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The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison

#6,161
Finally able to join the Tube Preamp Cool Kids Club. 'Bout time. I know the ValveDrive isn't a new & boutiquey as some of the preamps in this thread, but I've wanted to check one out for the longest time, and finally found a price too good to pass up on a minty fresh one. Not a mark on it, it could pass for brand new.

Initial reaction:
I've only had maybe an hour with it, but am already digging it a lot. Maybe it's that "tube thing" everyone keeps talking about? :D Currently trying out Sean Hurley's settings for it and am quite enamored so far. I'm pleasantly surprised that the treble knob is so usable... even dimed, it doesn't get too harsh or brittle. (+6db @ 5kHz). The mid and bass knobs are a little more sensitive, being -12db and +15db respectively. That bass knob... a little goes a long way!

As others have mentioned about some of the preamps in this thread, this one does also seem to hit the gain wall pretty early, and starts getting a little hair on the tone around 8:00 on the gain knob. I don't have a 12AY7 at the moment, but do have a 12AT7 and 12AU7 that I can try in it, and see about a more usable gain control.

I sense a board revamp coming in the not too distant future to get this into my signal chain. That chrome is going to be a bear to keep clean though. ha ha

5sg.

EBS_ValveDriveDI.jpg
 
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#6,162
SteveC said:
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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and a crossover for each drive and cabsim I heard no ?
 
#6,163
Well, I’ve been pretty happy with the HXS so far. I now have it set to do my IEM’s as well. Haven’t tried it at a gig yet, but I’m going to at church next week. If it does everything I hope, I’ll have my “all in one” solution for my gigs. If only it didn’t have a giant wall wart power supply.
 
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#6,164
SteveC said:
Well, I’ve been pretty happy with both HXS so far. I now have it set to do my IEM’s as well. Haven’t tried it at a gig yet, but I’m going to at church next week. If it does everything I hope, I’ll have my “all in one” solution for my gigs. If only it didn’t have gay giant wall wart power supply.
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I don't think it is to look at like a multi FX, but more like the Bergantino tone and quality we like. (also never understand why some peoples use the "gay" thing for those kind of thing but anyway)
 
#6,165
Phone typo. It was supposed to be a giant wall wart.
I never said anything against the Bergantino. Nor did I say anything about it being a multi. I know what it is. I’m sure it’ll be awesome.
Anyway, I was just sharing that I decided to go this way and give the all in one a try. It’s a real bonus that I can do my IEM’s thru the HXS as well.
 
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#6,166
SteveC said:
Phone typo. It was supposed to be a giant wall wart.
I never said anything against the Bergantino. Nor did I say anything about it being a multi. I know what it is. I’m sure it’ll be awesome.
Anyway, I was just sharing that I decided to go this way and give the all in one a try. It’s a real bonus that I can do my IEM’s thru the HXS as well.
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It is more versatile than the newest Darkglass preamp too imo
 
#6,169
HeavyJazz said:
A/B/C'd three Dis last night including the Demeter VTBP (w/ Jenson), Aguilar DB 900 and Effectrode LA-1A. I love them all, each had a distinct and different flavor. The Demeter was about as pure is it gets - what you give it is what it gives back. Only better. The Agi has the same high headroom, low noise floor and adds a light layer of something special compared to the Demeter. The Effectrode is a little fatter than the Agi and of course you have the limiter and compression to twiddle around with too. A modern day Retrospec Squeezebox of sorts?... For straight out fingerstyle, I love running the Effectrode with subtle compression settings directly into the Agi - that was some lovely stuff there! Dig them all by themselves though. Tools for the toolbox as it were.

View attachment 4942514
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Can anyone comment on differences between a stock la-1a vs the Brimarized edition? Also curious whether a particular tube swap would put a little dirt on its boost.
 
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#6,170
ImTheOnlyOne said:
Can anyone comment on differences between a stock la-1a vs the Brimarized edition?
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I don’t see a significant ROI there because the thing does sooo much, and to my ear, tube equipment can sound different day to day. If it were a simple preamp with minimal tone controls, I’d entertain it, but there’s a whole lot going on with the thing. There’s also three tubes, two different types- forgive me if you have one and know this- it’d take one matched set, I think and you’d need dog ears to be able to appreciate any difference for what would likely be a crapton of money. Effectrode does offer it, though, so I guess it’s worth it to some.
 
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#6,177
fivestringgecko said:
I do believe he's switched over to a Noble since then. But I still dig the settings he's got in that video, sounds great with a P bass. And I can't justify the price for a Noble. :meh: I snagged this Valvedrive for just under a quarter of the price of a DI through Noble's website.

5sg.
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Same. Bought a Finally DI as the alternative to a Noble
 
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#6,178
So far the HX Stomp and Khan combo is making me happy. Played yesterday and had three people come up to me and compliment my tone. The guitar player said, "Is that a new rig?" and when I told him it was he came over and checked it out. He said it sounded good.

Just added a second Barefaced One10 to my practice space. Um...it's overkill. But dang it sounds good.

IMG_0802.jpg
 
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#6,179
TheArchitect said:
Same. Bought a Finally DI as the alternative to a Noble
Click to expand...

I've been following the SushiBox thread for a good while and did give a little thought to a Finally, but just didn't feel solid about it. I love the idea of SB pedals, but they seem to have a lot of updates to designs and sometimes bugs to work out. I was in the group that had a microphonic Westinghouse, but on the flip side, I have a mini-tube Slampegg that's quite nice. Also because Nathan has posted information about the Furthermore, a Finally with additional features. Just too much dust in the air IMO, so I went with the EBS that I've wanted even longer. :)

5sg.
 
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