I haven't looked inside but as long as it works I'm fine. My old preamp didn't have the active/passive bypass option so that's kind of nice I guess.
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Roscoe Club
- Thread starter JOME77
- Start date
I'd never really thought of the unity gain only aspect before, so your comments made me look up which preamps have adjustable gain and which do not.
The ones I had been really interested in on a custom I have in progress coincidentally have gain adjustment on an internal trim pot - Bartolini NTMB and Trickfish Flexcore. It turns out I've owned a couple that do not have adjustment - Aguilar OBP-3 and EMG. I have a custom bass on order and the preamp has a lot of of gain and adjustment as it's going with low Z pickups.
Did you dislike those you tried that did not have gain control because of the sound of the preamps or specifically because you needed to adjust the gain?
Probably both. Most of my performance situations are bass directly to DI. Adjustable onboard preamp gain allows better flexibility (to me) in achieving good signal output to passive DI to FOH. No active DI necessary. I also find it useful with my amps in finding sweet spots for their input architecture. Fortunately, it's a set-and-forget endeavor, so I don't fiddle around with adjusting onboard preamp gain.
As far as unity gain preamps? I dislike eq-only adjustments. They are typically overhyped and too sensitive, as the amplified signal is channeled to only a certain EQ center.
Also, unity gain preamps with specific presets or modes never satisfy the type adjustments that I find useful. Finally, several popular unity gain preamps are boost only, disallowing subtractive EQ, which I usually find more useful than additive.
As a possible point of interest, the two most used EQ adjustments that I make on Roscoe basses are right hand position, and/or pickup blend. Otherwise, my onboard EQ points are usually neutral at center detents. FOH does the rest.
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Very interesting. I guess the nuances of your particular setup dictate what preamps will or won't work well for you. At the very least, you understand well what does and does not work for you and your setup and the sound you're after, which is probably further ahead than a lot of other players.
I've largely dropped onboard EQs in favour of low-pass filters. I ran an Alembic SF2 into an F1X and then into a QSC power amp as my touring rig when I was playing semi-professionally in the early part of the 2000s. I really found that the SF2 was my tone shaping and the F1X was my "tune to the venue" part of the signal chain. I rarely touched the onboard controls of the many very fine boutique basses I owned. Most of the onboard stuff I did was pickup blend. The new bass I have coming has a low-pass filter on each low Z pickup and then a 1-band bass EQ plus blend and volume. I think that's going to get me back to what was working in my touring rig, but it can happen onboard plus in my ultralight class D amp for the EQ side.
I leave my eq pretty center detent as well. I will sometimes use the balance for a more "P" or "J" kind of vibe, and I will sometimes boost my mids just a touch. Same for fretted or fretless. My P gets a slight tone roll off usually.
I sometimes wonder why I even have an active preamp, but I suppose even "flat" it adds a little something? IDK.
I like the sounds I get with my Roscoes so I'm not going to do anything drastic.Many years ago I had the thought of playing only passive basses (probably jazz-type basses at that time as I was a real jazz pup guy for a while) and getting a bunch of preamps - Sadowsky, Aguilar, Etc. - and using them for different tones. No HX Stomp back then. Even now, when I see a Sean Hurley or Pino clip I think, why not just play my Classic P with flats for everything. But I guess I'm not Sean or Pino as it just doesn't seem to work for me. It sounds great, but I don't know that it works in our band. My guitar player loves my Century 5. My sound guy loves the P. I only NEED the range of the 5 in a handful of songs. I just can't settle the inner battle of which bass. I need to bring the 5 so I think just play it all night. No one really notices and it's a phenomenal bass. Yet, the simplicity of the P is there as well. Thank goodness I don't have a jazz in play right now. Well, I do but it's not quite as playable as the Roscoes so it doesn't get out as much. Has a lower output as well so swapping is more work as I need a boost preset on my Stomp. The custom wound pups sound great though.
Sorry, got rambling there.
The buffer function of an active pre largely eliminates loss from your instrument cable, which is most notable as high freq rolloff, which is why they were originally developed.I leave my eq pretty center detent as well. I will sometimes use the balance for a more "P" or "J" kind of vibe, and I will sometimes boost my mids just a touch. Same for fretted or fretless. My P gets a slight tone roll off usually.
