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The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison

#3,881
WillyW said:
Got these on the way... how'd I do?

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SteveC said:
Tube Works is good stuff.
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+1 to @SteveC. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the BlueTube.

I put a 12AU7 in mine and it's killer. Good thick warm sound, and the 12AU7 smoothed out the Gain knob and gave it more headroom. I do wish it was a tad more pedalboard friendly though with that hardwired power cable. But... Not the end of the world! Maybe I should revisit and see if I can work mine into my current board just for fun.

I also tried a RealTube and it wasn't as warm as the BlueTube

A bit of Trivia:
Genz Benz bought Tube Works from Butler in the 90's before they discontinuing the brand in the 2000's, but Butler has been making the Tube Driver for a while. Never tried one of these though, so not sure how close it is to the BlueTube.

5sg.

Tubeworks BlueTube.jpg
 
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#3,882
fivestringgecko said:
+1 to @SteveC. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the BlueTube.

I put a 12AU7 in mine and it's killer. Good thick warm sound. I do wish it was a tad more pedalboard friendly though with that hardwired power cable. But... Not the end of the world!

5sg.

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it doesn't look like I'm getting it from someone with a musical background, kinda like a pawnshop type store off eBay, so I'll see what tube it has in it already. Got it cheap enough to afford another tube.

I wanted to add a dedicated power strip to my board anyway so the power cord will be less of an inconvenience.
 
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#3,883
WillyW said:
it doesn't look like I'm getting it from someone with a musical background, kinda like a pawnshop type store off eBay, so I'll see what tube it has in it already. Got it cheap enough to afford another tube.

I wanted to add a dedicated power strip to my board anyway so the power cord will be less of an inconvenience.
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tubedepot.com is where I usually look for tubes. Some buy on Reverb. Do some research first. Maybe try a few different tubes?
 
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#3,885
fivestringgecko said:
+1 to @SteveC. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the BlueTube.

I put a 12AU7 in mine and it's killer. Good thick warm sound, and the 12AU7 smoothed out the Gain knob and gave it more headroom. I do wish it was a tad more pedalboard friendly though with that hardwired power cable. But... Not the end of the world! Maybe I should revisit and see if I can work mine into my current board just for fun.

I also tried a RealTube and it wasn't as warm as the BlueTube

A bit of Trivia:
Genz Benz bought Tube Works from Butler in the 90's before they discontinuing the brand in the 2000's, but Butler has been making the Tube Driver for a while. Never tried one of these though, so not sure how close it is to the BlueTube.

5sg.

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Interesting. There is one of these available local to me.

I think if I were using on a pedal board I'd cut the plug off and fit an IEC socket and use a Y cable like we were discussing earlier in the thread for the Oracle.
 
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#3,886
Regarding the debate of Preamp on or off your board - I think the SLO, Oracle, Tech21 DI-2112, Noble, and Shaw (the last 2 maybe an exception due to their ability to power pedals) are probably just at home on your amp as they don't have a switch to activate them, they are always on.

I plugged in my Neutrik Micro DI last night to see if I could use it to squeeze onto my board when going IEM only and it was noisy. It was in with my PA gear and I have used it before - but can't recall if it had a noise issue. Very annoying. I got it apart but can't see any obvious issues. Will send it to my Tech next I have something else for repair. was going to replace it with the DBBLOX the @scubaduba posted about on here but the price with freight to Australia is a little off putting for what it is.

Ended up Ordering an Orchid Micro DI from the UK. I've read excellent reports about these more than once and I almost ordered one a while back but didn't. Not sure why. Anyway, I have one incoming now. It is active which isn't what I prefer, but isn't a deal breaker. One of these with a Sushi Box PA might be a viable option for you @SteveC ?
Micro DI Box

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#3,888
MascisMan said:
I am enjoying mine
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Dropped the Gold Lion in this evening and I am loving it. Very warm indeed. First ever tube rolling experiment was a success. I was worried that that warmth might come at the expense of clarity but that's not the case.

I love the JJ and it's got great clarity and a really sweet and open top end and only decided to swap out of shear curiosity. The Gold Lion brings out even more the vintage aspect from the Oracle. Haven't really got to crank it up or record any samples yet but so far I can tell I'm able to get some nice creamy break up out of it. I'm guessing that's due to not choosing the high gain option. Both are great and it's cool to hear how different the character can be just from a quick tube swap. Will be keeping the JJ handy. It's a great tube and nice to have a back up on hand. May get a second Gold Lion with the high gain option added to A/B the two head to head and see how much difference it makes.

Another thing I'm finding is that the Oracle really shines when running it with sealed cabs. That pillowy bloom just stays in tact so nicely and has that added punch from a sealed cab. It still sounds great with my Aggie DB212...but it kills when running through my Berg NV212 or an Ampeg 810.
 
