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Preamp suggestions wanted.

el murdoque

el murdoque

Mar 10, 2013
12,065
25,435
Germany
thedirtjounal.com
#1
I'm currently looking for another preamp pedal.

Here is the list of demands. Things it MUST have:
1. Capable of doing a big and clean bottom end - more so than the Sansamps.
2. Either a parametric mids setup or a mids knob that is centered in the 500-600Hz area.
3. Either a cab sim or a LPF
4. Balanced output
5. Running off 9V standard

It would be great if it was easy to buy on top. I know Broughton has several pedals that fit the bill, but they are Broughtons.

What's out there that meets all of these demands?
 
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#2
You are the preamp maestro so I’m sure nothing’s gotten past you!

I might suggest looking at the new Empress Bass para EQ. Is it truly a preamp? Otherwise, I believe it has all the features you’re looking for in a compact enclosure.

I have the older mkii model and it’s remarkably handy and sits last in my modest pedal chain. The HPF & LPF are fantastic. Presumably they’ve optimized the newest model so might be worth a listen.
 
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#4
Jason Hollar said:
You are the preamp maestro so I’m sure nothing’s gotten past you!

I might suggest looking at the new Empress Bass para EQ. Is it truly a preamp? Otherwise, I believe it has all the features you’re looking for in a compact enclosure.

I have the older mkii model and it’s remarkably handy and sits last in my modest pedal chain. The HPF & LPF are fantastic. Presumably they’ve optimized the newest model so might be worth a listen.
Click to expand...
I understand myself more as a dirt gourmand, and I was hoping that something escaped me on the preamp front, one of the clean ones ... ;-)
 
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#7
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#8
I know it doesn't fit all your criteria, but I'll add Ampeg Classic Analog Bass Preamp just because it does 3/5 and it does them very good, and someone else might find this info usefull.
It has very tight bass control (40Hz, works great), mids centered at 500Hz, standard 9V power input, and is relatively inexpensive. Lack of HPF/LPF was never an issue for me since I can set it at a mixer channel.
 
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#10
el murdoque said:
I'm currently looking for another preamp pedal.

Here is the list of demands. Things it MUST have:
1. Capable of doing a big and clean bottom end - more so than the Sansamps.
2. Either a parametric mids setup or a mids knob that is centered in the 500-600Hz area.
3. Either a cab sim or a LPF
4. Balanced output
5. Running off 9V standard

It would be great if it was easy to buy on top. I know Broughton has several pedals that fit the bill, but they are Broughtons.

What's out there that meets all of these demands?
Click to expand...
MT-2 with the gain all the way down and a DI box
 
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#12
el murdoque said:
Yeah, I looked at that one, but found two issues. One is a more personal thing - that think costs boutique money, but is made in Taiwan, the other is that it does not have a cab sim or LPF built in.
Click to expand...
I think we discussed this in your Dirt thread, but "Contour B" is essentially a variable "vintage cabsim" curve that rolls off the top and a bit of the bottom not unlike the Tonehammer if I am reading things correctly.

The price in the US is the same as the Aguilar TH DI v2, not sure if Aguilar has moved production of pedals overseas yet (seems inevitable given their buyout by Korg, but who knows!).
 
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#13
sunbeast said:
I think we discussed this in your Dirt thread, but "Contour B" is essentially a variable "vintage cabsim" curve that rolls off the top and a bit of the bottom not unlike the Tonehammer if I am reading things correctly.
Click to expand...
From the website: “Turning up Contour A boosts lows and highs while simultaneously cutting mids, while Contour B Provides a variable pre-shaped curve with attenuated high mids and highs, a low mid bump, and a slight roll-off of the lowest bass frequencies”
 
#14
el murdoque said:
I'm currently looking for another preamp pedal.

Here is the list of demands. Things it MUST have:
1. Capable of doing a big and clean bottom end - more so than the Sansamps.
2. Either a parametric mids setup or a mids knob that is centered in the 500-600Hz area.
3. Either a cab sim or a LPF
4. Balanced output
5. Running off 9V standard

It would be great if it was easy to buy on top. I know Broughton has several pedals that fit the bill, but they are Broughtons.

What's out there that meets all of these demands?
Click to expand...
I think these check all your boxes.
  • Palmer Pocket Amp Bass
  • Nux Melvin Lee Davis Bass Preamp
  • Simplifier Bass Master
 
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#15
needmorebasss said:
From the website: “Turning up Contour A boosts lows and highs while simultaneously cutting mids, while Contour B Provides a variable pre-shaped curve with attenuated high mids and highs, a low mid bump, and a slight roll-off of the lowest bass frequencies”
Click to expand...
Yes, similar approach to the AGS in the Aguilar Tonehammer DI at least on paper. I've never tried a Magellan personally.
 
#16
Atomic Bass Box could be worth a look on the ‘affordable’ end.

Depending on your budget, Bergantino Super Pre will do anything you could possibly want and well.

Orange Bass Butler is a wild card. It’s a bi-amp pre, so the controls are interactive as I understand it.
 
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#17
Another vote for the Magellan. The contour circuits function like cabsims and one of 'em rolls off the highs. That's not a LPF but unless a steep shelved LPF is necessary it'll work well, and both curves are very musical...useful throughout their entire range. Bonus points for the variable HPF.
 
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#18
A Source Audio EQ2 will do everything on the list (it has far more flexible eq than what you are asking for) except the balanced output - to compensate that, it has a very nice tuner in it - it's a ridiculously good bargain in terms of what it does for the space it takes up.
 
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#19
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