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The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison

#5,901
Just noodling around and figured I'd drop a mic in front of the cabinet and see how it records.

Now...keep in mind...this is located in my home office right next to a running computer with a RAID 5 drive array spinning. I'm using a tie pin mic that I clip on for conference calls. So it's not the proper mic and it's not the proper acoustics.

But...I dig this tone!

Path is:

Precision bass with Nordstrand Power Blade pickup strung with Labella 1953 Flats (aka Jamerson Flats), HX Stomp running SVT patch, Becos Stella compressor in FX loop, Baby Sumo power amp, Barefaced One10T cab.



IMG_0592.jpeg
 
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#5,903
Here's my one thing with the HXS. I never see it as a truly stand alone pedal. There are always one or two pedal along with it - often a compressor and tuner. Maybe asking for a truly all in one is impossible. If I used and HXS, I'd put it on my Nano board with my tuner (to get me one more foot switch on the HXS) and my Rolls IEM box. I'd have the Rolls along with any DI/multi I used so it doesn't really count. But Tuner/Rolls/HXS would fit my Nano board. I'd use a 1/4" to male XLR adapter so I wouldn't need a DI. I mean, it's still more compact and versatile than my current rig I guess.
 
#5,904
SteveC said:
Here's my one thing with the HXS. I never see it as a truly stand alone pedal. There are always one or two pedal along with it - often a compressor and tuner. Maybe asking for a truly all in one is impossible. If I used and HXS, I'd put it on my Nano board with my tuner (to get me one more foot switch on the HXS) and my Rolls IEM box. I'd have the Rolls along with any DI/multi I used so it doesn't really count. But Tuner/Rolls/HXS would fit my Nano board. I'd use a 1/4" to male XLR adapter so I wouldn't need a DI. I mean, it's still more compact and versatile than my current rig I guess.
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The HX Stomp has a great tuner built in, but I like the Turbo Tuner and I already had the tuner and the board. Same with the compressor. The Becos Stella has a great feature where it won't compress the low notes as much as the higher ones. You are correct about the 1/4" to XLR cable (you can see mine in the pic). I run the Walrus Audio Canvas Line Isolator because with all the computers and crap I have around my board, the isolation keeps things quiet. Also have to run phantom power for my mic, so the LI keeps that away from the HX Stomp. It's not supposed to have any effect on it, and I've never noticed any issues, but some have.

I do have patches loaded on the HX Stomp for standalone use. They use the LA Comp compressor model and reserve the 3rd button for the tuner function. You can always go with the HX Stomp XL if you want more buttons.
 
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#5,907
SteveC said:
After a couple weeks of circular logic and analysis paralysis, I think I am going to just keep what I have (Empress Bass Compressor/Bass Soul Food/REDDI) for now. It sounds amazing. It's not THAT bad to carry in the Pelican case and set up. All my cables are made to fit this set up. All the back and forth debate with myself has wore me out mentally. Gonna forget about it for a while and just play and enjoy the amazing sound of my basses.
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SteveC said:
Here's my one thing with the HXS. I never see it as a truly stand alone pedal. There are always one or two pedal along with it - often a compressor and tuner. Maybe asking for a truly all in one is impossible. If I used and HXS, I'd put it on my Nano board with my tuner (to get me one more foot switch on the HXS) and my Rolls IEM box. I'd have the Rolls along with any DI/multi I used so it doesn't really count. But Tuner/Rolls/HXS would fit my Nano board. I'd use a 1/4" to male XLR adapter so I wouldn't need a DI. I mean, it's still more compact and versatile than my current rig I guess.
Click to expand...
You should still give the upcoming Berg Super Pre a try (experiment with as a stand-alone + Rolls:)) Bass-specific preamp (8-1/2” W x 6-3/4” D footprint)…two on-board xlr (pre/post) outs, OD/Dist/Fuzz circuits, tuner, effects loop, and a plethora of preset savable/recall slots…
FE55B4A5-7992-45A2-AA09-8296DABD5583.jpeg
 
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#5,909
pisces_bass said:
The Berg super pre may be my gateway to the digital realm. I’m impressed with what I’ve heard from Line 6 and other contemporary options but I like the idea of a bass-centric option that is limited to some core elements. I wouldn’t use 90% of what Line 6 offers.
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I’ve had a prototype for several months…really minimal learning curve! Plus, great bass tone right out of the box! One or two button presses, gets you quickly scrolling thru/setting every option (ie hpf/lpf’s, etc) to your preferences…
 
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#5,910
pisces_bass said:
The Berg super pre may be my gateway to the digital realm. I’m impressed with what I’ve heard from Line 6 and other contemporary options but I like the idea of a bass-centric option that is limited to some core elements. I wouldn’t use 90% of what Line 6 offers.
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The last sentence is the key for me as well. I mean, it’s kind of like a B string. I don’t always use it but it’s nice to have. I would like to try the Berg offering. I’ll keep what I have until thy comes out in January maybe? The latest post from Jim said the last parts are hopefully only a few weeks out.

My REDDI will be fine until then. And I can always borrow the HXS from church.
 
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#5,915
furym said:
I thought about buying it from him when he listed it recently, just so I could tell him how good it really was! :D;):roflmao:

Edit to add: seriously though, I told him to keep it and feed the HX Stomp through it.
Click to expand...

I really need to try a REDDI. It's one of the ones I've been wanting to try but just can't justify dropping that much money on a DI only.
 
#5,917
Yeah, I may be buried with it. And yeah, it sucks that the 1/4" isn't effected, but for me it's not as big a deal for the way I use it. And yeah, yeah, I wouldn't put it past a couple of you to buy it and let me know how awesome it is, why did you ever sell it. :cool:

I think I am one of the few "hanger's on" these days of the REDDI. It's big. It's heavy. It sounds amazing. I was slow to go to it, and now am slow to let go. The Noble was super hot when I decided to go REDDI. I have also kicked around doing a Tuner/Rolls/HXS Nano into the REDDI, but that doesn't minimize the set up much so I could just as well stay the way I am as I really don't use effects and am happy with one good bass sound.

The Bergantino Super Pre is supposed to be really nice. It's a dedicated bass pre, unlike the HXS which is maybe a thing, maybe not. But people who have been using it really like it. It was the thing that started me looking at dumping the REDDI/Nano and getting an "all in one" pedal. It has a tuner, compressor, a couple "drive/distortion" options, nice eq, hi/low pass filters, and pretty tweakable if you want. Or not. It's just taking a while to get final parts and testing done.
 
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