Preamps similar to Glockenklang?

[Phil Mastro]

So the Glockenklang doesn't actually seem to have a distributor in my country anymore, but of all the pres I've tried (not that many to be fair) it's my favourite. Are there any other brands out there that are similar to it? The Delano maybe?

Thanks,
Phil

 

[silky smoove]

The Delano has a very different treble frequency and filter Q. It also doesn’t function as a passive tone roll-off in passive mode. Despite those key differences, both preamps aim to be totally neutral when set flat, so they share at least some goals.

 

[thrashingbass]

I am certain Delano does sell their own passive tone/active treble pot separately, to be added to the Sonar in lieu of its treble pot. I do not have that preamp, but it does sound nice to me in the few samples I have heard. But yes, not identical to the Glockenklang.

 

[silky smoove]

I am certain Delano does sell their own passive tone/active treble pot separately

Yep, you’re right. They describe it as an active treble cut as I recall. Not sure if it still functions as a treble boost/cut in active mode like the Glock.

The key thing with the Glock that makes it unique is the bizarre 18khz center frequency paired with a mega wide Q factor. I’ve not heard another treble control quite like it on an onboard circuit.

 

[Phil Mastro]

Thanks for the input. I thought the 18kHz point seemed really strange when I compared the specs of other pres, but I think it sounds really good and not shrill as a boost.

If anyone has any other info about preamps and/or can compare them to the Glock I'd be happy to hear about it.

 

[silky smoove]

I thought the 18kHz point seemed really strange when I compared the specs of other pres, but I think it sounds really good and not shrill as a boost.

It’s definitely wild. As adults, basically none of us can hear 18khz, and what’s more, a bass puts out almost no content to be boosted that high. I’ve often suspected that it’s a bell/peaking filter with a very wide Q factor, and the boost we hear ends up being down around 8khz with very little below that.

 

[Passinwind]

It’s definitely wild. As adults, basically none of us can hear 18khz, and what’s more, a bass puts out almost no content to be boosted that high. I’ve often suspected that it’s a bell/peaking filter with a very wide Q factor, and the boost we hear ends up being down around 8khz with very little below that.

There is no industry standard for spec'ing shelving frequency response, if that's what's actually in play, but an 18kHz peak sounds suspiciously like a CD horn compensation EQ curve. I think I have a couple of Glock preamps somewhere in my disaster area of a shop, if I can find one I'll break out my RTA rig and see what's up. I have done treble controls that peak at 30kHz at full boost and they sounded excellent to me when using modest boost settings, FWIW.

 

[Phil Mastro]

It’s definitely wild. As adults, basically none of us can hear 18khz

The dogs in my neighbourhood all act up when I plug in

 

[thrashingbass]

I almost bought a Glockenklang preamp a few weeks ago, but the shop involved did not answer a question I had soon enough, and thus purchased the very different Bartolini NTMB instead, with an added tone pot for more versatility. The latter preamp is more colored than the super transparent Glockenklang, but also has a "high" treble peak (for bass guitar) of 10khz-despite this, the boost is obviously noticeable in the lower treble regions, though very clean sounding due to the relatively extended peak.

If I had more active basses, wouldn't mind using a Glockenklang preamp, depending on the pickups-but absolutely love the NTMB so far.

 

[Phil Mastro]

I almost bought a Glockenklang preamp a few weeks ago, but the shop involved did not answer a question I had soon enough, and thus purchased the very different Bartolini NTMB instead, with an added tone pot for more versatility. The latter preamp is more colored than the super transparent Glockenklang, but also has a "high" treble peak (for bass guitar) of 10khz-despite this, the boost is obviously noticeable in the lower treble regions, though very clean sounding due to the relatively extended peak.

If I had more active basses, wouldn't mind using a Glockenklang preamp, depending on the pickups-but absolutely love the NTMB so far.

I have a NTMB, and it does sound good. Still, I'm looking for something a bit more neutral.

