Preamp Predicament

[Aaron]

I used to use the Demeter and loved it, cept I craved a "vintage warmth" option as well. The Epifani quest might be a nice fit too, but based on your notes, I'd stay away from the Alembic, Kern & Ampeg.

I would guess that the reason you like the Demeter so much is the complex and present upper mids, which help with the clarity and quickness. There's not many other tube preamps that favor that range (the Read does, but not as much as the Demeter), so one of the warmer SS pre's you might love. Ever try an Avalon U5? The new Epifani Quest might fit your bill too - but it has more of a "bark" than that demeter upper-midrange clarity.

I disagree with Ostinato - the Alembic pre can easily mimic the highs of the Demeter, but the lows never seem to tighten up and the midrange isn't near as present in the Alembic. But that's not what the Alembic is MEANT to do either. Don't get me wrong - the Alembic is a beautiful thing, but if you want a Demeter sound, get the Demeter. You'll never be happy trying to get THAT sound out of THIS preamp.

Don't discount heads as well - the Thunderfunk and the EA iAMP
are great (and the iAMP is what I personally use)

It looks like I'll get an older 1.5 ul Demeter VTBP (it looks like a pretty good deal.) I don't play my p-bass all that much, so it is definitely a secondary thing.
I haven't tried the Avalon or Epifani yet, I'll keep those in mind down the road. I want to steer away from heads, being that I already have a 1700 watt poweramp to push my Acmes, it is difficult to find 1000+ watt heads, and I like the flexibility just incase I don't like the preamp, I don't have to ditch the whole thing.

Thanks for the input.

 

[bassjam]

bassjam
which Demeter do you use? just curious, thanks.

the vtbp-201.ive been experimenting with different tubes lately.ive had it for about five years and have always loved the results.ive tried other pre amps in that time and always seem to come back to the demeter.i recently picked up a demeter hbp-1 as well.havent had a chance to gig with it but so far i like it too.
just a side note.i used the demeter with epifani cabs for years and was very satisfied.switched to schroeder cabs last summer and WOW.the rig as a whole just sounds fantastic.

 

[jerry]

I use a Demeter/Schroeders combo a lot....they do sound killer together!

 

[IvanMike]

so many choices..........
i can't think of a sound i couldn't get with my demeter 201 or alembic f1-x. unfortunately i hadda sell the f1x. still miss it. i also hadda sell an alembic sf-2 which can give you stupid lows, and tight or loose as you want em. I really plan to reaquire another 2 alembic peices one day as that was a killer setup.

 

[ebozzz]

but when i plug the jazz into the eden,i guess it gives me more of what i would consider a vintage tone.

No arguement from me on that one!

 

[Aaron]

Looks like the seller of the demeter dropped out due to his deal for a new combo falling out. So back to the drawing board.