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Outboard preamp live

little OT story about the Sadowsky preamp,

when my amp died on me 10 min. before the gig, i was relegated to going direct into the house PA. at first i was mad bummed, but then i did the sound check, and WOAH MOMMA! didnt realize my Sadowsky's onboard pre sounded that good! with my simple Radial JDI box, i was cooking with fire. i ended up doing the next 2 shows that month just going direct.

check out the story here:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=104792

i'm sure the outboard box is just as if not better.
 
It's been part of my signal chain for 4 years. I use it for both P and J basses. You get a really nice tone from using the bridge pickup and boosting the bass on the preamp. I have both models and have the pedal version on my board. The mute switch is really nice when gigging.
 
Eric Moesle said:
Great story. I've been meaning to tinker and bypass my Eden Nav preamp at a gig, and plug the Sadowsky DI direct into my QSC PLX3002 and see if I like the tone better. Great little box, versatile, and nice to have as a backup, apparently!

thx eric,

i was sooo knocked out by the DI'ed sound, that my main bass rig these days consists of the supremely transparent Avalon U5 as a preamp, with the studio monitor like Acme B-4. the U5's headroom is soooooooooo high, that it translates every bit of clarity and punch my Sadowsky can afford. couple that with the Acme cab, and it literally must be heard to be believed. :cool:
 
Eric Moesle said:
Great story. I've been meaning to tinker and bypass my Eden Nav preamp at a gig, and plug the Sadowsky DI direct into my QSC PLX3002 and see if I like the tone better. Great little box, versatile, and nice to have as a backup, apparently!

Did you try this set up you speak off? If so what was the sound?
I bet it could stand along couldn't it?

I use Sadowsky myself.

Vern
 
I always use an outboard preamp with passive basses. I presently have:

* Sadowsky beltclip (2 band)
* T-Rex Purist (2 band)
* John East J-Retro Stompbox (3 band)
* Xotic Tri-Logic (3-band)

Each of these sounds good with a different bass in different situations.
 
jokerjkny said:
thx eric,

i was sooo knocked out by the DI'ed sound, that my main bass rig these days consists of the supremely transparent Avalon U5 as a preamp, with the studio monitor like Acme B-4. the U5's headroom is soooooooooo high, that it translates every bit of clarity and punch my Sadowsky can afford. couple that with the Acme cab, and it literally must be heard to be believed. :cool:


+1 on the U5.
 
RHFusillo said:
I always use an outboard preamp with passive basses. I presently have:

* Sadowsky beltclip (2 band)
* T-Rex Purist (2 band)
* John East J-Retro Stompbox (3 band)
* Xotic Tri-Logic (3-band)

Each of these sounds good with a different bass in different situations.

How do you like the T-Rex and the Xotic? Those look great.

I've always been interested in the Pensa outboard myself.
 
I use my Sadowsky or Aggie 924 regularly with my passive passes. Makes a big difference on basses I don't want to cut into. As a result of these basses I have added onboard preamps to basses that were passive. An outboard preamp is probably the most noticeable improvement to any pass that you are more or less "happy" with
 
emjazz said:
How do you like the T-Rex and the Xotic? Those look great.

I've always been interested in the Pensa outboard myself.
Hi, Emjazz:

I like both of the preamps, for different things. The T-Rex is a very warm-sounding 2-band pre, giving less highs than the Sadowsky. I really like it with a P bass for blues.

The Xotic is a 3-band with a rather subtle effect. It seems not to boost huge amounts of any frequency, rather it gives "just enough" with a bass whose sound you basically like.

Is that Steve Swallow on your avatar? I use the Xotic with a Bartolini-equipped J bass (strung with TI Jazz Rounds) to get me close to the sound he got around 1979. (Remember when Swallow was using a Fender with Barts? I love his sound on "Home" and Gary Burton's "Time Square.")


P.S. You have George Garzone on your list of teachers and influences! I had him for ensemble class the year I spent at Berklee. And, embarassingly, that was before you were born. "It's out there, man!"
 
RHFusillo said:
Hi, Emjazz:

I like both of the preamps, for different things. The T-Rex is a very warm-sounding 2-band pre, giving less highs than the Sadowsky. I really like it with a P bass for blues.

The Xotic is a 3-band with a rather subtle effect. It seems not to boost huge amounts of any frequency, rather it gives "just enough" with a bass whose sound you basically like.

Is that Steve Swallow on your avatar? I use the Xotic with a Bartolini-equipped J bass (strung with TI Jazz Rounds) to get me close to the sound he got around 1979. (Remember when Swallow was using a Fender with Barts? I love his sound on "Home" and Gary Burton's "Time Square.")


P.S. You have George Garzone on your list of teachers and influences! I had him for ensemble class the year I spent at Berklee. "It's out there, man!"

Thanks so much for the response. I'm thinking of making my next bass passive and using an outboard preamp like you're doing.

I was 2 years old in '79 and havn't heard those older recordings with Steve. I'll make sure I'll check those out though. He's been a big influence for sure as far as being an electric bass player playing jazz. Anthony Jackson is probably my biggest influence in that regard though.

I havn't had the privilage of having Garzone as a teacher yet. I've seen him play many times and I think of him often when I'm playing or listening to music. He made a huge impression on who I am as a musician as far as his sound and his depth of spirit that comes through his horn. His playing moves me. Crazy guy though for sure.
 
emjazz:

You have to hear "Home." It should presently be available on CD. All of the pieces are settings for poems by Robert Creely. Personnel is killer: Sheila Jordan on vocals, Bob Moses on drums, Dave Liebman on tenor, Lyle Mays on synth, and Steve Kuhn on piano.

To everybody else, sorry to have gone off topic.
 

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