 

[thrashingbass]

I have a NTMB, and it does sound good. Still, I'm looking for something a bit more neutral.

Does Thomann ship to your location? They do have the Glock preamps-and so does Best Bass Gear, but they are US based (sorry.) Last time I checked, BBG did not have the 5 pot version, only the 4 pot with bass/treble stacked, so no passive tone unless you add it yourself. The regular version does have that passive/active tone/treble pot, and Thomann should have it in stock.

If someone carried Delano Sonar in your location, honestly that is what I would do in your case, if Glockenklang was not available and was my first choice. Both should be flat on flat settings (i.e. "neutral"). Just have to be aware that the treble peak is lower than even Bartolini at 5khz, but what I have heard in other basses, sounded good. Just have to replace/add the needed treble pot for passive tone control.

 

[Phil Mastro]

I'll probably just get a Delano at this point, I checked some international dealers for the Glock, and the exchange and shipping were prohibitively expensive, same as with stuff from the US really. I tried contacting Glockenklang directly a couple times and never got a response, so I guess I'll look elsewhere.

If I get a Delano I'll report back to offer some sort of comparison for posterity.

 

[emjazz]

Trickfish and John East preamps are great choices and very natural sounding. Both can be found at fatbasstone.com

 

[Phil Mastro]

Trickfish and John East preamps are great choices and very natural sounding. Both can be found at fatbasstone.com

Thanks for the recommendation, but they don't seem available here, and shipping from the US is prohibitively expensive. And those Flexcores are already kind of expensive to begin with. They do look really cool, I'll admit.

 

[emjazz]

Thanks for the recommendation, but they don't seem available here, and shipping from the US is prohibitively expensive. And those Flexcores are already kind of expensive to begin with. They do look really cool, I'll admit.

Not sure where you live, but John East is out of the UK I believe..might be able to buy one direct

 

[Phil Mastro]

I kinda feel like I should turn this thread into the "uncommon onboard preamp brands"

I've got a Xander electronics Bassotto, a Taurus TM2, I'm considering getting a FKT FK-3 preamp, and putting them in stomp boxes to compare. Also tempted to get a Delano, and round everything out with a Bartolini I have lying around.

So much for not spending too much money.

If anyone has any info about these or other uncommon preamps I'd love to hear about them.

 

[Phil Mastro]

So I got a Delano on top of the Xander and Taurus, and I slapped all of them onto makeshift faceplates for a makeshift stomp box to try them out. I tested these on the same bass that has the Glockenklang, I just put the preamp in passive mode then ran into the stompbox. Prices are tax in. Here are some thoughts for posterity.

Glockenklang​

• Bass: 40 Hz +/- 14 dB
• Mid: 550 Hz +/- 9 dB
• Treble: 18000 Hz +/- 18 dB
• A bit messy to install if I’m being fair. It’s pretty much impossible to position the pots in a manner that doesn’t make a cavity look like a bird’s nest.
• Despite the ridiculous 18 kHz treble frequency, the highs never get shrill, lows are powerful and not muddy, the mids sound good, I dunno, it just works for me.
• I paid about 230$ in 2010, which would be about 320 $ according to an inflation calculator. Already a bit steep for my tastes.

Taurus​

• Bass: 40 Hz +/- 10 dB
• Mid: 800 Hz +/- 18 dB
• Treble: 8000 Hz +/- 12 dB
• This is the TM Integral, not the regular TM-1 our TM-2. As such it has some funny “stacked” potentiometers. You pull on the knob to switch from Bass to Treble, and when you pull on the Mid pot, you get the passive tone control. Note that the passive tone doesn’t do anything in active mode, the preamp has to switch to passive mode for it to do anything. The setup may be convenient for smaller cavities with limited holes, but I found using these knobs finicky. I’d go for regular concentric knobs over this.
• The ribbon cable setup is super convenient, installation was easy and clean looking. I think the pots don’t need to be in a specific order on the cable, but I haven’t tried so I can’t confirm.
• Tone-wise, I think it sounds pretty good. I would like a bit more bass boost, and I don’t like the treble control as much as the Glock, but I quite like the mid control. Sounds a bit modern, but honestly I think the mid is the best part of the preamp.
• This was the least expensive preamp I purchased of the three I got recently, around 190$ CAD.

