The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison

[rcmbass]

I had the SushiBox FX Neptunium that sounded great. Many compare this preamp to the Noble.

I just got the Walrus Audio Mantle. I am really loving the Mantle.

 

[Yamarc]

I love my Noble, both for the tone and the fact that it has an effected 1/4” output I can run into my amp for on stage monitoring. My Noble is the heart of my tone (and my most expensive piece of audio equipment), so I want to be able to hear it on stage.

don’t know why more manufacturers haven’t jumped on the affected 1/4” output yet. Seems like a no brainer to me.

 

[TheDuff]

+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

Troll.

 

[Rocksolid]

Just reading the last few pages, we are truly in the golden era for preamps. Premium preamps being compared and the loser flipped with minuscule differences in tone/quality. It's wild!!
I still own my old SVP Pro Ampeg tube pre. If I am ever trying to validate a preamp, I A/B it against this. The SVP usually wins, but it helps me dial things in. We are so lucky to have these options.

To those that are obsessing about incremental improvements in tone: is there something that triggers you knowing that you were previously happy? For me it is the absence of gigs. Gigging and constantly validating my tone im context helps me to relax, but no gigging starts this cycle of obsessing and over analysing that is unnecessary.

 

[SteveC]

Just reading the last few pages, we are truly in the golden era for preamps. Premium preamps being compared and the loser flipped with minuscule differences in tone/quality. It's wild!!

It is wild.

I still own my old SVP Pro Ampeg tube pre. If I am ever trying to validate a preamp, I A/B it against this. The SVP usually wins, but it helps me dial things in. We are so lucky to have these options.

That is a great old preamp that can hang with anything today.

To those that are obsessing about incremental improvements in tone: is there something that triggers you knowing that you were previously happy? For me it is the absence of gigs. Gigging and constantly validating my tone im context helps me to relax, but no gigging starts this cycle of obsessing and over analysing that is unnecessary.

Yeah, gigging doesn't leave a lot of time to obsess about gear. Idle hands and all that. I have nice gear. Good basses. But I just don't have that tone I hear from others. Liv Thompson (plays with Raye who's all the rage right now) is the latest to get me. She has a great sound. She uses an F Bass and a P bass and runs into a Stomp/Noble board. Sounds fantastic.

I have a Roscoe Century 5 and P bass. I have a Stomp. I don not have a Noble.

 

[TheArchitect]

Philip Conrad shot out a dozen or so di boxes a few years back. Noble, reddi, jdi and other high end units with an Amazon dibasca control. I found the jdi for example to be very, very close as were others. I just can't justify the price tag for such a small difference

 

[SteveC]

Someone said the transformer is almost as big a deal as the tube? Maybe? The Radial JDI has the nice transformer.

 

[rcmbass]

Sushi Box FX just dropped this pedal! Looks like a promising option.

MAYDAY

 

[morrisonhendrix]

And Sushi Box FX just dropped this pedal! Looks like a promising option.

MAYDAY
View attachment 7485887

I'd be interested in how this compares to my Khan. I'll be eager to read reviews of it.

 

[rcmbass]

Another Pre-Amp Shootout here that includes the Noble. The Noble is the clear winner!

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

Another Pre-Amp Shootout here that includes the Noble. The Noble is the clear winner!

For that tone Noble and Mantle.

 

[TheArchitect]

Sushi Box FX just dropped this pedal! Looks like a promising option.

MAYDAY
View attachment 7485887

I use a Finally on my board. The Sushibox stuff is really good

 

[SteveC]

Whomever commented on transformers making more of a difference than tubes has me intrigued. I wish I could find that post. The REDDI is big and heavy. The transformer is big. But it also has a tube. Noble isn't as big but also has a tube. Both are reffered to as a "B-15 in a box" so I wonder if a non tube box can have that sound with just a nice transformer?

 

[wolffire99]

Do I have to get a Noble to get a sound I like?

As a Noble owner, most definitely not. At least not the same way a drive or modulation pedal would make you sound like someone else. It’s still a clean DI. You will sound like you.

 

[mikedeeez]

Whomever commented on transformers making more of a difference than tubes has me intrigued. I wish I could find that post. The REDDI is big and heavy. The transformer is big. But it also has a tube. Noble isn't as big but also has a tube. Both are reffered to as a "B-15 in a box" so I wonder if a non tube box can have that sound with just a nice transformer?

