The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison

[projectapollo]

I’m ending 2025 with a Noble, Finally, ToneHammer and a Capo.

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

Whoa. Never heard of Rose. This looks great. I will say that the Broughton P15 is very very good. It's way up on the list in my shootout.

 

[Rocksolid]

My preamp stable at years end:
Berg Super Pre
Jad Freer CAPO
Tech 21 XB Driver
Aguilar TH
MXR M81 Bass Pre
Mini Tonex
Laney Digbeth

Feel like nothing will change for a bit since this year was lots of experimentation. XB Driver had really grown on me and plays beautifully with the LA-1A. Berg is great but not that pedal board friendly. Capo sounds so rich and the light saturation is the most like my Super Bassman. Feel very lucky to have all these options.

Gigging calendar is looking busier next year so I'll get to use them plenty.

 

[rcmbass]

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 love love love my SushiBox Neptunium.

 

[Zooberwerx]

For those wanting to go cheap but sticking with a name-brand "known quantity", I'd like to recommend the older platform EHX Battalion DI. I picked one up for a bill & change which is not much more than the budget-conscious imports (Sonicake, Joyo, etc.). This is the closest I could come to a dual channel (clean / OD) pre where the levels can be normalized without a glaring discrepancy in the EQ profile. The only niggle is the footprint is huge...with all that extra room, you would think they could have added a HPF, tuner, or cigarette lighter. It's capable of soft break-up provided you don't crank the OD & blend controls beyond 10:00. The DI output is also user-variable and, to a degree, independent of the of the pedal settings...haven't had a chance to see how well this feature interacts with a mixing desk. I like the comp but, again, things start getting stupid when cranked past 10:00.

Riis

 

[Btbp]

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.

+1 on what some of the others said, to add one SushiBox or other to the mix, especially given Janeck's and some other's shootouts

 

[lowfreqgeek]

+1 on what some of the others said, to add one SushiBox or other to the mix, especially given Janeck's and some other's shootouts

It depends entirely on what one wants to hear. Based on Janek's DI shootout and others I've seen, the SushiBox would be the last one I'd consider. I've never connected with a Sushibox preamp review/demo. Admittedly, I've never played through one and have no incentive to buy one to try for myself, so maybe I'm missing something, but I'm not going to tie up my money to find out.

 

[Papawheely]

For those wanting to go cheap but sticking with a name-brand "known quantity", I'd like to recommend the older platform EHX Battalion DI. I picked one up for a bill & change which is not much more than the budget-conscious imports (Sonicake, Joyo, etc.). This is the closest I could come to a dual channel (clean / OD) pre where the levels can be normalized without a glaring discrepancy in the EQ profile. The only niggle is the footprint is huge...with all that extra room, you would think they could have added a HPF, tuner, or cigarette lighter. It's capable of soft break-up provided you don't crank the OD & blend controls beyond 10:00. The DI output is also user-variable and, to a degree, independent of the of the pedal settings...haven't had a chance to see how well this feature interacts with a mixing desk. I like the comp but, again, things start getting stupid when cranked past 10:00.

Riis

I think I speak for most of us here when I say I find some of your language problematic. It’s 2025. Do better.

 

[Rocksolid]

I think I speak for most of us here when I say I find some of your language problematic. It’s 2025. Do better.

I'm sorry? Please tell me you are joking.

 

[projectapollo]

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.

Here are the preliminary results using a nice Fender CS 4-string P-Bass.

The winner is...... Caveman Compact. If this is the "Neve" sound, I like it. Yes, it has a baked in low end contour but it sounds gorgeous. I put my DCX Bass into the effects loop as a drive/saturator and it's a perfect match. For sparse musical sections, the full low end is perfect and professional. For bigger moments or more dense mixes, I can add the DCX with a little bass dialed back and plenty of eq-mode drive and slot into the mix nicely with some lovely organic saturation.

Runner-up is ...... Broughton P15. Another great option is to keep a smaller sized board and just set this beside it for my DI box. It's brilliant plug-and-play B15 instant satisfaction.

Honorable Mention....... Trickfish Minnow. The best EQ section I've ever experienced in a bass pedal. Very thoughtfully selected frequencies. I now better understand the appeal of a 4-band eq set-up. This unit is uncolored and quite clean. Just a great DI with outstanding EQ.

Some test run lay-out pics attached using both the Mono Lite+ and the larger Mono Small.

 

[Btbp]

It depends entirely on what one wants to hear. Based on Janek's DI shootout and others I've seen, the SushiBox would be the last one I'd consider. I've never connected with a Sushibox preamp review/demo. Admittedly, I've never played through one and have no incentive to buy one to try for myself, so maybe I'm missing something, but I'm not going to tie up my money to find out.

Yeah I mentioned Janek when I meant Phil Mann.

As an owner of multiple Broughton, SushiBox, and other maker preamps I've very happy with SushiBox gear, YMMV.

