I'm having a severe fit of GAS, and need some advice on preamps. The nearest music store that MIGHT have a proper selection of gear is at least an hour away, and I'm not exactly comfortable with hauling my DB over there - especially since they don't even sell DBs to begin with.
I play contemporary worship and bluegrass. My pickup is a homemade dual-element piezo (constructed by yours truly), and I almost always play only through the PA (although the possibility exists of playing through an amp/cab). The preamp needs to be capable of using Phantom Power for power supply, and I'd like to have a few shaping tools like a phase switch, some eq, and gain/volume control.
From my research, it looks like I have limited myself to 2 choices - the Fishman Pro-EQ Platinum Bass and the L.R. Baggs Para-Acoustic DI. I have no personal experience with either unit - I have only seen and read about them on the web. The only other alternative I see is to build my own. Fdeck's BBBB looks like a really good design that could be modified to fit, but I don't know enough about circuit design to make the mods that would be required. I am experienced enough with an iron to build it myself according to schematics, but if I'd wind up spending almost as much to build one for myself, there's no point in reinventing the wheel.
What's your experience with any/all of the above? Any other ideas that might fit the bill? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I play contemporary worship and bluegrass. My pickup is a homemade dual-element piezo (constructed by yours truly), and I almost always play only through the PA (although the possibility exists of playing through an amp/cab). The preamp needs to be capable of using Phantom Power for power supply, and I'd like to have a few shaping tools like a phase switch, some eq, and gain/volume control.
From my research, it looks like I have limited myself to 2 choices - the Fishman Pro-EQ Platinum Bass and the L.R. Baggs Para-Acoustic DI. I have no personal experience with either unit - I have only seen and read about them on the web. The only other alternative I see is to build my own. Fdeck's BBBB looks like a really good design that could be modified to fit, but I don't know enough about circuit design to make the mods that would be required. I am experienced enough with an iron to build it myself according to schematics, but if I'd wind up spending almost as much to build one for myself, there's no point in reinventing the wheel.
What's your experience with any/all of the above? Any other ideas that might fit the bill? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