I have wondered about the effects of transformers as well - both by themselves, and as a comparison with the effect of tubes.

It's hard to find YouTube comparisons that provide very clear A/B tests of transformers, but one good one I found is for Lighting Boy 2020 transformers. They're the ones that sold in a very simple, always-on pedal format.
Here's the link:

This video actually goes even further by using two of these pedals in series, because some people have reported that the effect is so subtle that you can simply do 2 in a row to get more of the effect.
But even in a direct A/B comparison (dry vs 2 of these Lighting Boy 2020s), the conclusion is that if you even can hear an effect at all, it's very subtle at most. The commenters seem to generally agree.
From my side - I would never be able to tell any difference in a blind test.

There are other YT videos about Lighting Boy pedals that report that they could hear a bit more of an effect, but again, it's "subtle" at best.

To be clear:
- I'm not saying that it does nothing at all. Maybe it's a bit easier to observe if you're the one playing it - i.e. maybe it's a "feel" thing that doesn't come across very easily in YT videos, similar to a lot of compressors. (Although the video maker also said he couldn't tell much of a difference.)
- This is just one transformer. It may vary for other transformers.
- Maybe it has more of an effect with different settings, in different pedals, at different input volumes, etc.

TL;DR: Just my general understanding based on what I've heard, it seems like transformers have a very subtle effect. I'm guessing that tubes typically affect the tone more than transformers. And both tubes and transformers alone (not taking overdrive into effect) impact the sound FAR less than, say, just switching on a distortion pedal.

 

[Erithon]

TL;DR: Just my general understanding based on what I've heard, it seems like transformers have a very subtle effect. I'm guessing that tubes typically affect the tone more than transformers. And both tubes and transformers alone (not taking overdrive into effect) impact the sound FAR less than, say, just switching on a distortion pedal.

It really depends on the type of transformer and how it's being used. There is a reason, for example, the Origin Effect Cali76 big box compressors are so sought after: the transformer (iron-core or Lundahl) is the component which sets them apart, and that in turn is because of how the circuit is designed to saturate the transformer.

In general, though, I agree vacuum tubes have more noticeable impact on tone than transformers.

 

[mikedeeez]

It really depends on the type of transformer and how it's being used. There is a reason, for example, the Origin Effect Cali76 big box compressors are so sought after: the transformer (iron-core or Lundahl) is the component which sets them apart, and that in turn is because of how the circuit is designed to saturate the transformer.

In general, though, I agree vacuum tubes have more noticeable impact on tone than transformers.

Oh yeah - good point, and great example. I actually bought the Cali76-TX especially for that reason! Can confirm it's terrific, maybe my most valued pedal/effect in terms of just making everything sound better.

I don't have a non-TX version to A/B it with, but yes, as you increase the gain, for sure you start to get a fuzzier sound. How much of that is the transformer specifically, and how much is just the 1176-style design, I'm not certain, but - various gear demos do make it pretty clear that the Lundahl (TXL) version is noticeably cleaner than the TX version, as is expected for the Lundahl transformer they used.

So yes, that's a great example where the transformer definitely does affect the tone, even if still on the subtle side.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I’m usually not a preamp guy. I have a Mesa WD 800 that I enjoy very much but have been curious about the D800+. Mesa came out with a newer affordable version of their Subway+ preamp that is based on the front end of the D800+. Now I have both the WD and the D+ tone pallets to work on from. $199

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

I’m usually not a preamp guy. I have a Mesa WD 800 that I enjoy very much but have been curious about the D800+. Mesa came out with a newer affordable version of their Subway+ preamp that is based on the front end of the D800+. Now I have both the WD and the D+ tone pallets to work on from. $199

View attachment 7486248

Just bought the Subway+ Preamp Pedal myself

 

[Zoot H Rollo]

Still feeling this out.

I discovered the 1/4" balanced output into my QSC CP-12 (1/4" BAL to XLR) gives me the master volume control.

Don't need the Benson.

It sounds friggin' MASSIVE.

Sweepable mids, voice, boost, input, HPF

killer unit for $199.