You'll probably find the Spark will be sufficient in driving a power amp. Try it!
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The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison
- Thread starter chadhargis
- Start date
You already have it so there’s no harm in giving it a try and seeing how you like it.
However, there are no shortage of pedals these days that are more designed to do what you are looking for.
I keep an Aguilar Tonehammer and Broughton Messengers and Studio One when I want to use a pedal as a preamp to drive a power amp.
Used Tonehammer pedals are cheap and plentiful, but there are tons of other options out there as well.
However, there are no shortage of pedals these days that are more designed to do what you are looking for.
I keep an Aguilar Tonehammer and Broughton Messengers and Studio One when I want to use a pedal as a preamp to drive a power amp.
Used Tonehammer pedals are cheap and plentiful, but there are tons of other options out there as well.
I have a used Tone Hammer i would sell. Hit me up if interested.
Ordered an Arkham Oracle v1 w/o DI from reverb - this thread doesn’t do my wallet any good 
This is going to be my first preamp in a long time - I am happy with the ToneX I have but the grass does seem greener on the other side of the fence doesn’t it? I wanted a Noble but the that Arkham seems like a much better deal.
Hopefully it’s going to pair well with the RNDI. Also thinking about adding the EchoFix EF-P5 at some point.
This is going to be my first preamp in a long time - I am happy with the ToneX I have but the grass does seem greener on the other side of the fence doesn’t it? I wanted a Noble but the that Arkham seems like a much better deal.
Hopefully it’s going to pair well with the RNDI. Also thinking about adding the EchoFix EF-P5 at some point.
this thread doesn’t do my wallet any good
You and me both brotha. You can see how much crap I've bought over the 325 pages of this thread I started back in 2018. Hard to believe this has been going on for 7 years.
I've owned some great gear. Some I wish I still had, but none that I'd replace my Quad Cortex with. Perhaps I've gotten used to it, but I can't find anything that can dethrone it short of an actual 96lb SVT head.
I've had more FOH engineers ask me what I'm using than any other rig I've ever owned. Most of them say, "I didn't have to do anything to your tone". One FOH guy told me, "Your tone is so even, highs and lows all sound good and it sits I the mix perfectly".
Cool thing is, if you buy a QC, you can hit the Neural Cloud and download all my patches.
Played 4hr everyday for the past week or so with the Arkham Oracle and……. I absolutely love it.
I was already planning to sell it before it arrived - which is my classic anti consumerist pendulum behavior that saved me from a lot of purchases over the years and kept my rig to just the RNDI for the past 5 years - but I quickly changed my mind after playing through it.
I really love the saturation and compression that this thing has - after reading through this thread to many times i thought the feeling of tubes wouldn’t be as noticeable as it is to me now.
I’m boosting a bit of bass, lo switch up, cutting a bit of highs with HPF on.
Singer-guitarist also said the sound improved a lot - the HPF was really magic but sounded good on any settings TBH.
Lovely piece of kit that makes my mostly boring 4 sets a day a joy to play. We’ll see how long the honeymoon lasts.
Next step will be to order the Cali76 v2 and EchoFix EF-P5 when I get home, and return the one I don’t want to keep.
@chadhargis will borrow a Quad Cortex when I get home and try your captures and try to capture my own - they pushed a new update a while ago and it’s supposedly now able to capture non linear dynamics like compressors. The processing doesn’t happen in the unit either - it’s online.
I was already planning to sell it before it arrived - which is my classic anti consumerist pendulum behavior that saved me from a lot of purchases over the years and kept my rig to just the RNDI for the past 5 years - but I quickly changed my mind after playing through it.
I really love the saturation and compression that this thing has - after reading through this thread to many times i thought the feeling of tubes wouldn’t be as noticeable as it is to me now.
I’m boosting a bit of bass, lo switch up, cutting a bit of highs with HPF on.
Singer-guitarist also said the sound improved a lot - the HPF was really magic but sounded good on any settings TBH.
Lovely piece of kit that makes my mostly boring 4 sets a day a joy to play. We’ll see how long the honeymoon lasts.
Next step will be to order the Cali76 v2 and EchoFix EF-P5 when I get home, and return the one I don’t want to keep.
@chadhargis will borrow a Quad Cortex when I get home and try your captures and try to capture my own - they pushed a new update a while ago and it’s supposedly now able to capture non linear dynamics like compressors. The processing doesn’t happen in the unit either - it’s online.
Hey all - I was considering getting a tube preamp / DI, and after reading LOTS of this great thread, I was considering either an Arkham Oracle or the Mozztronics DI-2.
Lots of folks love the Oracle, and I was about to pull the trigger. I'm only hesitating based on scubaduba's big post #5,234 in which he listed the four "1st tier" selections, and a few "runners up". The Oracle was a runner-up, but the Mozztronics was a 1st-tier.
I realize it was from way back in 2021, but this appears to be his last post where he listed his own favorites (that I can find).