Delano​

• Bass: 45 Hz +/- 16 dB
• Mid: variable, 300, 500, or 800 Hz +/- 14 dB
• Treble: 5000 Hz +/- 18 dB
• I got the MS with the switchable mid frequency that’s on the device itself, i.e. you’d have to open up the electronics cavity to access the switch. I didn’t want to pay for the external switch (it’s a decent step up in price). Installation is average, definitely less messy than the Glock.
• The default mid frequency is 500 Hz, which is the one I prefer. At 300 Hz, the lower mids and bass gets kinda boomy and muddy. At 800 Hz it sounds really twangy and modern, which is not my thing.
• Sounds relatively close to the Glock, but I prefer how the Glock sounds all around. I feel like each band has a tighter Q factor, makinh the mids kinda "sharper" sounding. I don't actually have any empirical evidence to confirm this.
• This was the most expensive of the three. Still not terribly expensive at about 250$ CAD.

Xander​

• Bass: 30 Hz +/- 15 dB
• Mid: 250 Hz +/- 13 dB
• Treble: 10000 Hz +/- 18 dB
• The Xander preamp looks a bit different from the other preamps I’ve had. It has an exposed PCB that has a series of pin connectors for connecting the pots. It takes up quite a bit of real estate, and though pins sound convenient, I found them a bit finicky and they take up a lot of space. If you want to rewire it a bit differently from the stock settings you’d need to crimp your own wire connectors or have some cables on hand with those connectors. Having said that, it wasn’t that hard to install, but it is kinda messy.
• I’d like to point out the Xander can have a customized knob configuration, as I believe they are made one at a time. If you contact the company (Arturo is the guy’s name I think), they’ll do whatever you like. Long-shaft knobs, split shaft, stacked, diameter, whatever. Unfortunately I forgot to specify pots with centre detents. Oops.
• Sound-wise, it’s not bad, but I have some issues with it. I find the treble boost and cut too dramatic, when it’s cut all the way the mid knob won’t actually do anything. And boosted, the sound can get really shrill. The bass is pretty good, and the mids, despite having a low frequency, don’t seem to mess with the lows like the Delano did (even at 500 Hz).
• Price-wise this came in between the Delano and the Taurus at about 220$ CAD.

So the search isn't over quite yet. Right now I think I like the Taurus the most. It is going to be hard to justify spending more $$ on preamps at this point, so the quest will at best be put on hold for now.

 

[Arjank]

It’s definitely wild. As adults, basically none of us can hear 18khz, and what’s more, a bass puts out almost no content to be boosted that high. I’ve often suspected that it’s a bell/peaking filter with a very wide Q factor, and the boost we hear ends up being down around 8khz with very little below that.

I have the 3-band Glock in one of my basses paired with Bartolini Singularity pickups. It's a very good (neutral and transparant) pre-amp and I have nothing to complain about the treble control. You would expect some hiss/noise with such a high set point but it is remarkably noise free.

 

[silky smoove]

I have the 3-band Glock in one of my basses paired with Bartolini Singularity pickups. It's a very good (neutral and transparant) pre-amp and I have nothing to complain about the treble control. You would expect some hiss/noise with such a high set point but it is remarkably noise free.

As was mine. I no longer own it but would still like to see Glockenklang put out a frequency response plot of that control.

 

[Passinwind]

As was mine. I no longer own it but would still like to see Glockenklang put out a frequency response plot of that control.

I need to set up my RTA rig for something I just built, I'll try a little harder to test one of my Glocks while I'm at it. But it would be nice if they'd just publish one.