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The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison
- Thread starter chadhargis
- Start date
Re: colored vs transparent;
How much can a transparent DI be made to sound like some of the more colored units with a couple twists of a good on-board preamp. Can a JDI be made to sound like a Noble with a Sadowsky preamp?
How much can a transparent DI be made to sound like some of the more colored units with a couple twists of a good on-board preamp. Can a JDI be made to sound like a Noble with a Sadowsky preamp?
I'd say no.
In theory, a good DI should not color your sound. It's job is to pass sound out of a balanced connection that exactly matches whatever you send it on an unbalanced connection.
DI boxes that add "color" to your tone enhance it by adding something besides a boost or cut at a specific frequency like an EQ does. While you could probably get close to the tone if you played through an analyzer then had a DAW match the frequencies using an EQ, there is still a lot going on that can't be easily duplicated.
Wouldn't mind seeing what's on the top of that board...!That's why I got a Khan a couple months ago:
Ask and you shall receive:
I finished it about a month ago and I've been steadily learning all the stuff I can do with it. Once I'm sure it's more or less finalized--for now haha--I'll post it to some of the pedalboard threads. I'm currently experimenting with an Iron Ether Arcing Prisms in place of the Chase Bliss Thermae and A/Bing a High Gain Mod version of the Doom 2 against the standard. And I'd love to get my hands on a Chromatron to hear how that sounds versus my Iron Ether Xerograph Deluxe.
The basic tone comes from the bass, the Cali76 TX-L, the 2020s, and the Khan. Plus the amp head when I'm not playing direct. My vision for the board is a solid clean tone, a pleasing low gain (Free The Tone Black Vehicle covers that, sometimes with the Chase Bliss Wombtone MKII for subtle interest in the harmonics), and all sorts of wild synth tones: bass synth, ambient pad, and even synth lead.
I finished it about a month ago and I've been steadily learning all the stuff I can do with it. Once I'm sure it's more or less finalized--for now haha--I'll post it to some of the pedalboard threads. I'm currently experimenting with an Iron Ether Arcing Prisms in place of the Chase Bliss Thermae and A/Bing a High Gain Mod version of the Doom 2 against the standard. And I'd love to get my hands on a Chromatron to hear how that sounds versus my Iron Ether Xerograph Deluxe.
The basic tone comes from the bass, the Cali76 TX-L, the 2020s, and the Khan. Plus the amp head when I'm not playing direct. My vision for the board is a solid clean tone, a pleasing low gain (Free The Tone Black Vehicle covers that, sometimes with the Chase Bliss Wombtone MKII for subtle interest in the harmonics), and all sorts of wild synth tones: bass synth, ambient pad, and even synth lead.
I couldn't hear the difference with just one. Maybe some folks with better ears could? But Mike, the mind and hands behind Lightning Boy Audio, recommends using more than one so I gave that a shot and could indeed hear the difference (and I liked what it was doing).
I believe the subtlety of the original 2020 transformers (what I have) is why he then created the steel core version with a lower saturation point. Stacking the originals should, in theory, be even closer to that transformer-based studio sound. But I've never played through a 2020S so I have no idea how it compares to an original 2020.
@lightningboy is definitely creative in his approach to designs. You can definitely hear a more dramatic difference with the 2020S.
Looks like he retired the 2020S. I haven't been following so I don't know if he is replacing it with something new or not so if anyone has the scoop please let us know.
Both samples have some strange saturation on the loud notes, some rrrr rrrr in the mids ?
Could be the bass in the track. I tried to EQ it all out, but it's still there.
Oh ok. Love that canvas btw, sounds clean but not boring, we need more of that imho
Yep...I have been A/B comparing them for a few days. The Canvas is completely uncolored. The HX Stomp has balanced 1/4" outputs so I can use a TRS to XLR cable and go direct to the board with nothing in between. It sounds exactly the same as going through the Canvas...which is what I wanted. The job the Canvas is performing is line isolation. It keeps phantom power out of my HX Stomp and it isolates the signal by putting a transformer in between the HXS and the board. It also gives me a ground lift option which the HXS doesn't have. I can also press a button and put the Canvas in DI mode and it will send a lower signal to the board if required.
