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The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison

#3,741
fivestringgecko said:
I'd have to second this. The first thing I did was plug in my Jazz bass of course, but I was pretty surprised at how killer it sounded when I plugged in my Pbass and started exploring sounds other than "Geddy."

@jacoby75's comment above about the DI2112 as a base platform brings up a curiosity question:
I've always run my preamps last for final EQ/DI purposes, but for those preamps without a DI... like the current Oracle, Linden or even Beezlebub for example... How many people here have (or do) run preamps at the beginning of their chain for a base tone, and then go to the rest of their signal chain? Obviously it can get into the age old "whatever works best for you" discussion, but I'm curious about people's thoughts and personal experiences/reasoning.

5sg.
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I personally always run mine (SVPre, Linden, and recently Broughton Silver Deluxe) last because I tend to run ampless. That way the preamps - theoretically - respond to things I run before them like dirt pedals in an amp-like way. Plus, then I can boost my overall output to the board or amp with my preamps and not worry about the increased gain of the preamps making the drive pedals "drivier" or "fartier."
 
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#3,745
fivestringgecko said:
How many people here have (or do) run preamps at the beginning of their chain for a base tone, and then go to the rest of their signal chain? Obviously it can get into the age old "whatever works best for you" discussion, but I'm curious about people's thoughts and personal experiences/reasoning.
Click to expand...

I have one at each end. I run the Linden 2nd in my chain (comp is first) to EQ my base tone (since I'm only playing passive basses without active EQ)....then run my Grizzly near the end for more amp like color/slight breakup (and so I can use the LPF/high-cut after my dirt as a sort of speaker emulation when I'm going direct and using IEMs).
 
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#3,746
Dark Horse said:
Sparrow is 59 or less new on amazon or eBay currently.
I got mine for less than that brand new :)

I got it as an "emergency pedal"
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Call me what you will, but I just can't go from my $2,700 bass, to my $460 tube compressor to a $60 preamp/DI. I know, shallow, materialistic. I read somewhere your DI should be like 5:1 cost of your bass. Every $5 on your bass means $2 on your DI. Like the 2 month engagement ring rule. That's a $400 - $600 DI for me.
 
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#3,747
SteveC said:
Call me what you will, but I just can't go from my $2,700 bass, to my $460 tube compressor to a $60 preamp/DI. I know, shallow, materialistic. I read somewhere your DI should be like 1/4 or 1/5 the cost of your bass. Like the 2 month engagement ring rule.
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Nothing wrong with that.

But like I say, I bought it for emergencies. If gear goes down, is stolen, etc..... this serves as an emergency backup. At 200+ gigs per year, that's plenty of chances for failure. And honestly, nobody in the audience actually hears a difference between a $70 pedal and a $700 pedal.... it's more for the player. I used to carry a REDDI around, and Soundmen loved it. But nobody in the audience could tell a difference between it and a radial ....
 
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#3,748
Dark Horse said:
Nothing wrong with that.

But like I say, I bought it for emergencies. If gear goes down, is stolen, etc..... this serves as an emergency backup. At 200+ gigs per year, that's plenty of chances for failure. And honestly, nobody in the audience actually hears a difference between a $70 pedal and a $700 pedal.... it's more for the player. I used to carry a REDDI around, and Soundmen loved it. But nobody in the audience could tell a difference between it and a radial ....
Click to expand...

Right. I don't play more than about 20 shows (when it's normal) a year. I agree very few things are audible by the crowd, and much of what we do is for us. I will say that when I added my LA-1A that it was noticeable by even the least likely of people. That is the only time I recall that big of a difference in my sound to someone other than myself.

Now if I could find a Preamp/DI that would have the same effect for me - and others - that would be awesome.
 
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#3,751
SteveC said:
Right. I don't play more than about 20 shows (when it's normal) a year. I agree very few things are audible by the crowd, and much of what we do is for us. I will say that when I added my LA-1A that it was noticeable by even the least likely of people. That is the only time I recall that big of a difference in my sound to someone other than myself.

Now if I could find a Preamp/DI that would have the same effect for me - and others - that would be awesome.
Click to expand...


I love my Union Tube & Transistor LAB, but now you've got me wanting to check out the LA-1A :P
 
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#3,756
SteveC said:
Call me what you will, but I just can't go from my $2,700 bass, to my $460 tube compressor to a $60 preamp/DI. I know, shallow, materialistic. I read somewhere your DI should be like 5:1 cost of your bass. Every $5 on your bass means $2 on your DI. Like the 2 month engagement ring rule. That's a $400 - $600 DI for me.
Click to expand...
Cool, I now conversely have a basis to tell my other half that I should order this real expensive Dingwall I was dreaming about. Thanks Jule!
 
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#3,758
Dark Horse said:
So .... let's say you had up to $500 to buy a preamp/di for "general usage" in a variety of live gigs ... sending signal to FOH and to your IEM rig. What one would YOU go with ?
Click to expand...

Easy. Shift Line Olympic Mk3s. Period. I've had $1000 preamps and the SLO is almost as good.

I also like the NuX. I'm currently building a budget baby board centered around the NuX. All components were around $150 each.
 
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#3,759
jacoby75 said:
I personally always run mine (SVPre, Linden, and recently Broughton Silver Deluxe) last because I tend to run ampless. That way the preamps - theoretically - respond to things I run before them like dirt pedals in an amp-like way. Plus, then I can boost my overall output to the board or amp with my preamps and not worry about the increased gain of the preamps making the drive pedals "drivier" or "fartier."
Click to expand...

Eadger said:
I have one at each end. I run the Linden 2nd in my chain (comp is first) to EQ my base tone (since I'm only playing passive basses without active EQ)....then run my Grizzly near the end for more amp like color/slight breakup (and so I can use the LPF/high-cut after my dirt as a sort of speaker emulation when I'm going direct and using IEMs).
Click to expand...

Both of these make total sense. I was just curious to see what people say... I personally also run my preamp at the end, but it makes sense to have a tone shaper up front as well. With some extra (no gigs) time with Covid, I guess I could just start tinkering with various builds, eh? :thumbsup:

5sg.
 
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