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.
Tone Monster SBK preamps? Anybody here use them?
- Thread starter fourstringbliss
- Start date
The active preamp I got had treble and bass controls on concentric pots; started out a little noisy when I turned the bass pot and over the course of 4 months got worse and became unuseable. Finally had to replace it. Not with one of theirs, though.
I've only used their NitroBooster but I also bought a few of their other products, like a P-bass wiring harness and some knobs. All of the products of theirs I used are great. They use pots that are nice and smooth feeling.
I put the Nitro Booster on a Fender P-bass with a battery box. It's really useful to have, it gives me a few preset EQs for various sounds. The one I used the most is the mid-scoop mode but the mid-boosted mode also works for some things. I also have a bypass switch for the classic passive P sound.
I did a review with sound clips of the nitro booster here : P-Bass with a Nitro Booster 'Preamp' - Test Drive - Review | TalkBass.com
I was noodling around without a drum beat or metronome but you can get a feel for how it shapes the tone. I did find that it works better in "mid scoop" mode when you roll the tone off a little bit. Otherwise it's too harsh for my tastes.
Last edited:
As an eBay Associate, TalkBass may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
I do not have one out of a bass at the moment but the main circuit board pot (Bass control) I would say hangs about 1 full inch if not a little more off the bottom of the pot. The blend pot has a board on it as well but there should be no issues with this one. If you have a shallow control cavity, you could always get a forstner bit to deepen that section of the control cavity. Hand held drill and the bit and you would be good to go.
Thanks!
Yeah, I actually had to do that for a regular stacked pot, I'm guessing these won't work for me without re soldering.
Yeah, I actually had to do that for a regular stacked pot, I'm guessing these won't work for me without re soldering.
You will have to solder the ground and pickups with this pre. This is by far the easiest pre there is to solder.
I've ordered one of theses ( SBK-3A ) from the U.S. but as they come without knobs, i'm a bit concerned about the dual mid/mid sweep pot which requires a bottom and top knob
Any ideas what should fit ?
I'll be having a look John East's website, as i'm sure he used to sell knobs, or maybe even the Status website
Any ideas what should fit ?
I'll be having a look John East's website, as i'm sure he used to sell knobs, or maybe even the Status website
I bought the knobs direct from Guitar Fuel and they worked for their stacked Treble/Bass knob on my SEB-2A preamp.
Quality KB 2 Chrome Volume Tone Concentric Stacked Control Knob Guitar Bass Mik | eBay
As an eBay Associate, TalkBass may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
If you bought this new, the eBay dealer for these sells them. You should check with them first to see and maybe it can be added to help on shipping cost.
Best Bass Gear I think sells the ones that fit as well but you will need to see if you can get the specs from the seller first to make sure the size you need. I think there are 2 size options for these type of pots, so make sure before ordering.
Best Bass Gear I think sells the ones that fit as well but you will need to see if you can get the specs from the seller first to make sure the size you need. I think there are 2 size options for these type of pots, so make sure before ordering.
I forgot to update this thread I think. I finally bought one of their actual preamps and installed it. I've used a GuitarFuel passive harness for a P-bass, as well as their NitroBooster in a totally different P-bass and I liked both of those products.
The preamp I purchased is this one :
And here it is installed :
I hated the pickups on this bass before, but the preamp saved them. It gave the pickups just enough output boost and a bit more top-end to sound pretty great really. The only thing I have left to do is shield the pickups as it's contributing some noise to the preamp at the moment. I moved foil over top the pickups and the noise went away so I'm pretty sure I just need to shield them to resolve the preamp noise problem.
The balance knob also helped a lot, as before I had a 3-way switch that ended up just making me favor the bridge pickup all the time. With a blend I can get a nice mix of the two pickups.
Here's a sound clip : poopy_line - Clyp
I'm using 60% bridge and 40% neck for both lines. I didn't mix the final clip really at all so I'd use headphones.
First line is in passive mode at full volume.
Second line is in active mode at 1/2 volume with treble/bass both flat.
Excuse the bad line, I'm out of tempo a bit because I was being lazy when I recorded it. Hence the reason it's also not EQ'd really at all!
The preamp I purchased is this one :
And here it is installed :
I hated the pickups on this bass before, but the preamp saved them. It gave the pickups just enough output boost and a bit more top-end to sound pretty great really. The only thing I have left to do is shield the pickups as it's contributing some noise to the preamp at the moment. I moved foil over top the pickups and the noise went away so I'm pretty sure I just need to shield them to resolve the preamp noise problem.
The balance knob also helped a lot, as before I had a 3-way switch that ended up just making me favor the bridge pickup all the time. With a blend I can get a nice mix of the two pickups.
Here's a sound clip : poopy_line - Clyp
I'm using 60% bridge and 40% neck for both lines. I didn't mix the final clip really at all so I'd use headphones.
First line is in passive mode at full volume.
Second line is in active mode at 1/2 volume with treble/bass both flat.
Excuse the bad line, I'm out of tempo a bit because I was being lazy when I recorded it. Hence the reason it's also not EQ'd really at all!
Last edited:
How come you did the active at 1/2 volume?
If it's because of a difference in output, you can adjust the gain pot on the preamp to equalize it.
Yeah I've since done that, it was just right after I installed it.
I was trying to make the output sorta matched for comparison purposes.
Thanks antis - i never even checked whether the seller sold knobs to match his preamps.
Thats was pretty dumb of me, because now the preamp has already been shipped off.
Thats was pretty dumb of me, because now the preamp has already been shipped off.
I did the same thing!
I forgot to ask for shipping both together even though I bought them at the same exact time. It ended up costing only an extra 3 bucks so I figured I'd just let it go.
Last edited:
Well i managed to find some in the UK anyways, a bit cheaper too, but thats only because of the postage to the UK that the Tone Monster guy has to charge, which was very reasonable
If I had been awake, i could of got the knobs cheaper than the UK cost by having them shipped with the preamp.
Dummy
If I had been awake, i could of got the knobs cheaper than the UK cost by having them shipped with the preamp.
Dummy
Bumping this. I'm looking for a preamp to give my Peavey Grind a bit of a boost in sound and the Tone Monsters are what I'm looking at due to their price. My bass has soapbar pickups with a volume and treble for each p/u. I haven't seen any Tone Monsters for this configuration but has anyone else?
wmhill
Inactive
- Aug 20, 2012
- 4,054
- 17,209
- Disclosures
- MTD basses endorsed artist Bartolini pickups emerging artist TECAMP bass players gear endorsed
and you probably won't. it most likely be a volume, blend pot and the EQs.
To do what you want you would have to buy 2 pre's and go that route. You could also go with 1 pre and instal a tone pot in front of the pre for each pickup. This would help in cutting the treble only, which is basically what you need anyway. If you were wanting one pickup to be brighter than you would boost the treble and cut turn the tone knob back on the pickup you wanted less treble out of. You would have a good bit of knobs going on but could work.
