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Preamp pedal vs Preamp/DI pedal. Which to get?

Grand Moff Tim

Grand Moff Tim

Jul 30, 2013
58
69
Naesu, South Korea
#1
Okay, talkbassers. At home, I mostly use a Fractal Axe-Fx 2 w/headphones for practicing and the recording I'll do once in a blue moon, and I've got an Aguilar/MarkBass rig that stays at the practice space/studio my band uses. However, I live in Korea and go everywhere using public transportation, and I've decided that the Fractal is just too large and unwieldy to be taking with me on the bus, especially since I'll already be lugging my bass. For that reason, I've been looking at piecing together a small pedalboard (think Pedaltrain mini or Gator Small sized) that I can take to practice, and to gigs at venues where I'll have to use house amps or go direct.

All that has me wondering what the benefit is of using a preamp/DI versus just a plain ol' preamp. Is there a large difference in sound quality of the balanced output of a DI as opposed to the standard 1/4 output of a preamp? Will the DI sound better plugged into the house PA than a plain ol' preamp would?

I'm trying to conserve space on the board so I'll have more room for other things, and there are some nice preamps in fairly small packages, but all the preamp/DI combos I've seen are a bit bulkier.

So uh... what's the deal?
 
#2
Fdeck HPF Pre, a Radial Stagebug DI and a MS-60B. Super compact and everything you need.

The Zoomie 60b will do 4 effects including amp sims, compression, delay, modulation etc and tuner.

2nd Edit: PS, Scotch or one of the other Nashville cats [TimWatson, Cincinnati cat] has the Fdeck and an even smaller DI [Orchid] than a Stage Bug. Mooer has a DI, not sure the quality. I'll see if I can dig up the one Scotch has/had.
 
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#3
Yeah, I saw the Stagebug on some pedalboards around here and I'm interested, but that'll depend on if I can find one in Korea, or get one here easily/cheaply enough.

I'm not so much asking for model/brand recommendations, though. I'm more just wondering if there's a real benefit to using a Preamp with a DI option as opposed to just using a preamp that doesn't have one. I do appreciate the model recommendations, too, of course.
 
#4
There are lots of options out there.

Avenson Audio DI is about as small as you can get. It needs phantom power from the desk you plug it into.
It looks like an inline jack adapter with a few components inside.

There are many pedal format preamp DIs by companies like Sansamp, Albit, EBS, ElectroHarmonix, etcetera.

I use a Phil Jones P-1 (1U rackmount) preamp/DI. That company has a smaller version with less features too.

The balanced output (XLR/TRS) is advantageous for reducing noise to the desk and long cables cease to be an issue.
 
#5
Grand Moff Tim said:
Yeah, I saw the Stagebug on some pedalboards around here and I'm interested, but that'll depend on if I can find one in Korea, or get one here easily/cheaply enough.

I'm not so much asking for model/brand recommendations, though. I'm more just wondering if there's a real benefit to using a Preamp with a DI option as opposed to just using a preamp that doesn't have one. I do appreciate the model recommendations, too, of course.
Click to expand...

If you get a preamp with a DI then you have the option of going into the PA balanced. That's pretty much it as far as benefits go. I got the MXR M81 just for that since most of the time they have house amplifiers or PAs in Japan as well.

I usually choose to go into the amp at bars and live houses, but sometimes when I do gig with my amp, I'll use the DI on the preamp instead of the amp's DI because my amp is not as reliable as the preamp.
 
#6
Orchid was the box.

Orchid_01.jpg


Stagebug is almost as small, might be cheaper too.

You might find these threads useful...
http://www.talkbass.com/threads/advice-on-preamp-tuner-compressor-di-chain.982121/
http://www.talkbass.com/threads/preamp-di-pedal.906700/#post-13023312
http://www.talkbass.com/threads/i-think-i-need-a-d-i-recommendations.877871/page-2#post-12568690
http://www.talkbass.com/threads/dha-di-eq-review-clips-added.588749/page-2#post-12451812

Advantages to separate stuff is that if something goes wrong with one thing you only have that one thing to fix. If you've a combined preamp-DI and the DI screws up, well now you need a new preamp and DI. Radial stuff is pretty much bulletproof, the Tonebone pedals come with a decent DI, though not on par with some of the stand-alone DIs out there. Separate stuff you're not ball-and-chained to one company's stuff, you can mix and match and get a preamp you like and a DI you like.

Other advantages... I think Cat-A-Tonic said it best. Long cable runs etc. IDK, I've run across boards that only were XLR, no balanced 1/4" TRS.

Go modular!
 
#7
It looks like since the Stagebug is so small, I could actually mount that sideways along the top of a pedalboard, rather then vertically and next to the other pedals. I was thinking about getting an Xotic BB Pre or EWS Tri-Logic II Pre if it was advisable to have a board without a DI, but the possibility of getting one of those and mounting a Stagebug above it (they both have jacks on the sides, so it wouldn't get in the way) means I could still consider those and have DI capabilities.

Does that sound feasible, or like a decent idea?

Any other quality bass preamps in the same size housing as the EWS or Xotic (or smaller) that are worth checking out? Preferably not something super obscure that I'll have to import, though, haha.
 
#8
It's not a true Preamp, but I do have the Xotic RC booster, which is the same size as the BB. It only has bass and treble cut and boosts. I like it, but I think I prefer the MXR M81. It's slightly bigger but with added sweepable mids. It's more neutral than the RC booster. Don't know if your looking for something clean sounding like those two though. Ones you've listed have more gain.

Here's what I usually bring with me if I don't want to bring my big board.
IMG_4137_zps1587c859.jpg
 
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#9
phangtonpower said:
It's not a true Preamp, but I do have the Xotic RC booster, which is the same size as the BB. It only has bass and treble cut and boosts. I like it, but I think I prefer the MXR M81. It's slightly bigger but with added sweepable mids. It's more neutral than the RC booster. Don't know if your looking for something clean sounding like those two though. Ones you've listed have more gain.
Click to expand...

Huh. I was confusing the M-81 with the M-80, so I didn't realize they made a Preamp/DI in that smaller housing. That's actually along the lines of what I'm after, since I prefer a cleaner pre and will have a separate pedal for dirt anyway, though like Feral Feline says up there, maybe I ought to consider going modular with it...

Hmmm. Pedalboard dreaming always leads me down these long, branching paths, hahaha.
 

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