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The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison

#5,442
Got my hands on a Mozztronics DI-2 courtesy of a fellow TBer. Wow, the Mozz is legit! Hooked it up to my Glockenklang Blue Soul, preceded by a Keeley Bassist at modest settings, for transparency. Into Aguilar DB112NTs (for color?). First via the 1/4” unbalanced out, quite a bit of hum. Then using an XLR-1/4” cable, sonic bliss. EQ and Bright on, controls flat. It made my Fender JB75 sound like a vintage Precision. A passive Precision sounded like pure vintage thunder with tons of heft on the E and A strings. It has that woody, percussive thump and distinctly analog (;)) bloom. Then tried an active Sadowsky - danger zone! Bright off, Ultra Low on, a little more compression, careful with the input gain. Huge tone. Will soon A/B with the Khan and Fatboy.

Darn day job, it's interfering with the important stuff: like gear hunting and bass playing.
 
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#5,444
Jesuguru said:
Also I think we also owe it to Scubaduba and others as well who have put so much time into this (and other) threads to keep the analog dream alive! Otherwise everyone may as well migrate to the Line 6 thread(s).
/s (sort of)
Click to expand...

Well, I did buy a Neural DSP Quad Cortex. But.... it was DOA. So it is heading back to Finland. So, back to the analogue goodness! :D
 
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#5,445
Jesuguru said:
Also I think we also owe it to Scubaduba and others as well who have put so much time into this (and other) threads to keep the analog dream alive! Otherwise everyone may as well migrate to the Line 6 thread(s).
/s (sort of)
Click to expand...
57b57b.jpg
 
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#5,447
I'm not getting along with the VT bass. I got it a few years ago to replace the BDDI because I read somewhere that "it's all about the mids" and the BDDI had a drive that sounded flubby and farty to my ears. But now that I'm recording hard rock/metal, I'm finding the TSE BOD (free BDDI sim) on a DI track preferable to the VT. :/
 
#5,448
The biggest differences between the Pod Go and HX are a bit of DSP processing power (for running complex effects) and the ability to do parallel paths. Oh, and the Pod Go is cheaper, has a bigger screen, more foot switches, and a vol/exp pedal.

I don’t use many effects outside of an octave and overdrive so the parallel processing and extra CPU don’t bring me anything.

I owned a Zoom B3 years ago and it sounded like simulated analog gear. Not bad, but there was a noticeable difference. The Pod Go is in another league.
 
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#5,449
As an user of both digital and analog gear I find all of them useful for different purposes. I went from Zoom B3 -> Cali76/Darkglass/OmniCabSim board -> Helix LT -> OC-2/RNDI board.

I found the digital stuff to be immensely flexible and fun but in the end I went to analog again for my live board, simply because I barely use any effects and I do play with the same band, audio engineer and mixer.

I would've probably stuck with the Helix line but after closely comparing the Helix's DI with a separate decent one, we all felt that a standalone DI provided a considerably better clean signal and offered much more control to the sound engineer, which is in an objectively better position during concerts to judge and in turn shape the bass tone.

Sure, the audience themselves can't tell which is which in an A/B comparison, but the sound guy can and will in an ideal situation and will use that extra 5% to improve the sound of the concert, which will undoubtedly have an effect on the crowd as well.

In the studio I usually go through an BAE 1073 and Distressor, which I can't praise enough, but I still use digital effects such as limiters/eq/compressors to further refine the tone, so you know... both are great! :D
 
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#5,450
HOLY CRAP!! The Sonic Farm 2Di4 is a monster in triode mode and a carnivorous beast in pentode mode! Massive heft.

Thanks Scuba. Love it.

Tonight, P bass only, through Keeley Bassist compressor and Glockenklang Blue Soul head. Can’t wait to hear what it does with a J. Or in front of a tube amp!! :bassist:
 
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#5,451
I'm still hoping to find a one preamp solution...right now I'm recording with both a Grace Alix and an old Demeter Vtbp-201 pre, and blending them. Sounds incredible, but for playing live the Demeter is a bit too much (and a rack pre) and the Alix is a bit too thin on it's own (not really...but compared to blending with tubes). Not sure what would be a good one stop solution for me...but I'm most certainly trying to avoid buying a floor tube pedal and a blender for it and the Alix....too much to carry around.
 
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#5,452
emjazz said:
I'm still hoping to find a one preamp solution...right now I'm recording with both a Grace Alix and an old Demeter Vtbp-201 pre, and blending them. Sounds incredible, but for playing live the Demeter is a bit too much (and a rack pre) and the Alix is a bit too thin on it's own (not really...but compared to blending with tubes). Not sure what would be a good one stop solution for me...but I'm most certainly trying to avoid buying a floor tube pedal and a blender for it and the Alix....too much to carry around.
Click to expand...
The Mozztronics preamp, or the Mozz tube DI, are great and compact units. If you’re just looking for tubey goodness, the super-simple Edison Nightowl is big bounce for the ounce.
 
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#5,455
R&B said:
The Mozztronics preamp, or the Mozz tube DI, are great and compact units. If you’re just looking for tubey goodness, the super-simple Edison Nightowl is big bounce for the ounce.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for the suggestions. I have a gig end of next month (FINALLY!) and I'll bring the Alix to see how I like it. It's been amazing playing duo during the past months, so it should be just as great with a group. If I decide I want something more I may try a tube something patched into the Alix first. Haven't tried that yet. I had an Edison early on. I think that they're wonderful, but they are also too compressed for what I do. It seems there are different types of compression with different tube preamps. Some feel super dynamic to me, and some just squash your signal too much (for what I do). The Edison was just on the edge of taking away too much of my dynamics...where as something like the Demeter preamp is super dynamic.
 
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#5,456
You can't miss with any of the DI/Pre's in scubaduba's list. I'm just gonna say that I have 3 Roscoe's (one was a gift from my wife) and a Tribute G&L JB-2 (another gift from my wife) and when I played the G&L at church last week, it sounded as good as my Roscoe's. My board is an Empress MkII Compressor to a REDDI. I think I could plug in anything and sound good. Makes me rethink my spending on basses. I should have ponied up for the great DI and compressor 20 years ago.
 
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#5,457
SteveC said:
You can't miss with any of the DI/Pre's in scubaduba's list. I'm just gonna say that I have 3 Roscoe's (one was a gift from my wife) and a Tribute G&L JB-2 (another gift from my wife) and when I played the G&L at church last week, it sounded as good as my Roscoe's. My board is an Empress MkII Compressor to a REDDI. I think I could plug in anything and sound good. Makes me rethink my spending on basses. I should have ponied up for the great DI and compressor 20 years ago.
Click to expand...

I would agree that the Empress Bass Compressor into a REDDI would make for a killer foundation for any bass.
 
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#5,458
SteveC said:
Makes me rethink my spending on basses. I should have ponied up for the great DI and compressor 20 years ago.
Click to expand...
Word. :facepalm:

In my case, 9 years ago. And now, thanks to this thread and my GAS, I will also have opportunity to critique my spending on compressors and DIs too!!
 
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#5,460
For anybody looking for a more pedalboard friendly DI/preamp that reminds me of a cross between the Noble and REDDI is the WRA Goliath. Super versatile EQ and offers more pillow-like tone or strong fundamental. It can have grunt or be more smooth, but never really dirty (which is true of both the Noble and REDDI) — harmonically rich. Uses an ECC86. Mine came stocked with an old Telefunken.
 
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