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On board pre amp

D

DTW

Nov 29, 2013
6
0
#1
Hi,
Recently made the jump from guitar land to bass land so I'm trying to get a feel for everything. I've been reading a lot of posts here and there's lost of good info, so thank you all.

I've got a question for bassists with on board pre amps. Do most of you use an onboard preamp and run that into a DI to desk?

Or is it more common to run it into an amp and then DI that out to desk? Meaning there are 2 gain stages in this setup, and 2 sets of EQ's.

I've got a Ampeg PH-500 and I run a DI out post EQ to the desk. Just wondering if getting an onboard preamp for my J bass would be good or just silly.

You all talk about the "active sound"... but isn't running a passive J bass into an amp head and DI out to desk essentially an active bass? Kinda...?

Thank you
 
#2
My basses have preamps and when I record I feed my bass through a DI, I have never really used my amp DI out.

If you are thinking about getting a preamp for your J bass, go with the J-Retro as it sounds amazing and you can find them on TB used for around $175.
 
#5
When you say run into the desk are you talking about live sound or recording?
As a new bassist with a passive bass, I would suggest going with what you have for a bit first...maybe even borrow an active bass to try before committing $'s to an on-board circuit.
 
#6
Well... live I would say it's rare for anyone to DI to desk with going via an amp... you would want some on stage bass...

I've done it on the few occasions I've turned up with no amp to play through, but it's not ideal at all.

I've been almost exclusively using my J-Retro, although I've recently switched back to passive (P bass) and I'm quite enjoying the simple uncomplicatedness.

Hope my post makes sense.

?

Bob
 
#7
My bass has active pickups. I feed in into my amp head at 100% out. I then DI out of the tube pre-amp to the PA at as much output as I can without clipping the signal, and also out to a small cabinet for an on-stage monitor. This way I get that smooth tube sound out to the crowd and the drummer and I can monitor the bass on stage for timing.
I've had many compliments with this setup, so I must be doing something right. lol
 
#8
I use a mix of active & passive basses for live and studio work. I don't run them differently into the sound system based on that aspect. The hook-up will vary depending on the gig, but not the bass. Active basses give me a few more control options at the bass if I need them. On gigs, I try to remember to unplug during breaks with an active. That's about it for operational differences.
 
#9
Thanks again for replies.

This is for live use and we use in ear monitors. Currently, I run a passive bass into a PF500, DI out to the mixing desk and monitor it and the rest of the band with IEM's.

So the original question about getting an onboard pre, or even something like the Aguilar tone hammer DI and run that into the front end of my amp to give it more "juice".

I've played a American Deluxe 5 string last night which has an active/passive switch. Played it into a GK head and its such a big difference going from passive to active. So I suppose that does kinda answer my own question that an onboard preamp straight into the front end of an amp (preamp --> preamp --> poweramp) does work quite nicely.
 

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