What preamp pedal do you use, and why?

[Isaac_James]

Tech 21 Bass Fly Rig. I was using VT BAss DI, but this uniot has the same Preamp, and covers almost all my current effects needs.

I use the v2 of the Fly Rig. One of the things I like about the updated version is that it has two channels for the preamp, so I have a clean channel and a dirty, overdriven channel that I can switch between with my foot.

The chorus effect is nice too and I like having the tuner built in. I wish the compressor was a little less aggressive, it gets farty on me when I turn it up even a little bit. But the preamp section really can't be beat, for the price it's a very nice package of tools in one very compact unit.

 

[darwin-bass]

HX Stomp XL

I run with no stage amp, straight to the board & use IEM. The HX Stomp gives me a fully-formed bass signal with compression, HPF/LPF, amp/speaker sim, and EQ. I hear the bass in the IEMs much better this way and FOH is also happier.

(Note, I'm an FOH engineer so what I've dialed into the HX Stomp is a dupe of what we usually dial on on the board for the bass channel. I'm using my FOH knowledge to tell bass-player-me what to do rather than the other way around).

 

[Relsom]

I carry an EBS Microbass III to rehearsals. It's got a built in tuner and compressor, so I don't need to futz around with my pedal board.

My gigging pedal board is pretty minimalist. No preamp on it. tuner>comp>octaver> radial stage direct. I like running straight out from the DI. The only tone shaping is the built in HPF.

 

[SixtyCycleHum]

Over time, I have owned and tried:

Sansamp BDDI (tried and true, will get you SVT-ish tones no problem, but everyone was using it)

Aguilar Tone Hammer (Kind of dark and flabby to my ears. The AGS circuit is just too extreme and harsh to be usable as an OD)

Eden WTDI (I don't hate it! Very clean. Also very bland)

I have finally landed on the Darkglass B7K. This is the tone I was trying to coax out of the Sansamp but needed 2 other pedals to get a poor version of. It became my basic sound the second I opened the box. I love this thing. Using it in conjunction with an active Jazz in front of a GK 700rb ii is dream tone material. YMMV.

 

[GMC]

My Boss ES-5 has one built into the input. So I use that. Seems to be very neutral and works well enough for me to forget about it.

 

[silky smoove]

Broughton Messenger, the older version with the boost switch.

I use this as my DI send to the PA and our IEM system. I use the tuner out to go to my amp on gigs when I’m using an amp specifically so the pedal does nothing to my amp’s signal path. I could get by with a DI that includes HPF and LPF controls. My needs are very simple.

 

[Gregory H]

I've really been enjoying my DSM Noisemaker Simplifier Bass Station. It has a ton of features packed into a tiny package and sounds good to my ears, and I liked it so much that I picked up the guitar version as well. I was able to get 20% off of the $299 MSRP so it could possibly come in under budget. I'm a big fan of this little box!

 

[burgerdj]

Sansamp PBDDI. Three channels of great tones at my feet with a great DI that sends a full character signal to FOH. Engineers know it and I’ve never been forced to use the house DI.

 

[DirtyDuke]

Off the beaten path a little but the Albit preamps from Japan certainly fit that bill

 

[Abington]

I use a SansAmp VT Bass. I do like to use it to dial in a little bit of hair on my sound, but mostly it's a DI with an equalization setup for when I play ampless (sans amp?).

 

[Nightman]

I use an Eden WTDI. It has built-in EQ, Compressor, Gain, Volume, Enhancer, Bypass Switch, and Line Out (used to feed signal into a personal mixer for adding more me to what I get back from the house board).

 

[chiphaleonbass]

I use the Shift-Line Olympic, and for certain bands it is essentially my entire rig; I use it as my "amp" sound for FOH as well as IEM's. I like it because 1, I think it sounds great, 2. It's flexible in that you can load IR's or choose not to use them, and 3. the tube functionality is awesome, you can slam the front end of this thing and it reacts like an amp would. There's plenty of routing options with it as with (has a DI out, headphones out, aux line in, line out and FX loop), it's relatively compact and it simply has gotten the job done for me. FOH engineers love the tones I'm able to provide for them and my bandmates like the tones as well.

Another one for consideration, although you'd need a DI too would be the Benson Preamp. I've used this in conjunction with the Olympic before and sometimes without; it just sounds great. Has a nice overall character to the tonality of it and can be engaged and used as a nice clean boost/overdrive

 

[Altitude]

Interesting we're at post #53 and nobody has mentioned the GK Plex. I don't have one, but I do have a GK head and I like the way it sounds.

 

[Altitude]

Micro amp heads are so small and light now, and have such great DIs, that IMO a separate preamp is a tough use case. Lots of people like the Mesa DI on this thread. It does sound good! But do you need one if you have a D-800 as well, or do you just take your D-800 to your IEM gigs without a cabinet? (That's what I do)

I have a Radial Bassbone because I am occasionally on doubler gigs and the two input thing differentiates in that situation. I've taken it on a couple gigs instead of the Mesa head and used it as a DI for fun, works great. I did not know until recently that the unit is smart enough that if you only have one instrument plugged in it maps that input to both channels which you can then use as a boost or a separate EQ.

 

[Afc70]

I need to interject here -- for my purposes, a preamp must also serve as a DI, so I need to combine functions.

The Phil Jones PE-5 has an Xlr out, so it could be used as a pre/Di combination pedal.. I just wanted to use a Khan for my Di.

 

[Jeremy Jones]

Tech 21 bass Fly Rig V2. I play many styles of music and I tried many different preamps before I landed here. It has a nice tuner, I like the 2 channels to switch between clean and dirty, The compressor I use mostly as a boost and it works well for this. Has a nice chorus and I may be one of the few but I love the sounds I can get out of the Oct and fuzz section. If i need more effect i plug my Zoom B1 FOUR in the loop section and away I go.

 

[MrClassicMetal]

Currently I am trying out this thing:

It arrived today, and so far I like what I'm hearing. It's footprint is 1/2 the size of a Markbass Vintage Pre.

This is the video that gave me the idea to get one:

 

[Zooberwerx]

Tech 21 BFR. My favorite all-in-one: assignable boost, tone control on compressor (v1 only), tuner / chorus / comp actually work for being one-knobby-jobbies.

Riis

 

[ThudThudThud]

I use the Tech 21 Q\Strip (top left), cuz it sounds great! Clean, flexible, great features. (The ParaDriver is used for OD, when the need arises.)

Tuner -> RTDI -> compressor -> Q\Strip -> ParaDriver

View attachment 4599001

I had no idea the ParaDriver was basically an RPM. Might just have to go buy one. Is it close in sound to an RPM?

 

[MrClassicMetal]

Mark bass vintage pre
EBS MICROBASS 3
NUX MLD
Dapper bass
Behringer BDI21

I still have the mark bass and the Behringer

for the money, the behringer and NUX are winners

Have they sorted out that firmware issue?