Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
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
- Thread starter chadhargis
- Start date
I haven't tried the SLO (now of course I have to), but I have the Broughton Messenger and the Starlifter. The Messenger is super clean and unbelievably versatile. The Starlifter is on my board, because everything sounds good through it.
I’m going to have to try a Starlifter. I’ve bought enough of Carey’s pickups....maybe he’ll give me a discount. Lol!
I'm going to add one that's probably easily overlooked:
MOEN BS-BA Buffalo BASS Guitar DI
It's a fine little box, built very stout. 10/10 people's first comment who open a box with one of these in it has to be that it's as heavy as a house brick. (or something to that effect).
PROS
Bargain - Mine was $70 shipped.
Headphones out
Aux in
3 Band EQ with mid sweep that has a HUGE range 150 Hz to Over 1K.
Vol and Gain Knob.
Dead quiet - even using a one spot with other pedals on the chain, one of which is a Zoom MS60B.
Quality fit and finish all the knobs and jacks are right and tight.
One of the advertisement bullet points touts cabinet sim.
CONS
It's big, like Tone Hammer big...
Heavy
Can't overdrive it to get dirt. If you dime the gain and add vol, it makes unpleasant (and unusable) flatulent sounds.
None of those were a deal breaker for me. Honestly I'm not using it as a DI per-say. My Buffalo is proudly serving on my pedal board as a wired IEM Amp. My KZ6s sound stellar thru the phones out jack.
Overall it's a bargain and a score in my book.
MOEN BS-BA Buffalo BASS Guitar DI
It's a fine little box, built very stout. 10/10 people's first comment who open a box with one of these in it has to be that it's as heavy as a house brick. (or something to that effect).
PROS
Bargain - Mine was $70 shipped.
Headphones out
Aux in
3 Band EQ with mid sweep that has a HUGE range 150 Hz to Over 1K.
Vol and Gain Knob.
Dead quiet - even using a one spot with other pedals on the chain, one of which is a Zoom MS60B.
Quality fit and finish all the knobs and jacks are right and tight.
One of the advertisement bullet points touts cabinet sim.
CONS
It's big, like Tone Hammer big...
Heavy
Can't overdrive it to get dirt. If you dime the gain and add vol, it makes unpleasant (and unusable) flatulent sounds.
None of those were a deal breaker for me. Honestly I'm not using it as a DI per-say. My Buffalo is proudly serving on my pedal board as a wired IEM Amp. My KZ6s sound stellar thru the phones out jack.
Overall it's a bargain and a score in my book.
IvanBassist
Commercial User
- Jun 8, 2008
- 3,757
- 11,162
- Disclosures
- Content Manager at Darkglass Electronics, Dingwall Guitars Artist
IvanBassist
Commercial User
- Jun 8, 2008
- 3,757
- 11,162
- Disclosures
- Content Manager at Darkglass Electronics, Dingwall Guitars Artist
Here are some more individual tracks:
I've owned the SLO and Starlifter and they are probably my favorite 2 preamps I've tried. The EQ on the SLO was harder for me to get the smooth tone I like and took a lot more work for me to get my favored tone. It is warmer and little more thicker sounding I think than the Starlifter. The Starlifter is dead quiet and the Vintage Flat and Modern feature makes this the most diverse preamp I've played. I can't make it sound bad no matter the adjustments or setting. The clarity, smoothness and punch I have with any bass I play through it makes it the winner for me no matter what I've tried. I've purchased and went head to head against the Noble, Mesa Subway Plus Preamp, RNDI, Ampeg, SLO (2 times) and more and the Starlifter easily won. The video demo's of the Starlifter are exactly what you get FOH and IEM.
jacoby75
Supporting Member
- Mar 11, 2010
- 5,661
- 10,716
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Mike Lull Custom Guitars, DR Strings
FWIW, I've had various cab sims (DSM, Tech21, etc) after my effects when running ampless. They sound fine. Some better than others. But my latest push has been for a clean, amp-sim-less tone. Pure power. Part of that journey was buying a Broughton LPF/HPF for the end of my chain recently. The combination of pedals with that at the end is the best I have ever sounded. Really tightens up my tone and takes off the rough edges of my maple fret boarded jazz bass. And I use a drive pedal with it and it sounds great too. I'm done with speaker sims for the time being. Maybe if you're one who uses a ton of overdrive and fuzz or something, you might still want one. But I currently far prefer the clean, pure tone that a solid preamp gives me without any muddying amp or cab sims at the end.
Nice! Looking forward to your comments.
Mine won't be to me for another week probably. It's somewhere between Australia and the USA.
THIS!
I do the exact same thing. Speaker sims always seem to sound "off" to me for some reason. Maybe because I seldom use a cab. I practice with headphones. I play live with IEMs. I get my tone sounding the way I want it without any sims and I also use a HPF (microThumpinator).
