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The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison

#5,701
As I have the rig I like the sound of. I have been using a Radial JDX 48 Amp DI. Used it on a "fly away" show and with a SVT CL and 8x10 that was the supplied backline and during sound check I walked down from the stage and like "advertised" it was like a mic in front of the cab.
I called Radial when I got home and after that talk I'm more than happy and many FOH engineers seem to like it.
Now, not a pre-amp / DI but I use a Tech 21 / RPM to add to my GK 700's sound and if I use my SVT just the DI.
Worth a try for a "basic" DI I think anyway.
 
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#5,703
SteveC said:
I'm surprised how "tubey" the Pod Go comes to the Ampeg.
Click to expand...

chadhargis said:
Yes! The Pod Go really blew me away.
Click to expand...
I used an HX Stomp for a long time and really liked it, but wanted more footswitches so I got an HX Stomp XL. And despite the fact that (on paper) it's exactly what I wanted, and it sounded exactly the same as the HX Stomp that I enjoyed so much - for whatever reason I just never bonded with the XL.

The POD Go is less capable, but sounds just as good, and the form factor is better.
All I really needed was a decent headphone amp with an Aux input, but this does that and SO much more.

But a huge benefit to me, that I forgot how much I used, is the "Simple Pitch" effect:
I have a couple patches set up that virtually drop-tune my bass by a half step or a whole step.
That way, I don't need to re-tune when I learn songs that were originally played in an alternate tuning.
Added bonus - I haven't established any bad habits when I go back to playing the songs in standard.

Then throw-in a really precise tuner, an IR loader, and all of the amps sims and effects...

The HX Stomp are "rare as hens teeth" at the moment, but there are plenty of used POD Go on the market.
I got mine used from Guitar Center for a great price, and it showed up in like-new condition, in the original packaging, with all of the original accessories - for about the cost of 2 stomp boxes.
 
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#5,704
groovaholic said:
I used an HX Stomp for a long time and really liked it, but wanted more footswitches so I got an HX Stomp XL. And despite the fact that (on paper) it's exactly what I wanted, and it sounded exactly the same as the HX Stomp that I enjoyed so much - for whatever reason I just never bonded with the XL.

The POD Go is less capable, but sounds just as good, and the form factor is better.
All I really needed was a decent headphone amp with an Aux input, but this does that and SO much more.

But a huge benefit to me, that I forgot how much I used, is the "Simple Pitch" effect:
I have a couple patches set up that virtually drop-tune my bass by a half step or a whole step.
That way, I don't need to re-tune when I learn songs that were originally played in an alternate tuning.
Added bonus - I haven't established any bad habits when I go back to playing the songs in standard.

Then throw-in a really precise tuner, an IR loader, and all of the amps sims and effects...

The HX Stomp are "rare as hens teeth" at the moment, but there are plenty of used POD Go on the market.
I got mine used from Guitar Center for a great price, and it showed up in like-new condition, in the original packaging, with all of the original accessories - for about the cost of 2 stomp boxes.
Click to expand...

Yep!

The Pod Go is a jewel. I play in a band and both guitar players run Pod Go's as well. Best bang for the buck on the market right now.

I've thought about upgrading to the Helix LT which would give me parallel path capability, a larger screen, and more buttons....but when I think about it....I pretty much only use one patch, so it's not really worth the money to me.
 
#5,706
fivestringgecko said:
I'm curious to know what the Pod Go/Helix people in this thread are using for preamp processing within the hardware. Amps & cabs? IRs? I've tried both and have just ended up with a 10-band EQ block into Deluxe Comp to shape tone.

5sg.
Click to expand...

I found a great patch here on TalkBass in a Pod Go thread. It's actually a guitar amp sim.

I run a 10 band EQ, "fullerton" amp sim, LA compressor, and that's it. No cab sim. I have a HPF and LPF set in the universal settings so they don't take up a slot. I have two different drives and and octaver on the patch if I need them.
 
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#5,708
fivestringgecko said:
I'm curious to know what the Pod Go/Helix people in this thread are using for preamp processing within the hardware. Amps & cabs? IRs? I've tried both and have just ended up with a 10-band EQ block into Deluxe Comp to shape tone.

5sg.
Click to expand...

It is usually lo and high cut, deluxe comp, different drives, then either graphic or parametric eq.
But I actually found an even better digital preamp in the source audio ultrawave.

