Your right its mostly the Bf s. There larger model. But they do sound close. But you can get the idea.
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Noble Amps Preamp
- Thread starter IanMartinAllison
- Start date
Your right its mostly the Bf s. There larger model. But they do sound close. But you can get the idea.
At the moment, it's a recording setup, into an Undertone Audio MPEQ-1 then into Pro Tools. A friend bought a WD800 and I tried it through its aux in and it made a great combination. I'm considering getting a 4x10 or 2x10 with one of the Mesas you mentioned, or maybe just one of those class-D amps that I can bypass the simple preamp, like the Quilter.
One of my most happy purchases. They just sound like a record. I sold a bunch of things to afford a stereo pair.
Thanks for the info. I'm still waffling on the Noble .. ordering a new one anyway. Keep thinking I'll see one come up used here on TB or Reverb or somewhere. No luck so far.
BTW, when you use the Noble thru the Aux in on the WD800, was there any level control ? There is none on the Noble, did the WD800 input control work as a level, or was it just a straight feed from the Noble without any way to adjust it ?
As far as class D amps, if you liked the sound of the Noble into the Aux of the Mesa WD800 (which is the amp I would be using for live work), you could always get one and run the Noble into the FX return to bypass the Mesa pre (which is also pretty sweet in its own right). Price on one owner used WD800's is pretty attractive and its a very nice amp all by itself.
The 1/4” Line Out is affected by the Volume, and tone controls - the DI only by the Tones. So, when you go in aux return you are able to control level.
so I checked the Noble web page and it looks like 11-12 weeks lead time unless you pay a pretty steep premium ($200 ?) for a priority order.
hmm, that and the current price tag are really dampening my enthusiasm
I have been looking on the used market but these things seem to disappear almost as soon as they are posted f/s.
hmmmm, the preamp in my Mesa WD800 is sounding better and better
It’s defintiely a leap of faith without being able to play one first, but in my case and lots of others it was completely worth it. I think Jack sent mine to me around 7-8 weeks after I bothered him with a bunch of questions and then pulled the trigger.
Yup, completely agree!
I guess I’ll “third” that combination! Not a great photo but the only one I have of my most recent pedalboard, and unfortunately it doesn’t show my Bergantino rig or Sadowsky basses (Noble, CaliCB, Bergantino and Sadowsky are my dream team!):
I have a '97 Fender Jazz Deluxe V with a Sadowsky preamp. Loved that pre! However after playing the Noble with it for the past 2.5 years, I've come to usually turning off the active onboard Sadowsky preamp and going strictly with the Noble. Combining the two is a bit too much for my ears. I send that into the aux of a Phil Jones Flightcase or powered cab. Very satisfying tone!
A certain Sadowsky landed in my lap, and using one presents the Noble user with an interesting dilemma of which EQ to favor. I don't know the specs of either EQ, but they work on the same principle, and are somewhat comparable. My observations are that the passive mode and Noble is maybe the best sounding combo, but it will be interesting to experiment.
The thing that convinced me most to go all Noble was tracking. Noble+Sadowsky was too "much" to deal with, too thick, not enough note definition, not as much clarity. Both are excellent preamps, but Noble is the hands down winner for me in picking just one - especially for tracking and flexibility in the mixing / mastering stages.
BTW, I have experienced similar issues plugging the Noble into amp instrument jacks. The Phil Jones Flightcase combo I use now is great by itself, but adding the PJB preamp to the Noble is "too much." FX Return or a powered cab is the way to go if you dig the Noble magic!
I have a sadowksy and my noble is set to 8 clock for bass and 9 for treble. On the sadowksy i make slight boosts when needed. So everything is lightly boosted.
One thing i like is being in active mode and boosting the treble just a little and then rolling the tone knob back about 75% or so. Love that sound.
Onboard sadowksy preamp and an amp preamp are two different animals. I do fx in on my amp as well.
But - If you brought a passive pbass and your noble into a studio there is a strong chance the engineer might run you into a neve preamp and have eq settings on there that he likes as well. It will sound great regardless.
Experiment.
well I finally found a used Noble DI f/s on Reverb and grabbed it. Silly because if I had just been a tiny bit patient the seller's counter offer would have saved me $20 ... ha! geez. 
Acutally, the price is fine and it comes with one upgrade (18v cable) and at least now I should be able to check this bad boy out in a week or so instead of 2 months from now. As everyone has said the resell factor on these preamps is pretty solid so either way I will be good.
now the (short) waiting begins, time to get that Cali76CB ordered
Acutally, the price is fine and it comes with one upgrade (18v cable) and at least now I should be able to check this bad boy out in a week or so instead of 2 months from now. As everyone has said the resell factor on these preamps is pretty solid so either way I will be good.
now the (short) waiting begins, time to get that Cali76CB ordered
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You think you’re laughing about that $20 now? Wait til you plug into it. 
ha, I'm laughing because I was too impatient to even wait for the sellers counter offer (like 2 min) which would have saved me the $20 and made the deal even more attractive. After looking for a used one, and missing f/s ads for the few that showed up, I just about gave up on finding a used one and figured I'd just bite the bullet and order new for full retail and wait the 6-8 weeks for the build.
So yeah, $20 is nothing on the total sale price, just having a laugh at myself. Looking forward to hearing the Noble in person.
So yeah, $20 is nothing on the total sale price, just having a laugh at myself. Looking forward to hearing the Noble in person.