With all the praise for the Oracle, I was mainly curious what he (and/or anyone else here) found to be actually better about the Mozz DI-2?
Has anyone here tried both? If so, which one did you prefer, and why?
Obviously cost is one benefit of the Mozztronics. I'm sure I'd be happy with an Oracle, but since the DI-2 is ~half the cost, it's hard to ignore this as a big plus.
Thanks!!
Lots of folks love the Oracle, and I was about to pull the trigger. I'm only hesitating based on scubaduba's big post #5,234 in which he listed the four "1st tier" selections, and a few "runners up". The Oracle was a runner-up, but the Mozztronics was a 1st-tier.
I realize it was from way back in 2021, but this appears to be his last post where he listed his own favorites (that I can find).
With all the praise for the Oracle, I was mainly curious what he (and/or anyone else here) found to be actually better about the Mozz DI-2?
Has anyone here tried both? If so, which one did you prefer, and why?
Obviously cost is one benefit of the Mozztronics. I'm sure I'd be happy with an Oracle, but since the DI-2 is ~half the cost, it's hard to ignore this as a big plus.
Thanks!!
FWIW, the two board preamps I’ve settled on are a SushiBox More into a Tech 21 BDDI V1 and a SushiBox Venus Z.
The More into the BDDI has a bit of SVT vibe, and works really well for Fender sounds. The Venus Z is just transparent and amazing; works well with almost anything. The Sadowsky preamp has two useful functions: providing the standard Sadowsky two band magic for Fender passive basses, and providing Line leveling for active instruments with hot outputs.
The More into the BDDI has a bit of SVT vibe, and works really well for Fender sounds. The Venus Z is just transparent and amazing; works well with almost anything. The Sadowsky preamp has two useful functions: providing the standard Sadowsky two band magic for Fender passive basses, and providing Line leveling for active instruments with hot outputs.
I did not try the oracle but got the Mozz and returned it. Was not impressed with the sound and it is NOT floor (pedal) friendly at all. Knobs are super small and cramped on a small box with a "roof overhang" that makes it impossible to see on a live gig unless higher up to eye level or mounted at an angle facing up..not practical at all for live use (without an amp witch was my intended purpose).
Many thanks! That's definitely good to know. Those things would probably also be a problem for me.
Now I'm just trying to decide between an Oracle and a Khan VTDI... tough!
I've never had an Oracle (like you, almost bought one). However, I had a, Khan, got rid of it, then acquired another asap because I realized how much I missed it.
They are both good!
Currently, one of my church boards has a Khan VTDI.
You might want to try one.
Thanks both! Some high praise for the Khan - definitely in line with the positive reviews pretty much across the board. I'm sold! I may pull the trigger as a little Christmas present to myself... once I can sell off a few things...They are both good!
Currently, one of my church boards has a Khan VTDI.
You might want to try one.
Hey, I may still try an Oracle too, if I can possibly get my hands on one someday. I love the idea of a B15-based tone in a preamp/DI, and the "Range" EQ control sounds brilliant.
Very much appreciate the input! Cheers
So, my Christmas present to myself is getting a bass preamp shootout gathered. Here is what is included. Input and feedback is always welcome! I spend a lot of time hunting tone in headphones at home, then when I plug into our 1400 seat worship center with IEMs all the subtitles vanish. Try Try again.....
Caveman Compact
Arkham Oracle
MXR Bass Preamp
Aguilar Tone Hammer DI V1
Broughton P15
Broughton Studio One
Origin DCX Bass
... and for a wildcard, the Science Amplification Mother preamp/amp-in-a-box.
Caveman Compact
Arkham Oracle
MXR Bass Preamp
Aguilar Tone Hammer DI V1
Broughton P15
Broughton Studio One
Origin DCX Bass
... and for a wildcard, the Science Amplification Mother preamp/amp-in-a-box.
Maybe consider adding the Dicosimo 800RB pedal. The tone in that thing, and the original amp, is pretty awesome.
May be trite, but Noble or Nobelium worth adding to the mix?
I’m ending 2025 with a Noble, Finally, ToneHammer and a Capo.
For 2026, I’m eyeing one of these bad boys:
roseelectricaudio.com
For 2026, I’m eyeing one of these bad boys:
B-15 Tube Preamp / Direct Box
B-15 Tube Preamp / Direct Box is a faithful recreation of the original Ampeg B-15 Flip Top Bass Guitar Amplifier • This is not a guitar pedal made to sound like a B-15, this is a B-15, without the power amp and speaker • Full 300v internal power supply running the 6SL7 tube • transformer...
roseelectricaudio.com
I was also going to suggest the Neptunium as you can find those used on Reverb. But I just took a look and they are going for 500 bucks! That’s no bueno!!
I ordered a Noble expected delivery in September. In the meantime, I wanted to try a few things and get something to use for the next year. Never played through a Noble!