What I get there, is two channels in parallel with the following things on both channels if needed.
Hpf, 3-bands of parametric eq, compressor(to use before or after dirt), overdrive/fuzz, graphic eq with hpf and lpf, gate and a bunch of other stuff.
If wanted, it can be used as a perfectly fine clean preamp.
 
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#5,710
chadhargis said:
Yep!

The Pod Go is a jewel. I play in a band and both guitar players run Pod Go's as well. Best bang for the buck on the market right now.

I've thought about upgrading to the Helix LT which would give me parallel path capability, a larger screen, and more buttons....but when I think about it....I pretty much only use one patch, so it's not really worth the money to me.
Click to expand...


Do you prefer the Pod GO over the Helix LT Stomp? Why/why not?
 
#5,711
Yamarc said:
Do you prefer the Pod GO over the Helix LT Stomp? Why/why not?
Click to expand...

I haven't used a Helix LT...or any of the Helix products. The POD Go does use the Helix software with a few exceptions. The POD Go can't run parallel paths and it doesn't have as much DSP power so you can't run as many effects at the same time or run really heavy CPU consuming effects...but none of those are really a deal breaker for bass. The parallel path would be nice to run a clean and a dirty signal and blend them...or map the output to different XLRs and send a clean and a dirty to the board.

Honestly, I use the same patch 99.5% of the time. It's very rare that I ever change any of the settings on the POD Go. What I have dialed in works well...so if it ain't broke don't fix it. :)
 
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#5,712
So I have a question for the masses. I currently am running a P-Bass into my pedalboard, and at the end is a Pinstripe Pedal LWDI. The sound techs at church love the tone I give them, but have commented that my signal is pretty weak and have to gain me up a lot. As a result, the noise floor also increases. Is there a small utility pedal I can place before my DI that will give them a hotter signal that is clean?
 
#5,713
Have you considered trying the Pinstripe MISO? It 's the same thing as your DI but without the loss in volume

Naack said:
So I have a question for the masses. I currently am running a P-Bass into my pedalboard, and at the end is a Pinstripe Pedal LWDI. The sound techs at church love the tone I give them, but have commented that my signal is pretty weak and have to gain me up a lot. As a result, the noise floor also increases. Is there a small utility pedal I can place before my DI that will give them a hotter signal that is clean?
Click to expand...
 
#5,715
Naack said:
So I have a question for the masses. I currently am running a P-Bass into my pedalboard, and at the end is a Pinstripe Pedal LWDI. The sound techs at church love the tone I give them, but have commented that my signal is pretty weak and have to gain me up a lot. As a result, the noise floor also increases. Is there a small utility pedal I can place before my DI that will give them a hotter signal that is clean?
Click to expand...
What are you running on your pedalboard? Do you have any always-on pedals with clean gain on tap? With my passive basses (which is all of them), I always run something first in my chain that has nice clean gain on tap...and boost it. By getting as much clean gain early in your chain as you can, you're boosting it before other pedals add noise that would be amplified if you boosted your signal later. I run a Cali76 first and always set the output to 2-3 o'clock (and just adjust the input per bass to match how I want the comp to react). That gives my signal level a big boost and keeps it dead quiet (signal-to-noise ratio is increased greatly for any constant level static, hum, or buzz from other pedals added downstream).
 
#5,716
Eadger said:
What are you running on your pedalboard? Do you have any always-on pedals with clean gain on tap? With my passive basses (which is all of them), I always run something first in my chain that has nice clean gain on tap...and boost it. By getting as much clean gain early in your chain as you can, you're boosting it before other pedals add noise that would be amplified if you boosted your signal later. I run a Cali76 first and always set the output to 2-3 o'clock (and just adjust the input per bass to match how I want the comp to react). That gives my signal level a big boost and keeps it dead quiet (signal-to-noise ratio is increased greatly for any constant level static, hum, or buzz from other pedals added downstream).
Click to expand...

I do have a Cali76 so I will try that. With the amp that I have if I drive the signal harder, it will distort, but I will try with some IEMs with my interface to see if it adds volume without distortion.
 
#5,719
Hey all, for those with experience with the Khan DI: does it respond equally well to passive and active basses? I imagine so (it has that -6db pad build into it), I'd love to hear from some of you who have used this box.
 
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