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#3,889
WillyW said:
Butler/Benz... So the company has changed hands? Is there any difference in the different generations?

most I have seen have the black knobs, mine has the silver.
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There's not a ton of information out there, but near as I can tell, it seems that Genz Benz bought the Tube Works brand from Butler in the early to mid 90's, and then later discontinued it in the early 2000's. I'm unclear if Genz was actually producing the Tube Works gear though, or if they just bought the brand to possibly incorporate the designs in the the Genz Benz gear.

For the pedal itself, it seems like there were some minor changes to the Blue Tube along the way with things like graphics or knobs, but the pedal version has always been the Tube Works 903 Blue Tube. (There was a rack mount version as well, the 904 Blue Tube.) There's some more history on it here if you're interested. Mine has a date stamp of 9/19/95 and says it was made in Denver.

Tube Works also made the 901 Real Tube, which had much more gain than the Blue Tube. I tried one and it wasn't for me... The Blue is much warmer, so I moved the Real along.

Now, if you want to get even more nerdy... I've always kinda been keeping my eye out for a Tube Works Pure Tube Smooth, but haven't had the opportunity to snag one yet. Supposedly it's the same Blue Tube circuit, but in a much more "conversation piece" enclosure. lol

5sg.

BT Serial.jpg
 
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#3,890
Update on the Budget Baby Board Testing
I had hoped to bring you guys some sound clips by now, but I've hit a bit of a snag.

The RNDI needs phantom power, which is no problem as my mixer can provide it. The issue is when I turn on phantom power the NuX goes crazy. Sounds like an alien spacecraft landing. I upgraded the firmware, but that didn't help. I tried the ground lift...no good. I've reached out to NuX customer service to see if they have any suggestions. The cab sim no longer works since upgrading the firmware, and the new software now says I have the wrong version of the firmware. So the NuX has some growing pain with the new firmware. There is something to be said for analog simplicity.

Long story short, I can't run them both at the same time unless I get a phantom power injector for the RNDI or an external DI for the NuX. So I've ordered up a Radial ProDI (which will probably be better than the one built in the NuX) that should be here in a day or two. Then I can run the phantom power on my board to feed the RNDI and do some recording.

I have the signal split with a JHS buffered splitter and both boards are run to the mixer...each on its own channel. Once I get the DI in, I'll be able to record some clips that with both boards.

Becos and Edison
The Becos compressor is pretty good. Very transparent and doesn't impart any "tone" that I can tell. I can tell you that the side chain works GREAT. When set to "deep" it doesn't compress the lows as much and it's fantastic!! With the Edison tube booster feeding the compressor it sounds really good. I am going to record some clips of the various pedals on the baby board. I was able to purchase each of them for $150 or less (except the Becos which was a bit more expensive because I couldn't find a used one...I think it was about $170 all total). It really sounds good for what I have in it.

Clips coming soon!
 
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#3,893
MascisMan said:
Why are you feeding the mixer with the RNDI when the NuX has an XLR out?
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Because I'm running BOTH my boards. My premium high end component board, and my budget board. Both to their own channel. The RNDI is getting fed by my Oracle and the NuX is using its built in DI.
 
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#3,896
MascisMan said:
Gotcha!

Yep, the NuX does NOT like phantom power....especially in a live setting....Don't ask how I know..
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Well, I have it connected with a 1/4" cable to my mixer right now and I'm running both. Switching back and forth I'm getting the Baby Board dialed in the way I like it. I'm having a hard time getting it "just right". The dang Oracle is so freakin good. I have some more tweaking to do. Might give the cab/amp sims a go too just to see how that sounds. Might as well use every feature of the NuX I can to give it a fair shot.
 
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#3,899
fivestringgecko said:
A nice update. I'll be particularly interested in clips of the Edison. :thumbsup:

5sg.
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I'm still tweaking the Baby Board. The compressor, Edison, and Nux all play together nicely, but the Edison has some natural compression, then the compressor, then the NuX....I am dialing back some of the squish and trying to lighten it up a bit without it being too fat, or too thin.

I've gone "ear blind" for right now, so I need to let my hearing level back out and then I'll tweak some more. I've got the new board sounding really good...when I randomly switch back and forth, then both sound good, but still a bit different.

This Baby Board really is cheating a bit since I have the Edison tube pre on it. That makes a colossal difference, but it's still not quite is sweet as the Oracle.
 
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#3,900
chadhargis said:
This Baby Board really is cheating a bit since I have the Edison tube pre on it. That makes a colossal difference, but it's still not quite is sweet as the Oracle.
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Well, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's looking forward to your audio samples! Totally get the "ear blind" thing though!

I think after all my window shopping and research, I've settled on the mindset that I will (most likely) pick up an Oracle as an all-in-one tube preamp. But until then, I'm thinking that I'd really like to check out the Edison to see how it combos with my Qstrip, as others suggested earlier in this thread. I know it wouldn't be the same since the combo wouldn't have a tube gain option, but the Edison is also less expensive and would "tide me over" until I can pick up an Oracle. :)

5sg.
 
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