• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison

#501
After some reading up on how the EQ works on the SLO and dialing it in....well....um....It's good! Really really good. It's not better than the Shaw, but I can make it sound as good...and the SLO does a better job of giving you some break up if you dial in the gain.

Here is a clip of me playing some scales so you can hear different frequency ranges. Both clips are recorded from a TC Electronics Ditto looper so the same playing dynamics and such are heard in both clips. They are also going directly to each preamp...no other pedals in between other than a tuner. Each preamp is going XLR out to my A&H ZEDi10 mixer into garage band with no processing. There is no cab sim engaged on the SLO and the treble switch is in the "neutral" position.

The bass is a Dingwall combustion. I used it because it is the fullest range "modern" sounding bass I have which will show the mid scoop thing better than any of my others. It's also active so the high end is a bit brighter.

Ya'll....this little preamp is a strong contender. I thought it might be a bit of snake oil...but it's good. Will it boot the Shaw off my board. Eh...I don't know. The Shaw's DIs are top notch and it has a 9v power supply built in too. At this point, it's going to come down to features, not sound.

I'm going to need to spend some time with the the SLO and play with some cab sims too. But I can safely say...the SLO is all it's cracked up to be. I've owned a Noble too...and the SLO is punching above its weight.



 
  • Like
Reactions: BrentSimons, Mr. voodoobass, Turn Em Loose and 6 others
#503
Kenneth92 said:
Has anyone here has had the chance to compare the two notes le bass with the shift line Mkiii?
Click to expand...

I had a LeBass and if you are really into heavy distortion, you'll love that pedal. The hot & cold fusion modes are really nice. But for clean tones...it's good. But not as good as others...and in my experience...not in the same league with the Shift Line. The cab sim on the LeBass was pretty muddy sounding too.

I didn't much care for the EQ on the LeBass. I have some clips of it back early in the thread.

I was convinced the Noble was the holy grail...but the Shaw had more features and sounded just as good. The SLO is really tugging at me. If I set them up similar, they both sound fantastic. Where the SLO starts to eek out ahead is the FX loop, the SD card slot to load cab sims, more midrange control, and you can get some overdrive with the gain knob.

The only down side I've found on the SLO so far is it pops loudly when you power on or power off. The Shaw doesn't do that. The SLO also gets fairly warm. Not an issue...it won't really burn you...but I'd make sure it had plenty of air circulating around it.
 
#504
I've found my holy grail in the Quilter Interbass 45. A great recorded sound through the balanced line out, vintage setting with cab sim or modern setting without. It is also a loud 45w amp in a package not much bigger than a Boss pedal overall. The 24v power supply is quite big though but fits under a pedalboard ok. Tubey sound full of character.
I love it with flatwound basses especially although it sounds great with rounds too.
Other preamp DI's I own are the Two Notes Le Bass, Basswitch DI eq and Dave Hall VT1. I also have a Fishman Platinum Bass and a Basswitch Classic Boost, all very good but the Quilter is perfect.
IMG_20190910_082802.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: b15fliptop, Mushroo, BrentSimons and 4 others
#505
@chadhargis...you’ve really got me wanting a Shaw pedal now. Won’t get one til next year but it’s now a must have item for me. Heard about this pedal for awhile now, but finally took a good look at their site and the videos out there. And they’re only a few hours away from me, too. Gonna have to pay the sales tax on it but I feel that’s a small matter considering how great a product it is.
 
#506
sonofshel said:
@chadhargis...you’ve really got me wanting a Shaw pedal now. Won’t get one til next year but it’s now a must have item for me. Heard about this pedal for awhile now, but finally took a good look at their site and the videos out there. And they’re only a few hours away from me, too. Gonna have to pay the sales tax on it but I feel that’s a small matter considering how great a product it is.
Click to expand...

It's an excellent piece of gear and Kevin Shaw is a great guy as is his bass playing son Ben.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sonofshel
#507
Welp...I listed my Shaw Tube Injection in the classifieds and I'm keeping the Shift Line Olympic. Why? Well...the Shaw is a better preamp. But for a live player like me, size and weight matter a great deal. The SLO is lighter, smaller, and has a few more bells and whistles that an amateur hack like can appreciate.

I need to upgrade my power supply to push the SLO. Replaced my Ciocks DC5 with an Eventide PowerMax (basically a Ciocks DC7). The SLO requires 12v at 650ma so I have to use two outlets at 12v that sum the amperage to 1000ma.


Here's the reconfigured board:

IMG_0608.jpeg

IMG_0609.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: friend33, cosmicevan, Rickter and 5 others
#508
chadhargis said:
Welp...I listed my Shaw Tube Injection in the classifieds and I'm keeping the Shift Line Olympic. Why? Well...the Shaw is a better preamp. But for a live player like me, size and weight matter a great deal. The SLO is lighter, smaller, and has a few more bells and whistles that an amateur hack like can appreciate.

I need to upgrade my power supply to push the SLO. Replaced my Ciocks DC5 with an Eventide PowerMax (basically a Ciocks DC7). The SLO requires 12v at 650ma so I have to use two outlets at 12v that sum the amperage to 1000ma.


