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The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison
- Thread starter chadhargis
- Start date
jacoby75
Supporting Member
- Mar 11, 2010
- 5,661
- 10,716
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Mike Lull Custom Guitars, DR Strings
Lol. Sorry. That one's not going anywhere. That's part of the half that would stay.
Looks nice and simple. And made in Canada. Can't wait to hear what you think about it.
Have you tried the REDDI?
I listened to a couple clips. The Sonic Farm is nice, but there’s something about the REDDI...I may need to try it again. Not sure I was ready the first time. I didn’t like the sound of a P bass until recently, either.
Isn't that kind of like saying have you tried the Noble? Both are great at what they do, but if you want to adjust it, there's really not much adjustment. One trick ponies as far as I'm concerned. And the REDDI is not very versatile. It's very difficult to just plug into an amp.
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Yeah, the one think that keeps me from trying it again is the limited ability to make adjustments. However, I used a JDI for a long time and that has very little adjustment as well.
Hey @fivestringgecko (or anybody else that cares), here are a coupla clips of the Triode Beelzebub. Lakland 44-02 with Barts and well worn nickel rounds. EQ and Blend centered. No other EQ or compression.
The track I played along to is hard panned. These old R+B stereo recordings would sometimes have bass on one side and drums on the other. I panned to the drum side which also takes out some other instruments and vox, but you'll get an idea of how the bass sits in the mix. Other mixes? Not sure.
First verse is the Lakie with no Beelzebub. Second verse is the Beelzebub in Drone mode (full range). Third verse is the 'Bub in Queen mode which, to my ear, cuts some bottom and accentuates the upper mids. Fourth verse is back to Drone mode but sent to a Tone Hammer DI with the AGS engaged, Gain allllll the way down and all EQ at noon.
I tried my darndest to get the levels of all the verses to be the same. Took me quite a few attempts but I think this is pretty good. I also tried to get the bass to the level of the original recording in the first clip. The second clip is the same recording with the bass mixed a bit louder.
Hopefully the censors won't take this down right away? Enjoy!
The track I played along to is hard panned. These old R+B stereo recordings would sometimes have bass on one side and drums on the other. I panned to the drum side which also takes out some other instruments and vox, but you'll get an idea of how the bass sits in the mix. Other mixes? Not sure.
First verse is the Lakie with no Beelzebub. Second verse is the Beelzebub in Drone mode (full range). Third verse is the 'Bub in Queen mode which, to my ear, cuts some bottom and accentuates the upper mids. Fourth verse is back to Drone mode but sent to a Tone Hammer DI with the AGS engaged, Gain allllll the way down and all EQ at noon.
I tried my darndest to get the levels of all the verses to be the same. Took me quite a few attempts but I think this is pretty good. I also tried to get the bass to the level of the original recording in the first clip. The second clip is the same recording with the bass mixed a bit louder.
Hopefully the censors won't take this down right away? Enjoy!
I see what you're saying. The way I saw it was:
1) I'm recording; I want the EQ to be as flat as possible so I can adjust it in Logic.
2) I'm playing live with a PA system; I want to send a pre-EQ signal to FOH so the sound man can EQ.
3) I'm playing with my amplifier; I will use the EQ on my amplifier since I have a great hybrid amp (Mesa WD-800).
I didn't think about using the preamp into an amplifier's "return." I always use the backline if there's one available. Nobody at the bar will hear the difference between the backline and a tube preamp, especially when drinking is involved. And I'm always worried someone will drop a drink on my gear (it's happened before), so I wouldn't want to bring a $500+ pedal at a gig.
I guess it could use it at brand practice since no drinking is involved and I'm not all that keen on the Aguilar there.
Everybody's got (a) different use case(s).
I don't really record. I should play around with that more.
I may play out once every 2 - 5 or 10 years, when (if) my old band gets back together for outdoor festivals. Currently I don't even have an amp.
I play once or twice a month at church, but our normal sound guy in my opinion doesn't mix bass very well, pretty much just sets levels across the board it seems, so I try to give them something good.
My last amp was a Crest, so I needed a good preamp into that. As I'm trying to downsize, I'll probably go with something like a Quilter BB800 next, and plug my pedalboard into that.
It's good that there is such a variety of great tools available for bassists!
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I have a $460 compressor I take out live. I bring a few thousand dollars in basses our live. I have stuff to play and use, not sit at home. If it makes my basses sound better in the house and my IEM’s I’m fine using it.
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Agree...That's what insurance is for IMO! I don't want to leave the good stuff at home. That's like leaving your best tone at home. Audience probably won't know the difference but I do and having the tone dialed is what makes it easy to sit back and get into the performance.