I've asked several of the sound engineers I've played with for advice and all of them have told me they don't do much of anything to my signal other than EQ for the room.
IME, that might be a good thing..and that might be a bad thing-depending on circumstances...
True!
But I have faith in what they say being that I'm in Nashville and to be behind a console you have to pretty much know what you're doing. Some of the sound engineers I've worked with have also worked with big name talent both live and in studio. It's a city packed with amazing talent and I'm very lucky that some of those talented folks allow me to share the stage with them. Now if I was playing in Left Turkey Toe, Kentucky at the VFW...yeah...I don't think I'd put a lot of stock in what the sound guy (who was probably the guitar players kid) had to say. LOL!
On another note...
I just went back and listened to some demos on YouTube. The SLO is just a total monster. I am looking for a backup preamp to have in my bag in the event something happens with my board....and honestly...I think I'm going to just buy another SLO. Problem is...they sell so fast on the used market that I can't find them. I was lucky enough to get @campbems first SLO used. It was as good as a new one.
jacoby75
Supporting Member
- Mar 11, 2010
- 5,661
- 10,716
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Mike Lull Custom Guitars, DR Strings
When I had a DSM OCSD for a bit, I really liked how it made my overdrive/fuzz pedals sound in my headphones. But of course it darkened my overall clean tone as well. And the one time I did try to use the cab sim live, I was playing through an amp and PA anyway. So I didn't see the need for a cab sim setup to make me sound like I was playing through an 8x10 going into a Hartke 4x10 and 2x15 cab. It just muddies things up too much, in my opinion. I know you can use the clean thru of the cab sim to not send that sound to the amp, but then that would defeat the purpose to me. If I get it dialed in through my headphones to sound a certain way with the cab sim, then it would sound entirely different without. Too complicated for my simple mind to comprehend, and not worth dealing with. And the reality is, even if you're not using an amp on stage, it's still coming out of a PA or monitor, which of course is a speaker. So I began to question if the whole speaker sim thing was necessary. Plus, I needed the real estate on my board, so I had to try to determine what I could do without.
I can see the benefit of a cabsim for studio use, so you sound like you're playing through a miked cab. And maybe even for live use, if that is the particular sound you're going for. But to me, I recently deemed it to be just a little unnecessary. And I have found that I sound so much better and cleaner/purer without it. My tone comes through so much stronger. Of course, I think a big part of that is also the addition of the Ictineo preamp, but that's another conversation.
Adding the Broughton LPF/HPF within the past couple of weeks was a revelation, because it lops off the offensive frequencies on either end of the spectrum, like the overly boomy bass or the high end fizzle and sizzle from my overdrive pedal that I currently use very subtly, and tightens up my overall tone in an amazing way, but without the darkening effect and overall tone changes that would come from a cab sim.
I noted elsewhere that when I used the above setup for the first time (More or less. I didn't have the Broughton yet, and used a different compressor), it was the first time the sound man, who is also bass player, complimented my tone. It was also the first time that I didn't use any amp or cab sim like my VT Bass or OCSD. Coincident? Maybe. Maybe not.
@jacoby75
Funny, I ordered the ShiftLine CabZone today. It was a toss up with Broughton RFE and I figured that if I was playing live more I would go that way but I’m not and cabsim it is. Opposite of your way.
I, too, had the OCSD but it was too hissy for me to record with. I’m hoping the CabZone is quiet.
Funny, I ordered the ShiftLine CabZone today. It was a toss up with Broughton RFE and I figured that if I was playing live more I would go that way but I’m not and cabsim it is. Opposite of your way.
I, too, had the OCSD but it was too hissy for me to record with. I’m hoping the CabZone is quiet.
How do you like the Radial SB-2 as an end-of-pedalboard DI?
I've currently got the JDI but I'm thinking of downsizing. I'd love to know your thoughts!
I just purchased myself a Two Notes Torpedo C.A.B for recording and Live DI signal. See how that goes. If it doesn't work out I can easily offload and get a simple lpf for the board. The only thing is, the two notes doesn't have a thru out, so I will have to split my signal before it for live gigs. One output to my real Amp and Cab on stage and the other output to Two Notes to desk. My real amp will essentially just my monitor, but i really like to have a real amp behind me for that feel.
I owned a Torpedo C.A.B. for awhile. Amazing device. But I was constantly tweaking it. There were so many settings to try. It was overwhelming.
jacoby75
Supporting Member
- Mar 11, 2010
- 5,661
- 10,716
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Mike Lull Custom Guitars, DR Strings
Simpler is better for me these days. Less is more. And, not to get off topic, but we can spend hours upon hours tweaking and changing things that the average person may never notice or appreciate.
