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Noble Amps Preamp
- Thread starter IanMartinAllison
- Start date
Just a noble Preamp and a FEA lab DE-CL is all I need nowadays. As a person who tried multiple preamps such as the ones by two notes, 3leaf, HAO Bassliner, Sadowsky outboard, Aguilar tone hammer, Boss, Dunlop and many others, this is the absolute best out of them all. I once had a bigger pedal board with 6/7 pedals. Since I had the noble and the FEA, it's really all I need to bring out the sound of my bass and give it a nice character without sounding muddy live. Love this piece of art◡̈
Doner Designs
Steve Doner
- Jun 2, 2012
- 5,784
- 6,819
- Disclosures
- Doner Designs is an alias for Steve Doner
What I would like to know is whether or not the entire universe would cease to exist if these two amps (matter and anti-matter) were used together on the same stage. 
Oddly enough both appeal to me very much. One is beautifully simple and the other beautifully overkill complex (5 band EQ including 3 fully parametric bands).
I love the big wide Noble in the white tolex, but don't think I have ever seen a white cab that would match. Probably looks good sitting on a black cab I suppose.
Oddly enough both appeal to me very much. One is beautifully simple and the other beautifully overkill complex (5 band EQ including 3 fully parametric bands).
I love the big wide Noble in the white tolex, but don't think I have ever seen a white cab that would match. Probably looks good sitting on a black cab I suppose.
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What I would like to know is whether or not the entire universe would cease to exist if these two amps (matter and anti-matter) were used together on the same stage.
Oddly enough both appeal to me very much. One is beautifully simple and the other beautifully overkill complex (5 band EQ including 3 fully parametric bands).
I love the big wide Noble in the white tolex, but don't think I have ever seen a white cab that would match. Probably looks good sitting on a black cab I suppose.
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Frankly, the blizzard of knobs on that Tantra amp are stultifying. I can't imagine a scenario where a bassist would, on stage, need to tweak all those dials for sound -- for stage sound. The knobs would be useless for tweaking FOH. Someone else's job. Might possibly need some of them for a recording session, but that's really the job of the recording engineers and the mixing engineers in post. Too much to learn, too much to keep track of, too much that's too easy to forget or mess you up at a gig.
I used to own and gig a 2di4 and loved the tone. Didn't care for the form factor, however, and was always nervous about the tubes in that pre that are more susceptible to microphonics.
When I need power, now I hook my Noble into a RAD Engineering ICE 1000 amp -- same one that's inside the Tantra and Noble amp. The controls are complex enough for me: an off/on switch and a volume attenuator. Tonal bliss without the homework. Otherwise my EA iAMP Micro does the trick for power.
Doner Designs
Steve Doner
- Jun 2, 2012
- 5,784
- 6,819
- Disclosures
- Doner Designs is an alias for Steve Doner
Frankly, the blizzard of knobs on that Tantra amp are stultifying. I can't imagine a scenario where a bassist would, on stage, need to tweak all those dials for sound -- for stage sound. The knobs would be useless for tweaking FOH. Someone else's job. Might possibly need some of them for a recording session, but that's really the job of the recording engineers and the mixing engineers in post. Too much to learn, too much to keep track of, too much that's too easy to forget or mess you up at a gig.
I used to own and gig a 2di4 and loved the tone. Didn't care for the form factor, however, and was always nervous about the tubes in that pre that are more susceptible to microphonics.
When I need power, now I hook my Noble into a RAD Engineering ICE 1000 amp -- same one that's inside the Tantra and Noble amp. The controls are complex enough for me: an off/on switch and a volume attenuator. Tonal bliss without the homework. Otherwise my EA iAMP Micro does the trick for power.
Nice rig you have there all the way around! What is the minimum load on the RAD amp? Is it ok with 2 ohms? Plain power amp is sexy with the Noble, but for the money I wonder if it would be better to get something like the Mesa D800 with a free preamp thrown in.
In your pictured rig, how do you use the Radial box? Is that a passive DI?
Have both. Tantra takes a a quick second to get down. If you are managing your own sound it's about as complete as you can get in one box. Love the sounds it makes especially in pentode mode. Noble is super smooth and portable to FOH. Both have their places and are great products.
I like to record to hear differences of one preamp vs another, or a combination of two. To do this I run my active bass (w/its own pre) into a Radial JDV Active Direct Box and DI off that, but simultaneously use the amplifier throughput jack into the Noble tube DI. I also run the Noble line out into a RAD Engineering ICE 1000 amp and into a Barefaced Super Midget cab and mic that. Plenty of options to capture all at the same time. Makes A/B-ing easy in the DAW.
Doner Designs
Steve Doner
- Jun 2, 2012
- 5,784
- 6,819
- Disclosures
- Doner Designs is an alias for Steve Doner
Totally agree - simplicity and complexity - why settle for one or the other. Both are beautiful in their own right.
If it's not too far off topic here, how does the 2di4 compare to the Noble?
