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The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison

#3,181
As for preamps, and tube rolling. I guess replacing the stock Oracle's 12AX7 with a NOS RCA, Telefunken, Mullard or Brimar could lead to interesting results, as it's a high-voltage design. Fact is i don't know anything to this tube rolling science. What could i expect from a RCA or Telefunken or Bugle Boy replacement ? I don't know if benefits can be qualified as 'expect more articulated mids with a RCA' or that kind of thing, but for a tube roller noob as i am, it'd be quite useful.
 
#3,182
Re reading Scuba's review of the LA-1A and also reading on the Effectrode website, the dual footswitch (or any dual latching footswitch for that matter) is actually a great option for this unit. Having something like this on the floor at a gig (in a bar at least, when they start again) makes me nervous. Running a switch and lead out for it and having it on your amp (where you can adjust it easily) is a small inconvenience for the expected added tonal enhancements, and also it solves the power issue as you can run the power supply at your rig. Although it limits your options with signal chain placement in relation to the rest of your board if you are running one.

I will sell my SD Studio Bass and also a G50 (I have a G55) to try and offset the outlay. Not that I really need to, but how much gear can one keep accumulating??

Probably should be posting this in the Compressor thread, but there is plenty of love for this unit here also.
 
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#3,183
GAS is not a new phenomenon. Back in my broadcasting days, lots of radio stations used the original Urei 1176 as a limiter/compressor. The standard control boards were RCA with tube preamps and big rotary pots. All of this was considered ordinary and middle of the road. Nowhere near as exotic as solid-state boards with slider pots, and the secret weapon, the Oganowski Opti-Mod. And plenty of other magical boxes of the '70s, '80s and '90s, all intended to add heft and sparkle to the audio chain. We never tried a solo bass through them! :D :bassist:
 
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#3,184
Rocksolid said:
Re reading Scuba's review of the LA-1A and also reading on the Effectrode website, the dual footswitch (or any dual latching footswitch for that matter) is actually a great option for this unit. Having something like this on the floor at a gig (in a bar at least, when they start again) makes me nervous. Running a switch and lead out for it and having it on your amp (where you can adjust it easily) is a small inconvenience for the expected added tonal enhancements, and also it solves the power issue as you can run the power supply at your rig.
Click to expand...

If you run it this way, are you planning for it to have its own board underneath or something? I would be afraid of cab vibrations knocking it off from the top of my amp...
 
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#3,185
I picked up an EDEN WTDI yesterday. I was picking up a bass that had been set-up and my local store had one in their used gear cabinet...mint condition, box, adapter and manual included. 100% improvement over my current Fender Rumble 200 (Ampeg head finally gave out and I picked up a affordable / decent combo). The Rumble was always "pretty good" but never blew me away. It sounded better "in the mix" but I never really loved how it sounded by itself. The WTDI fixed that...clear, more low end and tight. Definitely worth the $90.00 spent.
 
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#3,187
I'd quite like to keep every pedals i bought, but i live in a small apartment, my pedals' stache is full, and i'm gassing at the same time for new stuff. During quarantine i decided to sell a bunch of pedals. There was some nice stuff in there, but there was many of these 'i'll use it one day' pedals too. Feeling ok with my GAS now, and so does my wallet.
 
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#3,189
My wife surprised me today with my anniversary gift....My Oracle is being built! Estimated arrival is about 2-3 weeks out. :drool: Can't wait to add it to the board and put it through the paces. Even more so now that we're getting back to rehearsals and gigs on the books late July! Would love to hear some of everyones favorite settings.
 
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#3,190
27412DB6-9667-44EC-B89E-406C25155DB8.jpeg

As it's been said several times here, buy once, cry once. I think I've paid my dues. Effectrode was a nice change. Big thanks to @scubaduba for all his great reviews!
 
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#3,194
Boy, the La-1a is some kinda special. Thanks to you all (yes I blame each and every one of you), I am totally redoing everything on my board from the ground up. As a result, I had to test it by itself, straight in to my powered monitor. Holy crap! This thing sounds amazing! Can't wait to run Le Bass through this into my new Two Notes CABm powered by my new DC7. Did I mention I hate you guys?
 
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#3,195
Rocksolid said:
I expect initially I will be running my LA-1A into a THDI, or maybe a TC Shark booster into a Radial stage bug. May put it on my main board into a VT Bass Deluxe. Not the latest or greatest but all preamps that I love and have stood the test of time.

Still want a Nux...
@mostvaliant how do you like the LA into the Tone hammer?
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So I actually haven't gone into the tone hammer yet. I've only done LA-1a into HX Stomp. I was really blown away by the LA-1a compared to the Stomps model. That being said the rest of the time was spent wiring up the board. I will do more tests tomorrow and report back then!
 
#3,197
kevk said:
Just ordered one of these...
View attachment 3873999
...price is really reasonable, clips sounded nice, and the features check a lot of boxes for me. Been looking for something like this, for my latest small (#3) pb. I'm hoping all outputs have a low noise floor. If you have (or tried) one, please chime in...
Click to expand...

I'm really liking mine. Amazing sound and features for the price. Just be aware the XLR out is VERY hot. Especially with the cab sim engaged. It's a great compliment to both my amp and IEM setups.

Noise floor is great. Very quiet operation. Even without the noise gate engaged. But it's a quality gate if you have anything else in your chain that introduces noise.
 
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#3,198
kevk said:
Just ordered one of these...
View attachment 3873999
...price is really reasonable, clips sounded nice, and the features check a lot of boxes for me. Been looking for something like this, for my latest small (#3) pb. I'm hoping all outputs have a low noise floor. If you have (or tried) one, please chime in...
Click to expand...

There's a lot of love for the NUX around here. We've been talking about it here New bass preamp pedal from NUX
 
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#3,200
MascisMan said:
The level of the cab sim can be adjusted in the software so it is even with the regular signal.
Click to expand...

Except every time I unplug the power supply and plug it back in, the cab sim volumes I've changed ALWAYS return back to the factory 0dB level. Regardless of stock IR's or user loaded. I do have the latest firmware and editor versions. I've been in contact with NUX. They're aware.
 
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