This is a killer rig. I never thought I really needed a preamp or eq, but the Para adds so much. It’s subtle, but obvious. The shelving controls are the “secret sauce” if you ask me. The eq is great, the hi and low pass filters are great, but the shelving is, I think, where I get that “cab simulation” kind of feel. It’s only via headphones right now, but I have a gig in a month. Can’t wait to hear this via a real system. This is a killer DI/IEM rig.
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The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison
- Thread starter chadhargis
- Start date
This is a killer rig. I never thought I really needed a preamp or eq, but the Para adds so much. It’s subtle, but obvious. The shelving controls are the “secret sauce” if you ask me. The eq is great, the hi and low pass filters are great, but the shelving is, I think, where I get that “cab simulation” kind of feel. It’s only via headphones right now, but I have a gig in a month. Can’t wait to hear this via a real system. This is a killer DI/IEM rig.
That’s what I always thought…until I added this eq in front of it. It’s subtle but obvious…at least in my ears. Not sure how much will make it to FOH, but as IEM’s is how I hear myself, that’s what counts most to me.
Quite so. When my teacher of 10 years (MFA degree, pro player) picks up a bass that I have just played and he plays the same riff that I have just played…it just sounds better. The real magic is not in the electronics. It’s in the fingers. But a compressor and at least one vacuum tube in the chain sure do help.
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I had a similar experience at a clinic with Bryan Bellar. If you aren't familiar with Bryan...look him up. He's the bass player behind "William Murderface" in the cartoon Metalopolis and is currently the bass player for The Aristocrats. He's a killer player.
At the clinic, he was talking about tone as he played his custom made Mike Lull bass through a big Aguilar rig. I made a wise crack about how anyone could sound good with that setup. Of course I was joking, but he called me on it and handed me his bass. Told me to play. Then he asked the audience, "Does he sound the same as me? Same bass. Same strings. Same amp. Same cab. Same room....everything the same". Everyone including myself nodded no. Then he asked "Why not?". That launched a discussion about all the factors that can effect tone that have nothing to do with anything other than playing style.
How hard I attacked the strings. My right hand position. How hard I fretted the note. How tightly I held the instrument. How big my fingers were and how much flesh was on my fingertips. The list goes on.
His bass and his rig sounded TOTALLY different when I played it. Not even in the same ball park. So that's why you have so many choices for preamps, amps, cabs, pedals, etc. Everyone has their own technique. I would even say I use different techniques when I play different basses. For example...I prefer fat necks...when I play a jazz bass style neck, my hand sometimes cramps up which obviously causes me to play differently. I'm at the age where I sometimes get arthritis pain in my left hand....that effects how I play.
I still maintain the belief that a great musician can sound good on a washtub bass. Take a listen to the Paul Simon song "Kodachrome". The percussion you hear throughout that song is a cardboard box that was laying around the studio. Someone started tapping on it and the engineer liked it....the rest is history.
I used preset 27C at church on Christmas Eve. It’s a SVT Pro4 model. Can’t remember the cab and stuff. Compressor. It sounded really good. I didn’t have time to bring the Empress/REDDI to compare.
IDK, one day I’m sold on my Empress/REDDI, then I use the HXS and think, maybe it is good enough. My band liked both. Me and my guitar player are the only ones who noticed, and he may not have if I didn’t tell him when I switched. He did think the REDDI had more presence or heft as we like to say.
IDK, one day I’m sold on my Empress/REDDI, then I use the HXS and think, maybe it is good enough. My band liked both. Me and my guitar player are the only ones who noticed, and he may not have if I didn’t tell him when I switched. He did think the REDDI had more presence or heft as we like to say.
Well, I convinced my son (13) he should just use his Xmas money etc to get a Pod Go instead of a bunch of pedals and power supply and board and all that. Save a lot of money. He tried one last Saturday and loved it. We found a used one he could afford and it arrived today.
After hearing the presets and convincing him it was the way to go, I think I’m going to take the plunge and do it as well. I listed my REDDI today. I’ll probably list my Empress stuff as well.
Now to decide if I:
1) want a Stomp and use my Nano with my tuner and Rolls and have 3 foot switches available or
2) go XL and lose the Nano and tuner and use the Rolls just loose with the XL as my tuner or
3) go XL only, lose/use a block in every patch to do the IEM routing thing and have one pedal for everything.
I like the mode switch on the Pod Go to switch modes.
Sorry this is a little off topic I guess.
After hearing the presets and convincing him it was the way to go, I think I’m going to take the plunge and do it as well. I listed my REDDI today. I’ll probably list my Empress stuff as well.
Now to decide if I:
1) want a Stomp and use my Nano with my tuner and Rolls and have 3 foot switches available or
2) go XL and lose the Nano and tuner and use the Rolls just loose with the XL as my tuner or
3) go XL only, lose/use a block in every patch to do the IEM routing thing and have one pedal for everything.
I like the mode switch on the Pod Go to switch modes.
Sorry this is a little off topic I guess.
Pod Go loses the parallel paths that are so useful to retain the low end on bass. Not so important on guitar.
Just incorporated a regular stomp into my small board.
If it’s gonna be your one and only pedal, I’d recommend the XL. I’m considering adding a Morningstar controller, either the 3 or 6.
I currently have a dual switch connected for 5 total switches, but I want more control so gonna add the midi controller.
If you’re gonna do a small board, I’d probably do the regular stomp with the EC3, it’s a smaller footprint and a lot more control (although more programming).
I like the small size of the HXS. I’m concerned love about enough control to go from my favorite bass patch to a synth patch and back. It seems kind of odd to buy an HXS and then extra switches instead of just getting an XL?
Like I said before, maybe it’s better to not try an run my IEM’s thru the Stomp in either scenario.
Like I said before, maybe it’s better to not try an run my IEM’s thru the Stomp in either scenario.
By chance, do you use a tablet for music at all? If so, that'd open up the ability to use wireless MIDI. My Android Tablet literally has a button on the first page of a song that I press, and it sends a command to the Stomp to go to <the preset for that song>
Any comparison between the Mesa Subway Plus DI and the Walrus Badwater? I just bought the Walrus from Thomann (on its way) but I was leaning more towards the Mesa. We'll see in a few days if I've made a bad choice or not....
I’ve never used the Badwater, but I recently picked up the Mesa and I was pleasantly surprised with the tone and ease of use. I’ve been through a bunch of pres and the Mesa was the easiest to dial in and the best sounding for me.
I struggle with what form to go with. I don’t need a lot of power. I like the display of the Go, nice and big. I like the switching between modes and all that as well. I like the smaller form of the Stomp. The XL could be an all in one for IEM’s and all that. I’m torn. Tough to decide.