Most of what you hear in the samples is the HX Stomp. The Khan does add tube "gooeyness" to the tone. That blurry warm round tone. But there are times when you may want a piano like tone, and the transparency of the Canvas would be the ticket there (with a different HXS patch too...I have one that I call "Studio DI" that has less coloration).
Where the Khan shines in my ears is when playing higher notes. It's adds a heft to them that keeps them from sounding thin. I have a compressor in my chain, and it helps plump those notes up but the Khan is the icing on the cake. I was expecting to have to reset my patches to work with the Khan, but in reality, it doesn't impact the tone as dramatically as I expected (ie...like the Alpha with the switches engaged or the Noble with the EQ added). It just adds color...and that's a good thing.
Last night, I pulled out my backup rig...an Ampeg SCR-DI. Low and behold...it's the exact same size as the Khan. I've never liked the DI on that preamp...but when plugged into the Khan...it really sounds good. It would be an amazing rig with the SCR-DI velcroed to the top of the Khan.
I have a few active basses that I want to try plugging direct into the Khan and using the onboard EQ to see what I get. That could be very useful in some situations. I'm on vacation next week, so I'll get some time to play around more.
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I'm on break starting tomorrow so I plan to get to know my new Empress Para EQ Deluxe, Empress Bass Compressor and REDDI combination. I was already happy with my Compressor/REDDI combo so the Para EQ should be icing on the cake.
Is there anything I'm missing for a good "core" bass sound? Not talking about effects like drive, chorus, filter, octave, etc. Just the "always on" stuff like eq and compression. I would think I have it pretty well covered with the gear listed above, yet I listen to people like Ian or Scott on YouTube and their bass sounds SO full and awesome. Am I missing something, or do I just suck as a player. Roscoe bass, Empress, REDDI, I should sound pretty decent.
Is there anything I'm missing for a good "core" bass sound? Not talking about effects like drive, chorus, filter, octave, etc. Just the "always on" stuff like eq and compression. I would think I have it pretty well covered with the gear listed above, yet I listen to people like Ian or Scott on YouTube and their bass sounds SO full and awesome. Am I missing something, or do I just suck as a player. Roscoe bass, Empress, REDDI, I should sound pretty decent.
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That's about as good as it gets for gear...the rest is technique.
Speakers and headphones also make a difference of course.
Speakers and headphones also make a difference of course.
Ask and you shall receive:
I finished it about a month ago and I've been steadily learning all the stuff I can do with it. Once I'm sure it's more or less finalized--for now haha--I'll post it to some of the pedalboard threads. I'm currently experimenting with an Iron Ether Arcing Prisms in place of the Chase Bliss Thermae and A/Bing a High Gain Mod version of the Doom 2 against the standard. And I'd love to get my hands on a Chromatron to hear how that sounds versus my Iron Ether Xerograph Deluxe.
The basic tone comes from the bass, the Cali76 TX-L, the 2020s, and the Khan. Plus the amp head when I'm not playing direct. My vision for the board is a solid clean tone, a pleasing low gain (Free The Tone Black Vehicle covers that, sometimes with the Chase Bliss Wombtone MKII for subtle interest in the harmonics), and all sorts of wild synth tones: bass synth, ambient pad, and even synth lead.
That...is a damn BOARD. I've got some quality reverbs under my roof (Meris Mercury7 and Subdecay Super Spring Theory), but the Nimbus has eluded me thus far. Those are also newer revs of the Polytope and XeroD; I've got older ones and love them, but whew... I know they've only gotten better.
Thank you! I've very happy with it and I find it very intuitive to dial in the sounds I'm looking for with this signal chain.
Yes, sadly demand for Iron Ether pedals vastly outweighs supply so they are difficult to source. I got lucky finding the Nimbus on Craigslist a few months ago. And it more than lives up to its reputation so I hope it stops eluding you soon.