Loved the tone of the 2di4. It's been a couple years but I recall it was slightly more "3D" in feel - particularly in the "pentode" mode if memory is correct. Dare I say I slightly preferred the 2di4's tone? However, when you chose a product, there are other factors at play and overall the Noble is a superior choice for me. The Noble's tone controls are more flexible, construction is MUCH more durable and rugged, overall build quality is way better, it's a smaller unit so portability is superior, and tone(s) quality is right in the same pocket. The 2di4 is fine if you're only using it in a studio. But for gigging and travel, the Noble is a better choice.
So, interesting thing happened this Sunday. Arrived a bit later than usual to church so opted to just use a tuner into the magnum 44 omitting the noble.
Played a few songs before the service and my Godin sounded a bit lack lustre, flat even. Anyway before the service I had some time to put the Noble back in my chain and zing, there it was! The sound was back.
I've been struggling with the noblefor a while as I don't DI or use in ears in church; it just goes into the magnum and then into an old Hartke 115 aluminium cones cab. Through headphones I struggle to hear a difference with a d without noble but I definitely was missing something without it.
Played a few songs before the service and my Godin sounded a bit lack lustre, flat even. Anyway before the service I had some time to put the Noble back in my chain and zing, there it was! The sound was back.
I've been struggling with the noblefor a while as I don't DI or use in ears in church; it just goes into the magnum and then into an old Hartke 115 aluminium cones cab. Through headphones I struggle to hear a difference with a d without noble but I definitely was missing something without it.
Is your Goden an acoustic bass guitar? I've tried several preamps and amps (tube and non-tube) and have never found a good match for ABG. Until Noble. I was expecting the same ho-hum experience with ABG but when I plugged my Taylor AB-1 into the Noble --- whoa!!!! If you want to inject 3D beef and bigness into your ABG, using it with a Noble is the easiest way to "almost" get to the tone of an upright in a much easier to handle form factor.
The Godin has a piezo bridge and is accoustic of sorts. Do it would appear my experience mirrors yours
In a temporary state of insanity, I left my Noble pedalboard at home for a critter club gig. Never again.
I went back to the shootout in the studio today and gave it a better listen. In that environment, I kept thinking that #2 (REDDI) was really great for this type of playing. The problem is that I can't tell how it would sound in a mix, but who cares, it's just fun way to a/b preamps.
I'd love to have a few of these and switch them out in the studio. But I also like having less options when what I use works great. I will say that the Noble was right up there for me and I'd put it in my top 3 for use on that recording. These preamps all do different things to to the tone. For that type of heavy right hand playing, in the studio monitors I would have probably gone with the REDDI, but from my laptop I preferred the P15. Interesting how that works, but of course I could hear more detail.In fact there is an overtone in that bass that drives me crazy. It's almost a rattle in the upper frequencies and it came through in every preamp, so I suspect it is the pickup, and I believe it is a Jazz bass. Not something that really matters, but my listening environment was pristine so I could hear everything.
The way I audition my gear is in the mix. So I will run different basses through a mix and then pick which one I want that way. If I had all these preamps I wold have a serious problem getting work done because I'd be cycling through them. The Noble just has a warm but slightly pointed sound that I really love, and I can use it on about everything. I could see how someone who is super OCD about tone, going crazy and sinking way too much money into having all these pres..lol.They all have different subtle characteristics. Appreciate 10cc doing the work.
I'd love to have a few of these and switch them out in the studio. But I also like having less options when what I use works great. I will say that the Noble was right up there for me and I'd put it in my top 3 for use on that recording. These preamps all do different things to to the tone. For that type of heavy right hand playing, in the studio monitors I would have probably gone with the REDDI, but from my laptop I preferred the P15. Interesting how that works, but of course I could hear more detail.In fact there is an overtone in that bass that drives me crazy. It's almost a rattle in the upper frequencies and it came through in every preamp, so I suspect it is the pickup, and I believe it is a Jazz bass. Not something that really matters, but my listening environment was pristine so I could hear everything.
The way I audition my gear is in the mix. So I will run different basses through a mix and then pick which one I want that way. If I had all these preamps I wold have a serious problem getting work done because I'd be cycling through them. The Noble just has a warm but slightly pointed sound that I really love, and I can use it on about everything. I could see how someone who is super OCD about tone, going crazy and sinking way too much money into having all these pres..lol.They all have different subtle characteristics. Appreciate 10cc doing the work.
That's like asking "Why is there air?" or "Why is the sky blue?" Why does anyone sell anything they own? For as many people that have sold any item, there are nearly the same number of reasons. Need cash, something else caught their eye (this IS TB after all), didn't like it, stopped playing and didn't need it, divorce sale, and on and on.
As for new vs, used, that's up to you. Used will save some money and build time. New you get a pristine, untouched by anyone else unit and you can choose if you want more 12V and less 9V power outputs. Either way you're covered by the transferable warranty. My advice is: GET ONE!!! I love mine.