I sometimes wonder why I even have an active preamp, but I suppose even "flat" it adds a little something? IDK.
Many years ago I had the thought of playing only passive basses (probably jazz-type basses at that time as I was a real jazz pup guy for a while) and getting a bunch of preamps - Sadowsky, Aguilar, Etc. - and using them for different tones. No HX Stomp back then. Even now, when I see a Sean Hurley or Pino clip I think, why not just play my Classic P with flats for everything. But I guess I'm not Sean or Pino as it just doesn't seem to work for me. It sounds great, but I don't know that it works in our band. My guitar player loves my Century 5. My sound guy loves the P. I only NEED the range of the 5 in a handful of songs. I just can't settle the inner battle of which bass. I need to bring the 5 so I think just play it all night. No one really notices and it's a phenomenal bass. Yet, the simplicity of the P is there as well. Thank goodness I don't have a jazz in play right now. Well, I do but it's not quite as playable as the Roscoes so it doesn't get out as much. Has a lower output as well so swapping is more work as I need a boost preset on my Stomp. The custom wound pups sound great though.
Sorry, got rambling there.
Have you tried calling the ph#? The word I’ve seen around has always been phone is faster than email with Roscoe.
Definitely call. The latest experience I had with Keith is that emails pretty much led to no response or took weeks to get a reply. Call the number and you'll likely hear Keith himself answer.
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Hey all,
Who's looking to swap things around?
I'm in the hunt for a 6-string lined fretless Custom, either SKB or Century.
Roscoe spec Bartolini quads
18mm bridge spacing
USA Hipshot tuners and Hipshot bridge (A or B style)
Not necessarily looking for mint or better condition; it'll be a working bass, so a few common dings or scuffs actually eases the worry about adding a few of my own.
I have a 5-string lined fretless Standard Plus LG (w/ papers and OHSC) I could throw in if you're looking to go down a tier, and a string. If not involved in a trade, it'll be up for sale only after/if I find a 6er.
Hoping if I put this out into the universe, it'll get things moving.
Thanks!
Who's looking to swap things around?
I'm in the hunt for a 6-string lined fretless Custom, either SKB or Century.
Roscoe spec Bartolini quads
18mm bridge spacing
USA Hipshot tuners and Hipshot bridge (A or B style)
Not necessarily looking for mint or better condition; it'll be a working bass, so a few common dings or scuffs actually eases the worry about adding a few of my own.
I have a 5-string lined fretless Standard Plus LG (w/ papers and OHSC) I could throw in if you're looking to go down a tier, and a string. If not involved in a trade, it'll be up for sale only after/if I find a 6er.
Hoping if I put this out into the universe, it'll get things moving.
Thanks!
Sorry to hear, @SteveC . Sounds like a frustrating situation that requires process-of-elimination detective work. PM sent
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As far as I know it's a recent development. I think I can rule the gloss out.That is so strange!
Amp? Cord? Effect?
Maybe it’s the New gloss finish?
I don't know. I've tried all kinds of variables. It works fine after the little initial "glitch" so I don't know how worried I should be. Our department is going on a trip this week with 90 kids so I don't have a lot of time to trouble shoot. I have a gig Saturday when I return so I'll hope for the best. It has to be something that has changed about our home set up.
Meanwhile, I 'll try to sell the old preamp i guess. I mean, I assume it works just fine as the issue remains after a complete electronics swap.
Is the pre an ntmb+fl pre?As far as I know it's a recent development. I think I can rule the gloss out.
I don't know. I've tried all kinds of variables. It works fine after the little initial "glitch" so I don't know how worried I should be. Our department is going on a trip this week with 90 kids so I don't have a lot of time to trouble shoot. I have a gig Saturday when I return so I'll hope for the best. It has to be something that has changed about our home set up.
Meanwhile, I 'll try to sell the old preamp i guess. I mean, I assume it works just fine as the issue remains after a complete electronics swap.
I think so. It’s the stock push pull mids and NO active/passive bypass. I’m out of town right now but can look on Sunday.
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