These are the ones I had in mind from my post:




One is just Tube DI but has become a fixture on my boards and the Slampegg BeePre is a regular as are a number of Broughtons. Again, YMMV.

 

[Btbp]

I'm sorry? Please tell me you are joking.

+1

7 posts total since 2019 from that @Papawheely with at least 2 that are caustic, totally out of vibe for this community and where @Zooberwerx is highly regarded

 

[Zooberwerx]

+1

7 posts total since 2019 from that @Papawheely with at least 2 that are caustic, totally out of vibe for this community and where @Zooberwerx is highly regarded

Thank you for the endorsement...and that goes for my friend @Rocksolid !

Riis

 

[Rocksolid]

Yeah I mentioned Janek when I meant Phil Mann.

As an owner of multiple Broughton, SushiBox, and other maker preamps I've very happy with SushiBox gear, YMMV.

These are the ones I had in mind from my post:




One is just Tube DI but has become a fixture on my boards and the Slampegg BeePre is a regular as are a number of Broughtons. Again, YMMV.

The Finally has intrigued me for a while. Never purchased as I just don't need it. Same footprint as the MXR M81 so it would be very handy.

 

[Rocksolid]

Thank you for the endorsement...and that goes for my friend @Rocksolid !

Riis

Merry Christmas brother.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Merry Christmas brother.

Back at ya, mate! Thinking of you, Jen, and the boys. This was a bad time of the year to retire as it's moderately cold...no motivation to tackle yard projects.

Riis

 

[Btbp]

The Finally has intrigued me for a while. Never purchased as I just don't need it. Same footprint as the MXR M81 so it would be very handy.

I never tried an Edison but I have to wonder if they are similar. Maybe the Gorilla knows... @Gorilla Monsoon

What has been a minor quandary for me is how the SushiBox More would fit in with the Finally, but I'm not currently in a position to be spending money on gear for a while.

 

[Gorilla Monsoon]

I cant answer that. I’ve not fooled with any of Nathan’s products. Could you provide a shot of your chain?

 

[Btbp]

I cant answer that. I’ve not fooled with any of Nathan’s products. Could you provide a shot of your chain?

My bad - with so much Brough/Sushi cross-pollination it's hard to keep track of who has/had what.

Welp, I don't have an Edison and this isn't my latest iteration but it has a mix of both makers with the SushiBox Finally and Slampegg BeePre and the Broughton SS as the only tubes here

so that's TC Tuner -> Omnicomp -> Slampegg -> SV Pre -> Super Stack -> Subsonic -> Ibanez Mini Chorus -> Finally -> amp

 

[Gorilla Monsoon]

My bad - with so much Brough/Sushi cross-pollination it's hard to keep track of who has/had what.

Welp, I don't have an Edison and this isn't my latest iteration but it has a mix of both makers with the SushiBox Finally and Slampegg BeePre and the Broughton SS as the only tubes here
View attachment 7396579

Ive had a lack of ROI feeding more than two tube effects into amplification. I don’t see where the Edison could improve what you’re doing. In fact, id recommend stripping that board to the tuner, Subsonic, Superstack, Omnicomp and Finally, and eliminate the SVPre and Slampegg. KISS and work on whatever you’re doing with your right hand. Do you ever take a break and plug straight in?

 

[Btbp]

Ive had a lack of ROI feeding more than two tube effects into amplification. I don’t see where the Edison could improve what you’re doing. In fact, id recommend stripping that board to the tuner, Subsonic, Superstack, Omnicomp and Finally, and eliminate the SVPre and Slampegg. KISS and work on whatever you’re doing with your right hand. Do you ever take a break and plug straight in?

It's cool, and I was mostly responding to the other guy upthread.

As I have the Finally I have no use for an Edison. The More, dunno, people rave about it so want to try it at some point, maybe someone can weigh in about the combination of it with the Finally.

That picture is one of many iterations of 3 boards, I use preamps to get certain sounds for certain songs as I most often play in cover bands, and rarely if ever stack them, especially tube pedals.

Except the Finally, like the Omnicomp, it's an always-on if I'm using one of my Class D amps, but if I'm using my WT-400 I usually bypass the Finally.

For example if I need an Entwistle sound for some Who or "There's Never Been Any Reason" etc. it's the SV Pre, for Motown or Soul or some Little Feat or Allman Bros it might be the SS, if I need some Rock grit like Hendrix or Deep Purple or Led Zep it might be the Slampegg, if I need something else it might be the Fliptop. That way I don't have to faff aound with amp setting changes.

Some songs it's straight no pre at all, depending on the room and amp.

In some gigs it's not inconceivable I would use any of those Pres in different songs across a 3-set night.

My little open mic board is just a tuner, comp, Finally, and the Studio 1 or other Pre. Backlines can be a crapshoot.