Received my Oracle a few days ago, was able to try it over the weekend - fantastic! Different sound from my Verellen, makes for a nice alternate flavor. Range control is interesting; variety of sounds available but does not respond the way I expected it to (i.e. does not sound like sweeping the frequency on a semi-parametric at least to my ears).
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
The Great Bass Preamp/DI Comparison
- Thread starter chadhargis
- Start date
I did around 10-12 blind sound clips comparing the Noble to the SLO over in the SLO thread if people are interested: Shift Line - Olympic MkIII Tube Bass Preamp
The results are a few pages later I think?
The results are a few pages later I think?
FYI, Prymaxe has the DSM Bass Station in and they knocked off nearly 20% for me.
Man, that thing looks sweet. Does anyone have it? The one thing about the DSM OmnicabSim, at least for me, was that it was kind of noisy. I couldn't get rid of a very small hiss. I'd love an all in one box like this, but if the EQ or cab sim is noisy it'd be a non-starter for me.
jacoby75
Supporting Member
- Mar 11, 2010
- 5,661
- 10,716
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Mike Lull Custom Guitars, DR Strings
I believe @scubaduba reviewed the Simplifier and did not find noise to be an issue.
Posting this here which I originally put in the Broughton thread....
I have both the Simplifier and SLO, and while the loops are the highlight on the Simplifier and make it more generally versatile than the SLO, the SLO wins for me on tone. Surprisingly, despite what people have said about the SLO previously, I think it actually has more range in the tone controls than the Simplifier, at least to my ear. SLO also has a more “organic” feel (for want of a better term) leaving me feeling that the Simplifier in comparison sounds a bit sterile.
I think the Simplifier works a bit better as a headphone amp for practice though...there’s a lot of volume on tap on the independent headphone volume control, much more than the SLO. That’s my 2 cents anyway.
Interested to hear what others think.
Re: the noise issue, yes, I notice some hissing when using the Cab Sim function, a bit worse when the mic position is more central. This is through headphones though, and it isn't as much of a problem through a cabinet or live.
Does anyone have experience with the stuff from Grace Designs?
I was leaning hard towards the BiX/ALiX for a very low noise high quality pedal board front end with a Lehle Parallel mixer driving the effects loop. The Starlifter is very tempting as well. Thanks for any information.
I was leaning hard towards the BiX/ALiX for a very low noise high quality pedal board front end with a Lehle Parallel mixer driving the effects loop. The Starlifter is very tempting as well. Thanks for any information.
I put my Colour Box v2 in the classifieds. Sigh. Need to clear some funds to keep trying new preamps. 
Here's my formal review of the Arkham Oracle: https://www.compressorpedalreviews.com/arkham-oracle-tube-preamp-review
I'm very impressed. I find it hard to turn this one off. With an Effectrode LA-1A in front of it, it is full lush, wide, spacial tube goodness.
The EQ section is robust and very useful. Yes, I prefer it to the Shiftline Olympic MKIII overall. The Shiftline definitely has the edge in terms of size. The Shiftline is also capable of far more breakup if that's what you want. I also prefer the Oracle to the Shaw. Read the review to see the logic.
Will the audience know the difference between the Shaw, Olympic, or Oracle? You can certainly dial in all of them to sound very similar. But I think the EQ section of the Oracle and overall punchy roundness in tone is enough to make me think it would be noticeable.
Anyway, read on: https://www.compressorpedalreviews.com/arkham-oracle-tube-preamp-review
It's a great piece of kit. Overall, the best tube preamp I've tried to date.
I'm very impressed. I find it hard to turn this one off. With an Effectrode LA-1A in front of it, it is full lush, wide, spacial tube goodness.
The EQ section is robust and very useful. Yes, I prefer it to the Shiftline Olympic MKIII overall. The Shiftline definitely has the edge in terms of size. The Shiftline is also capable of far more breakup if that's what you want. I also prefer the Oracle to the Shaw. Read the review to see the logic.
Will the audience know the difference between the Shaw, Olympic, or Oracle? You can certainly dial in all of them to sound very similar. But I think the EQ section of the Oracle and overall punchy roundness in tone is enough to make me think it would be noticeable.
Anyway, read on: https://www.compressorpedalreviews.com/arkham-oracle-tube-preamp-review
It's a great piece of kit. Overall, the best tube preamp I've tried to date.
I put my Colour Box v2 in the classifieds. Sigh. Need to clear some funds to keep trying new preamps.
I would’ve been happy to buy yours but I’m afraid I got impatient and already added one to my board!
I’m using it on this board, as a distortion generator in front of the Mesa subway.
So far, I quite like it.
I have not tried it on any other sources yet, but I’m pretty sure that if I find something else to use in its place that I will most likely find other uses that justify keeping it.
So far, I quite like it.
I have not tried it on any other sources yet, but I’m pretty sure that if I find something else to use in its place that I will most likely find other uses that justify keeping it.
Attachments
jacoby75
Supporting Member
- Mar 11, 2010
- 5,661
- 10,716
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Mike Lull Custom Guitars, DR Strings
That's exactly what I was hoping to hear! I'll be picking one up later this year when the dust settles from all this covid-19 crap. Price point is certainly better than a Shaw and I'm fine without the DI on it. This'll essentially turn my TH700 into a lower powered hybrid version of a DB751(I know I know...the Oracle is based offAmpeg) by adding that tubey goodness in front of it. "Verge of break up" is the sweet spot for me and where I run everything 90% of the time anyway so it sounds perfect for what I'm after.
Thx for the detailed review!
Nice preamp collection! How do they all(Mesa, Broughton, JHS) compare to each other on clean tones? Thanks.
Many DB players use Grace D. Felix. It is reported to be of high quality-see DB part of TB.
well to be fair I am not really using the colorbox as a preamp at all. This board is set up as a sort of bi-amp/ dual amp set up.
Signal path is
wireless- hlpf- cali76tx-L- hulk
The unaffected out of the hulk goes to the c4- colorbox- Mesa subway. the sub out of the hulk goes to the volume pedal and then the Messenger.
the messenger is very clean and powerful, with a lot of adjustments available in the eq. So it works very well for me in this setup to control the sub output of the hulk.
The colorbox is really being used as a distortion generator in front of the Mesa, I have not tried using it as a stand-alone preamp yet.
I find the Mesa to be pretty flexible with its eq controls, overall it has a smooth and thick amp like sound.
sorry I can’t give a better comparison between them, but I did not buy them with the intention of using them in any type of similar fashion.
i can say that if I was looking to purchase one of these three to be used as a clean preamp, and did not want the preamp to color my tone in any way but still wanted a lot of control over it the Messenger would be the way to go.
I’m happy to try to clarify if you have any more specific questions!
