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Pedal Preamp / DI with sweepable mids - options?

Bassed in NZ

Bassed in NZ

...in search of the impeccable groove...
Feb 22, 2008
840
3,580
Auckland, New Zealand
#1
My EBS Microbass II doesn’t have enough output to properly drive my Berg IP112ER rig - got caught out at a large gig without PA support (see this thread for more detail). Can you help me with my options for a replacement, given the following criteria?
[Apologies in advance for the long post – wanted to make sure I’d done my homework and was specific enough :cool: ]

  1. Pedal based – I don’t want a rack mount / top of amp unit – ease of portability is paramount (yep, this narrows the field a bit, but that’s why you have criteria, right?). Bass – pedal board – Berg IP is my optimal load in setup
  2. Enough grunt to properly drive a poweramp. The Berg IP evidently needs to see 0.7V (-3dBv) for full power. (The EBS delivers nominally -10dBv)
  3. Toneshaping with sweepable mids – I like that detailed mid control;
  4. “Clean”, “transparent”, “open”, “hi-fi” basic tone. Yep, I know this is subjective, and all pre’s will colour the sound to some extent, but I’m looking for a tone with EQ flat that is the mostly the sound of my bass, only louder. (e.g., sansamp is too coloured for me, & not my tone. I don’t need drive - for adding tubey goodness when appropriate I’ll have a VT pedal in the chain)
  5. Good DI (preferably with volume independent of ¼” output). Majority of gigs I do have PA support, so this is a must on the board.
  6. Standard 9vdc power preferable (though not a deal breaker)
So, I’ve done a bit of research, and it would seem that my options are:
  • Basswitch – not out yet, but specs look promising (5V output), though it’s expensive (US$500) and I won’t use all the other functionality (multiple inputs, FX loops etc). And it’s pretty big.
  • Aguilar Tonehammer (actually tossed up between this an the EBS when I bought the pre and chose the EBS cos it had more functions– which of course I don’t use :rollno: - and it was available locally). Output up to 4V according to this post
  • DHA-DI-EQ or DHA-Twin-DI-EQ – have only found a little bit of info on these, but Scotch’s review here suggests that they’ll drive a power amp
  • DHA-VT1-EQ-Bass – bongomania says here that these will drive a power amp. This option could be pushing the tone envelope having a tube based pre – can anyone comment or have clips of the clean tones on hand here??
Out of the list above, what would you recommend? Have I missed any options that meet the criteria? Sweep mids narrows the field quite a bit, but it's a must have in my book.

None of these will be available locally, so I’m hoping the collective TB wisdom can help me make a call before I pull the trigger and pay a small fortune in postage (US$60-70, and same again if I try out and want to send then back) Options b, c & d will cost around the same to land in NZ

Thanks in advance for your help!
 
#3
SteveC said:
Doesn't the U-Retro outboard have sweepable mids?
Click to expand...
Yes it does! (think the unit you're referring to it the East STMP-01). Hadn't come across this one - cheers! Looks like a great unit and ticks all the boxes, except perhaps the output level - only 6dB of boost between input and 1/4" output, so might not be enough to drive the poweramp. Does anyone have any experiences of this unit driving a poweramp? I'll do a bit more research too..
 
#6
BOSS GT-10B? Provides two XLR DI out, you can spit them so one is clean one effected, or they run stereo/mono, has a variety of preamps, EQs galore, yadda yadda, and separate stereo/mono 1/4" outs you can control with the output volume knob, mono FX loop. Just a suggestion, it gives you a ton of functionality, ton of I/O.
 
#8
Hey, interesting products coming up in this thread -- wasn't aware of any of these.

That Basswitch looks real pro, and solid.
The only thing that made me go *tsk* was the lowest EQ centered at 33hz. (Well at least it's peaking and not shelving.) To me 33hz is too low to be useful for live use (except for cutting woofer-taxing rumble). So I'd have to use up the lower-mid band to deal with useful lows.

The following is nominally an acoustic D.I., but I haven't checked to see if it might be worthy of your consideration:
http://www.lrbaggs.com/venue/
 
#10
gastric said:
BOSS GT-10B? Provides two XLR DI out, you can spit them so one is clean one effected, or they run stereo/mono, has a variety of preamps, EQs galore, yadda yadda, and separate stereo/mono 1/4" outs you can control with the output volume knob, mono FX loop. Just a suggestion, it gives you a ton of functionality, ton of I/O.
Click to expand...
Yes - plenty of options and good output levels - but I'm not a huge fan of digital processing and I've got a full board of analog pedals - cool thought but not for me. Cheers.
M0ses said:
The DHA Vt1 EQ has fantastic tube tone, but I wouldn't describe it as hi-fi. You lose a noticeable amount of highs. I can confirm that it easily drives a power amp, though.
Click to expand...
Thanks for that - good info. Probably not what I'm looking for.
pbasswil said:
...the following is nominally an acoustic D.I., but I haven't checked to see if it might be worthy of your consideration:
http://www.lrbaggs.com/venue/
Click to expand...
That's an intriguing piece of kit - low mid and high mid sweep (100Hz - 500Hz / 500Hz - 2.8kHz). Bass and treble voicing may be a little high for bass (90Hz & 10kHz, though similar to the EBS).
Output Level -1dBv (0.88Vrms) so would probably drive ok.
Anyone with experience of using this with bass??
 
#11
check out the viva analog 360 with fuzz. IT drives nicely, lots of power and tone shaping

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JC also makes the 360 lite which is a little cheaper in price, no fuzz but a beautiful piece of gear.

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#12
Funny That Way said:
Sansamp paradriver DI might fit the bill. Output is switchable between -10db and 0db. There's a blend knob for dialing out any unwanted Sansampishness. I've used it as a preamp into an effects loop return -- works great.
-Tom
Click to expand...
Cheers Tom - tried this one and it's not really my tone.
adrian mccullou said:
check out the viva analog 360 with fuzz. IT drives nicely, lots of power and tone shaping
Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...
Adrian - this does look like a good piece of gear, I'd checked it out online while I was investigating a few days ago, but it doesn't have a DI, so that's a deal breaker for me.

Keep the ideas coming - much appreciated. Also, any other comments on the TH or DHA products?
 
#17
Kromwarp said:
BBE Acoustimax
Click to expand...
This looks like another good option - mids are from 400 - 2.5k which may be a little high for my tastes (as is the treble at 10k) - like a bit of a bump at 250Hz sometimes. Do you use one for bass? How do you find it?

MuzikMan said:
No sweepable mid, just a switch for two positions ( I forget what the centers are ).
Click to expand...
Yep, no sweep. Two position switch is 550Hz or 2.2kHz. Thanks too tsunami
 
#18
Funny That Way said:
Sansamp paradriver DI might fit the bill. Output is switchable between -10db and 0db. There's a blend knob for dialing out any unwanted Sansampishness. I've used it as a preamp into an effects loop return -- works great.

-Tom
Click to expand...

+1 this seems like the ideal piece of gear for your needs
 

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