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The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison
- Thread starter chadhargis
- Start date
There is a Grace Alix on Reverb in good condition for $480. I'm not affiliated in any way, but considering they are $695 new that is a pretty good price.
I still think the Noble sounded best of all the tracks you recorded but the AliX is definitely A nice piece of gear.
Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
Question for those in the know about pedal placement. Is it a bad idea to put my chain Shure Wireless, Preamp, Cali76, RNDI to the FOH? I've always used the compressor before the preamp but with a DI at the end would that order work?
Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
Thanks. I'm gonna be spoilt. I have an Oracle coming too.
Do whatever sounds good. Your compressor will be affected by whatever is in front of it. You will almost definitely need to adjust your typical compressor settings because of a significantly different signal.
Oofdah, you guys spend some do re mi on preamps. I'm still reading, but not convinced I NEED a preamp yet. Still debating a DI, but my sound guy says there's nothing wrong with the balanced 600 ohm out on my LA-1A. Though I've had one briefly in the past, I am still curious about a REDDI again. At the time I wasn't too keen on it for whatever reason. Now a couple years later I find myself liking the tubes on my compressor so...just wish it weren't so big. Yet, it looks pretty damn cool, too. I know, looks is not a factor.
jacoby75
Supporting Member
- Mar 11, 2010
- 5,661
- 10,716
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Mike Lull Custom Guitars, DR Strings
Thanks to Scuba's review of the Trilobite, I was inspired to try a Trickfish Minnow when I found a deal on one in the classifieds. It was not at all what I was in the market for at the time, but I decided to give it a shot. I'm glad I did. The Broughton SVPre is still the main sound I will likely use most of the time with my passive basses, but there are times where I want a pure, clean preamp sound. I had used the Southampton Ictineo for that most recently, but the switches always left me wanting more specific control, and in particular some additional low end. Enter the Minnow.
Just out of curiosity, I thought I'd compare it today to the MXR M80+. I had bought the M80 years ago when I specifically wanted a clean preamp/DI that didn't color my tone at all, but gave me eq controls for my passive basses. It definitely does that. From bypassed to engaged, with the eq knobs at noon, there is little to no difference in sound. Of course changing the eq controls changes the sound, but your bass still sounds like your bass.
Then the Minnow. From bypassed to engaged, with all eq knobs at noon, there is a subtle fattening and rounding of the tone. But VERY subtle. My bass still sounds like my bass. But, of course once you start tweaking the eq knobs, that's when the magic happens. Subtle changes yield fantastic results. It's really a sweet eq. Very musical and inspirational. It makes me want to play more, which is always a good barometer for what a good pedal is for me. If I turn it on and smile, and it makes me want to play more, I keep it. It's not an amp sim, or a tube pre, but it's very full, warm, round, and punchy. Unfortunately, now it just makes me want a Trilobite for the added features. But I'm really happy with the Minnow. Makes my bass sound like it costs about 3 times as much.
Comparing the two, there really isn't a comparison (not that there SHOULD be). The M80 sounds and feels like a toy compared to the Minnow. The treble knob sounds brittle, and the bass knob is muddy. In comparison, the eq centerpoints, or the way they're incorporated, on the Minnow, are very useful and musical. It's a winner.
We'll see how long I keep it. Every time I upgrade my gear and get something better and better, it just makes me want to keep trying other - even more expensive - things. But I would be hard pressed to find something that can improve upon the Minnow without spending a lot more money, methinks.
Just out of curiosity, I thought I'd compare it today to the MXR M80+. I had bought the M80 years ago when I specifically wanted a clean preamp/DI that didn't color my tone at all, but gave me eq controls for my passive basses. It definitely does that. From bypassed to engaged, with the eq knobs at noon, there is little to no difference in sound. Of course changing the eq controls changes the sound, but your bass still sounds like your bass.
Then the Minnow. From bypassed to engaged, with all eq knobs at noon, there is a subtle fattening and rounding of the tone. But VERY subtle. My bass still sounds like my bass. But, of course once you start tweaking the eq knobs, that's when the magic happens. Subtle changes yield fantastic results. It's really a sweet eq. Very musical and inspirational. It makes me want to play more, which is always a good barometer for what a good pedal is for me. If I turn it on and smile, and it makes me want to play more, I keep it. It's not an amp sim, or a tube pre, but it's very full, warm, round, and punchy. Unfortunately, now it just makes me want a Trilobite for the added features. But I'm really happy with the Minnow. Makes my bass sound like it costs about 3 times as much.
Comparing the two, there really isn't a comparison (not that there SHOULD be). The M80 sounds and feels like a toy compared to the Minnow. The treble knob sounds brittle, and the bass knob is muddy. In comparison, the eq centerpoints, or the way they're incorporated, on the Minnow, are very useful and musical. It's a winner.
We'll see how long I keep it. Every time I upgrade my gear and get something better and better, it just makes me want to keep trying other - even more expensive - things. But I would be hard pressed to find something that can improve upon the Minnow without spending a lot more money, methinks.
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Does anyone know where I can get a 2.5mm Right angle AC cable in the US? I really need one to make my pedal board neater with cable management.
I don't know why I can't copy the link from amazon but if you Google 2.5 mm ac cable the very first one that comes up is from Amazon and is right angle. There are others available also.
I need the female to female cable. I luckily reached out to the T-Rex rep here in the US and he is sending me the cable pack that has that one and 7 more adapters and cables free of charge lol. Glad I reached out to see if he could help.
