non-transparent pre-amps

[Killed_by_Death]

Transparency is important to me, if I lost my preferred amp or pre-amp, I'd be glad to get my sound back with another amp/pre-amp.

When I compare instruments at home I use a USB interface with no processing, so I get the raw sound of the instrument, not the baked-in sound of the processing.

Recently I bought a bass after seeing demos of it on YT, but AFTER I bought it I realized the pre-amp was 80% of the sound, not the bass.
because other basses sounded the same, with completely different pickups

So, what pre-amps are out there that really change the sound of the instrument?

 

[FaithNoMan]

Transparency is important to me, if I lost my preferred amp or pre-amp, I'd be glad to get my sound back with another amp/pre-amp.

When I compare instruments at home I use a USB interface with no processing, so I get the raw sound of the instrument, not the baked-in sound of the processing.

Recently I bought a bass after seeing demos of it on YT, but AFTER I bought it I realized the pre-amp was 80% of the sound, not the bass.
because other basses sounded the same, with completely different pickups

So, what pre-amps are out there that really change the sound of the instrument?

Are you talking about in-bass electronics or pedal preamps?

The ones I usually prefer definitely have a sound to them but complement the bass I am using, since I like the sound of my bass as well.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Is it even common for an onboard pre-amp to have a baked-in sound?
I mean outside of Darkglass & Music-Man (Stingray).

 

[TwototheValley]

Is it even common for an onboard pre-amp to have a baked-in sound?
I mean outside of Darkglass & Music-Man (Stingray).

Which does beg the question, how much of Dingwall bass' sound is the actual instrument vs. the DG pre-amp.

Sadowsky?

 

[catcauphonic]

How does one even test for transparency in an on board preamp? I mean, it has to go thru some kind of pickups using some kind of strings, each of which have their own characteristics, right?

 

[Killed_by_Death]

How does one even test for transparency in an on board preamp?

simple:
active/passive switch

My main bass sounds exactly the same active or passive, when all the EQ knobs are at center.

 

[Reedt2000]

All of my active basses get some sort of color when the pre is engaged. On my Ken Smith it's night and day between passive and active with the knobs all at the mid-point (it sounds WAY better with the pre, which I think is HAZ lab). I've got a tribute l2500 that seems to get a volume boost and maybe a bit of xtra bass when the pre is on (not in bright mode). Both my warwicks sound different passive. The fna jazzman 5-string has a noticeable mid-bump with the pre on, and my streamer stage I 5-string gets a massive boost with the pre on, especially bass and treble.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I never noticed a bass boost with the pre-amp in a L-2000 or ASAT bass, but depending on the Impedance of the amp input you could get a volume increase.
If they used 500k Ohm pots they wouldn't need a treble-boost in the pre-amp.

 

[MaxSpinrun]

simple:
active/passive switch

My main bass sounds exactly the same active or passive, when all the EQ knobs are at center.

Mine as well with the settings you mentioned. I have an Audere pre in my Lakland 44-01.

 

[cusar5]

Is it even common for an onboard pre-amp to have a baked-in sound?
I mean outside of Darkglass & Music-Man (Stingray).

Which does beg the question, how much of Dingwall bass' sound is the actual instrument vs. the DG pre-amp.

My Dingwall Super PJ is completely passive, and I feel like the Dingwall pickups have a pretty distinctive tone.

 

[two fingers]

Most preamps (on board or otherwise) have a baked in tone. Some more than others. The only one I would call transparent that I have experience with is the Sadowsky.

 

[Infidelity]

The most transparent pre I’ve encountered is the Alleva Copollo’s 2 band pre. Set flat, it sounds bypassed.

Sadowsky’s are pretty close but I feel like there’s something going on with the low mid and lows when the pre is active.

 

[BioWeapon]

I'm told the Stringray 3-band preamp has a pretty big bearing on the tone you get from said Stingray.

 

[fishdreams]

• The Sadowsky pre I used to have is really an active approximation of a passive jazz bass. And I have an Michael Pope in a current bass that is very transparent. But then I have an old Yamaha bb1200s and active/passive is night and day in tone/character. It's a lot more fun actually.

 

[Blind owl bass]

Is it even common for an onboard pre-amp to have a baked-in sound?
I mean outside of Darkglass & Music-Man (Stingray).

my radial tonebone OD definetly has a built in tone, kind of reminds of an swr amps preamp, its clean and warm for sure. not sterile, definitely not Tubey either. the sansamp rbi I just bought and am selling is a versatile and definitely tube sounding preamp. its known to do a great set time, and it does. my mandolin players grace audio Felix, is just stellar, super clean, very hi fi and rich, again not too sterile. for cheap, I really like the ART tube MP studio v3, great tone. super cheap.

 

[Samatza]

For onboard preamps it depends, some have a good 'flat' position that is transparent others not so much.
If you look at the difference between Bartolini NTMB & XTCT preamps the XTCT has a mid scoop baked in so it sounds different in that centre detente setting.

For outboard I think most have some sort of signature sound, it depends on whether you can live with it. I've used Sansamp & Eden preamp/DI, both have their own sound, Alembic F-1X also has a signature sound.
The most flat sound I've gotten was from a Radial active DI straight to the board which is nice but really I like the warm low end that the F-1X adds without getting muffled.

Then you have to consider the amplifier and speakers, do they add a colour to the sound? I know what you mean though, I like the sound of my basses straight into the sound card with no added EQ.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like if you're working with a flat response that you can shape it how you like more easily.
If you grab a pre-amp that is scooped, then you have to adjust to extremes when you want some mids, or maybe not even be able to get enough mids if you want them.

 

[Reedt2000]

Maybe I'm wrong, but I feel like if you're working with a flat response that you can shape it how you like more easily.
If you grab a pre-amp that is scooped, then you have to adjust to extremes when you want some mids, or maybe not even be able to get enough mids if you want them.

I think you're right to a point. Lots of these basses we're talking about (the Stingray example above being chief among them) have their signature tone in part because of the pre. You choose a Stingray because it has that sound, if you find you need to make drastic EQ changes to make it sound good you've probably picked the wrong bass

There is no absolute "flat" from which to get all the tones you want with EQ. If a bass does it for your ears, for whatever reason, then rock it out. Track it, gig it, make it do what it do

Also flat into an interface is not really representative of electric bass tone (the amp is a massive part of the equation as somebody else pointed out). Even if I'm tracking direct it's typically with an outboard pre. For serious recordings its a couple mics on a cab or two and a DI.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I find the sound of my bass through a flat interface is pleasing to my ears.
The only thing missing is some overdrive.

I stood here with my amp for a bit trying to get that sound I heard in the demos I mentioned & changing to Cobalt rounds got me 85% there.
If I didn't have the original sound to compare to, I'd feel like it was clanky & stanky enough, & I guess it is.

 

[40Hz]

Are you asking about onboard or pedal/rack preamps?

If the latter, than any faithful reproduction, recreation, or emulation of one of the classic amps (Acoustic, Ampeg, Sunn, etc.) could arguably all layer their signature vibes on top of your raw bass tone.