean punches and then Reamp during mix down if deemed necessary.
I'm also going to track the guitar in through a regular DI as well and see what changes. Again, anyone wondering the differences just need to scroll back here and listen to some of the user posts. For example, the Sadowsky post clearly demonstrates the beauty of this DI and is why I bought one. If you are familiar with tracking with basses that have the sadowksy (or bart, or really any) pre, it can get brittle in the highs and lack warmth. All you have to do is hear how the tubes add girth and warmth back to the active tone to understand how much of a difference tubes make in a recording.
It's like a great once engineer told me. If you solo a track though a Neve pre and through a Prosumer pre, you will hear a difference, but it may not justify the cost. It is when you start stacking tracks and mixing lots of tracks together that everything adds up and investing in that Neve console starts to make a lot of sense.
The ultimate reason for it is you do a lot of sessions and you want to carry your same tone to the gig.
It makes huge difference in recording really. The main thing is that tubes add harmonics to your signal so it's way easier to mix a bass tone that is audible and sounds 3D. But you can also get more extreme with the EQ in the box because the signal coming in is so warm and controlled. In other words, your highs don't sound brittle and crappy when you boost them.
I am also running a guitar through it now just for the heck of it, and it sounds freaking sweet. I am using a tube amp sim, but going w/ guitar direct to DAW basically ensures that I can get really clean punches and then Reamp during mix down if deemed necessary.
I'm also going to track the guitar in through a regular DI as well and see what changes. Again, anyone wondering the differences just need to scroll back here and listen to some of the user posts. For example, the Sadowsky post clearly demonstrates the beauty of this DI and is why I bought one. If you are familiar with tracking with basses that have the sadowksy (or bart, or really any) pre, it can get brittle in the highs and lack warmth. All you have to do is hear how the tubes add girth and warmth back to the active tone to understand how much of a difference tubes make in a recording.
It's like a great once engineer told me. If you solo a track though a Neve pre and through a Prosumer pre, you will hear a difference, but it may not justify the cost. It is when you start stacking tracks and mixing lots of tracks together that everything adds up and investing in that Neve console starts to make a lot of sense.
- Apr 19, 2001
- 2,302
- 3,047
- Disclosures
- Beta tester Source Audio, demos/reviews of many others
Only had to sell about 75 percent of my pedals but I finally am almost fully funded for a new Noble!
On the off chance anyone is looking to get rid of one within the next few days, I think I know a guy.....
On the off chance anyone is looking to get rid of one within the next few days, I think I know a guy.....
Looking forward to you review! You demos are fire!
What pedalboards are you all using that have your Noble mounted on it? I'm thinking I want to go in that direction and sell my Nano here. Need something around 13x10. The closest pedaltrain appears to be the classic Jr. It's a little too big, but I'm guessing it's still the best option.
Yeah, I want to have a real clean setup this time. Don't want any pedals going sideways, especially my line out. The classic Jr is going to be a good fit.
Doner Designs
Steve Doner
- Jun 2, 2012
- 5,784
- 6,819
- Disclosures
- Doner Designs is an alias for Steve Doner
I have looked at pedaltrain, but so far I only take the Noble, a tube compressor and a graphic EQ to gigs. The Noble and Markbass compressor sit on top of the amp. The EQ pedal is stuffed in the port in the back of the amp. I use the EQ post Noble so that I can tweak my stage tone a little more especially when using the HPF on the Noble.
If I were to bring octave and/or chorus along I still like the idea of the Noble being off the ground. I couldn't bear the thought of someone stepping on it.
What else are you putting onto it?
For me, I generally prefer to have a single row of pedals rather than two rows because I hate having to step over the front row to get to the back. I ran a Jr. for a long time and had risers for the back row which worked out fairly well.
With a single row you're limited to what you can fit on the board without it becoming 4' long.
- Apr 19, 2001
- 2,302
- 3,047
- Disclosures
- Beta tester Source Audio, demos/reviews of many others
PTJR is a great board, not too big and room to grow of needed. I had one a while back, but grew up to a PT-2 then a Novo 24 (PT-3) and now ready to downsize back to a JR.
Downsizing made possible by selling to fund a Noble preamp.
Downsizing made possible by selling to fund a Noble preamp.