Here's the reconfigured board:

View attachment 3561340
View attachment 3561341
Click to expand...

and are those your "Shaw" settings on the SLO ?

That's a pretty good endorsement right there.

Shaw better than the Noble. SLO similar to Shaw, but more compact.

Piques my interest ...
 
  • Like
Reactions: BrentSimons
#509
tedsalt said:
and are those your "Shaw" settings on the SLO ?
Click to expand...

I'd say it's close to the Shaw. The Shaw has a switch called "Fat", and when you flip that switch marvelous things happen. Bumping up the bass control a bit and flipping the "Mid" switch to the middle position provides a warm, rich bottom end including a nice low mid bump.

The SLO has Bass, Mid, and Treble controls...but from what I read they are "passive" meaning they are cut only. So all three controls full up was way to much treble. I rolled back all the treble on the SLO which caused the bottom end to be a little woofy, so I rolled back the bass and mids some. Sadly, the SLO is a bit mid scooped...which I don't mind, but I don't want that "smiley face" EQ tone.

In a mix, you can't tell the difference. They both sounded great. I recorded a loop on my looper pedal and did an A/B comparison between the two. I preferred the Shaw, but if you brought me in a room, tossed some headphones on me and played a line through either the Shaw or the SLO I don't know that I'd be able to tell you which was which.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tedsalt
#510
I have the Shaw as well. I love how it sounds. It's form factor is a bit bulky but, thats okay for me.
0703192334_HDR.jpg
but, I also picked up the Broughton Messenger.
1003192210_HDR.jpg
to use when I want a clean preamp. I like to color my tone before the pre. The Baby Sumo is such a fine power amp. Clean and crisp. Diffrent gigs for diffrent tones.
 
  • Like
Reactions: friend33, cosmicevan, Ethereal Thorn and 4 others
#511
chadhargis said:
The SLO has Bass, Mid, and Treble controls...but from what I read they are "passive" meaning they are cut only. So all three controls full up was way to much treble. I rolled back all the treble on the SLO which caused the bottom end to be a little woofy, so I rolled back the bass and mids some. Sadly, the SLO is a bit mid scooped...which I don't mind, but I don't want that "smiley face" EQ tone.
Click to expand...

Passive EQ is flat in position B 0, M full, T 0. Maybe you should start here. And SLO is build with small mid boost I think.
 
#513
SteveBassJr said:
I have the Shaw as well. I love how it sounds. It's form factor is a bit bulky but, thats okay for me.View attachment 3561848 but, I also picked up the Broughton Messenger.View attachment 3561852to use when I want a clean preamp. I like to color my tone before the pre. The Baby Sumo is such a fine power amp. Clean and crisp. Diffrent gigs for diffrent tones.
Click to expand...
What is the big black box on the left?
 
  • Like
Reactions: BrentSimons
#515
I went back through this thread and listened to my demos and re-read what I wrote in my reviews.

To put it mildly...I've come a long way. I went from simple, to wildly complex, back to simple. Through my experimentation I've learned what gear I really like. As much as I love to tinker, I have discovered I don't like having lots of options as I tend to obsess and continually tweak in search of the "perfect" tone which I find, then the next day think, "I can do better!".

Most shocking revelation throughout this preamp experiment was how good the Shift Line Olympic MkIIIs is. I wasn't expecting it to go toe to toe with the like of Noble and Shaw...but it did. Really shocking.

I still want to give the Nordstrand Starlifter a shot. I hear it's an amazing preamp. Knowing Carey Nordstrand...it will be of the highest quality.

I'm a total gear slut, so I'm sure I'll keep trying new things. The quest for cool gear never seems to end.
 
  • Like
Reactions: friend33, Turn Em Loose, TheLopp and 7 others
#517
The API looks great except for a few things.
1. Size
2. The DI out is going to be very hot. I don't think there is a way to change that.
3. Compression stage: has a very fast attack which will not be great for any bassist looking for initial transient to get through on the attack. Also, no unity gain to restore lost volume at higher compression
 
#519
ThisYouCanTrust said:
Not interested in testing the bassics bpa1 or the api tranzformer ?
Or did you test them already and I missed it somehow ?
Click to expand...

I've not been able to try the Bassics unit, but I have spent some time with the API Tranzformer. I love API stuff, but as an all-in-one compressor/EQ unit...I was a little underwhelmed. I only got to spend about 10 minutes with it, and it sounded fine, but didn't just blow me away. I'd have bought it if it did. I could have gotten a sweet deal on it at GearFest.

I'd also love to find a GK Plex to test.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BrentSimons
#520
chadhargis said:
As much as I love to tinker, I have discovered I don't like having lots of options as I tend to obsess and continually tweak in search of the "perfect" tone which I find, then the next day think, "I can do better!".
Click to expand...
Same for me. I went through the exact same experience.
chadhargis said:
Most shocking revelation throughout this preamp experiment was how good the Shift Line Olympic MkIIIs is. I wasn't expecting it to go toe to toe with the like of Noble and Shaw...but it did. Really shocking.
Click to expand...
I agree. You have plenty of options and controls, but the overall use is simple and easy to use.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back