I wanted to ask my bass playing brothers and sisters their opinion on amplification. I am asking this in the effects forum because I am only interested in small signal amplification that is used in preamps and effects. Lets narrow this discussion down to just preamps for simplification. There are several factors that make amplifiers sound different from each other... what I am interested in is the amplifier response and inherent tone (not the EQ section). Here are some of the categories that I have narrowed it down to
they are probably over simplified.
Extremely clean- no character and performs like an amplified wire what goes in comes out only larger. Neutral or transparent.
Warm and laid back- has subtle self distortion creating the warmth and a sensation that the notes bloom in a relaxed musical manner.
Warm and aggressive- has subtle self distortions creating the warmth and the sensation that the signal is itching to get out as fast as possible... Up-front sound and makes the audience blink with every note.
Extremely clean and aggressive- Same as the warm and aggressive, but with surgically clean tone. Very fast and responsive sensation.
I know that it all depends on the gear you are using, but if you were to buy a preamp pedal today with all the other features being equal i.e. gain, EQ, power requirements, jacks, feeds a power amp directly, price what would your preference be? Thanks!
-Frank
Extremely clean- no character and performs like an amplified wire what goes in comes out only larger. Neutral or transparent.
Warm and laid back- has subtle self distortion creating the warmth and a sensation that the notes bloom in a relaxed musical manner.
Warm and aggressive- has subtle self distortions creating the warmth and the sensation that the signal is itching to get out as fast as possible... Up-front sound and makes the audience blink with every note.
Extremely clean and aggressive- Same as the warm and aggressive, but with surgically clean tone. Very fast and responsive sensation.
I know that it all depends on the gear you are using, but if you were to buy a preamp pedal today with all the other features being equal i.e. gain, EQ, power requirements, jacks, feeds a power amp directly, price what would your preference be? Thanks!
-Frank
