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The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison

#5,201
OOF. 260 pages, and this topic (a necrothread from three years ago!) isn't talked to death?

TBPH, as far as I am concerned, hands down the best DI box in the world is the Countryman Type 85. I always bring it to gigs, wether I am playing or engineering, because in a pinch a Type 85 direct to PA will save your ass in the event of amp failure in style with great tone.

I've never had my amp fail to that point, but I've had times when bands would show up and the bassist had no amp. Out comes the trusty Type 85, and I make them sound better than they would if they'd brought an amp, anyway, because I'm good at what I do.

My bass pedalboard actually has two preamp/DIs on it, the Boss AD-2 Acoustic Preamp and the Boss BB-1X Bass Driver, but I recently added a DSM/Humboldt Simplifier to my guitar board, and I am planning on added the Simplifier Bass Station version to my bass board as soon as I can.

The bottom line is, there are *tons* of excellent preamp/DIs on the market, any number of which I'd love to have on my pedalboard, but there's only so much space in the world. Units I would totally love to own and use:

Mesa Subway DIs
Tech21NYC SansAmp Bass Driver DI v2
Tech21NYC SansAmp Para Driver DI v2
Tech21NYC VT Bass DI v2
Tech21NYC Q\Strip
Fishman Platinum PRO EQ/DI
Darkglass Microtubes B7K Ultra v2 (their reputation is for distortion, but run clean these units are even better)

You cannot go wrong with anyone of these, and I'm sure there are many, many others that are just as good, but all of these units are proven, too.
 
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#5,203
amper said:
OOF. 260 pages, and this topic (a necrothread from three years ago!) isn't talked to death?

TBPH, as far as I am concerned, hands down the best DI box in the world is the Countryman Type 85. I always bring it to gigs, wether I am playing or engineering, because in a pinch a Type 85 direct to PA will save your ass in the event of amp failure in style with great tone.

I've never had my amp fail to that point, but I've had times when bands would show up and the bassist had no amp. Out comes the trusty Type 85, and I make them sound better than they would if they'd brought an amp, anyway, because I'm good at what I do.

My bass pedalboard actually has two preamp/DIs on it, the Boss AD-2 Acoustic Preamp and the Boss BB-1X Bass Driver, but I recently added a DSM/Humboldt Simplifier to my guitar board, and I am planning on added the Simplifier Bass Station version to my bass board as soon as I can.

The bottom line is, there are *tons* of excellent preamp/DIs on the market, any number of which I'd love to have on my pedalboard, but there's only so much space in the world. Units I would totally love to own and use:

Mesa Subway DIs
Tech21NYC SansAmp Bass Driver DI v2
Tech21NYC SansAmp Para Driver DI v2
Tech21NYC VT Bass DI v2
Tech21NYC Q\Strip
Fishman Platinum PRO EQ/DI
Darkglass Microtubes B7K Ultra v2 (their reputation is for distortion, but run clean these units are even better)

You cannot go wrong with anyone of these, and I'm sure there are many, many others that are just as good, but all of these units are proven, too.
Click to expand...
Because not all people have decades of experience. Because new products features show up all the time. Because more people are looking into amp less / silent stage going forward.
 
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#5,204
/\/\3phist0 said:
OMG the Two Notes Torpedo CAB M+ is freaking awesome sauce .
The preamp model , and poweramp are really impressive.
I bought the Mesa Subway IR pack , oh so good!
Hooked it up to a channel on the PA set completely flat EQ.
MUCH better -- juicy. Sounds to me like my Mesa Rig did when standing in front of it.
For the moment I'm going to forego getting a preamp to put in front of it.
The models in the CAB m + are clean and super flexible.
The Power Amp model is fantastic. Tubey goodness. So far like 6l6 pp in pentode, and the KT88 pp in triode mode with the gain cranked- just saggy, and wooly.
The EQ in custom mode, has an HPF/LPF and 3 band parametric.
the "Enhancer" has a bit of BBE sonic maximizer vibe to it, and a built in compressor that is very serviceable.

The Torpedo Cab remote software is nice, but a UI redesign would make it nicer.
Pretty pictures of the room the cab is in is nice to look at, but the menus are small, as are the control knobs.
bad tradeoff :( However: the onboard interface is manageable.

I picked up a Caline CP-12 Pure Sky overdrive for 34.00 , Sounds really good, and pretty quiet.
A Keely special edition 4 knob compressor enroute. (also in a sky blue finish)
Dug out my small Gator board , and a cheapo tuner pedal, connected my Shure receiver.

Too early to tell, but I'm feeling like my real rig is going to collect dust, and likely get moved on.
(replaced with a high end powered speaker)

How nice to have a Mic'd cab sound come out of the PA :) without the mic, and amp, and cabinet.

It is truly a truly convincing sounds very real.
View attachment 4215416
Click to expand...
Update: the Keely is installed.
Durn purdy with that sky blue
20210325_175419.jpg
 
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#5,214
Nihilistic Milk said:
Is anyone aware of a preamp pedal (doesn't need to have a DI) that sounds like a B15? Thanks.
Click to expand...
Broughton Fliptop. A bit hard to come by, but a few have popped up in the classifieds lately. It's as B15-ey as anything I've ever heard. Barber Linden is also a good one, but is less B15-ey than the Fliptop, for better or worse.
 
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