What's so special about a Noble preamp?

[BassDad1964]

Seriously....I see these selling used for $1100 and $1200 bucks. I know something's worth is determined by what someone is willing to pay for it but what does it do to bass tone that makes folks shell out that kind of cash?

Just curious.

 

[scubaduba]

You be the judge —>
Tube Preamp/DI Sound Samples — Noble, Oracle, P-15, Super Stack, REDDI, Tonecraft, Jule...

 

[Driven Crane]

I did not believe the hype. Until I have tried one of my friend's.
The best clean tone I have ever heard.

 

[BassDad1964]

Ok. I consider myself schooled. Thanks Scubaduba for the great info. Now I want an
Effectrode LA-1A Leveling Amplifier.

 

[Ethereal Thorn]

Ok. I consider myself schooled. Thanks Scubaduba for the great info. Now I want an
Effectrode LA-1A Leveling Amplifier.

If you dig that checkout the sushi box deep dish compressor too

 

[scubaduba]

While the Sushi Deep Dish is a nice device it is not the Effectrode. I say this not as a criticism of the Sushi but for the sake of clarity it is not in the same league.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

The Noble is a great DI. Add a Cali76 and you have a power couple marriage greater than (fill in your favorite power couple). It's just a silly good tone. If your sound person doesn't gush, you know they are deaf.

 

[bass12]

I like the sound of the REDDI, Broughton and the Zod but after listening to Scuba’s sound clips I have to say that the Noble sounds even better to me.

 

[ItsmeSantiago]

When I worked for a megachurch, we had infinite resources and had a Noble, Reddi, Neve, whatever I could find. Ran it through an SSL L550 (look at the price of this thing Used Solid State Logic SSL L-500 Plus 96x96 Turn-Key Package ,) Distressors, top notch PA speakers and subs, blah blah blah.

Myself and the rest of the staff musicians unanimously agreed with Reddi was not only the best, but the Noble was overrated. It's nice, but it's not twice as nice as the Reddi.

 

[Nephilymbass]

When I worked for a megachurch, we had infinite resources and had a Noble, Reddi, Neve, whatever I could find. Ran it through an SSL L550 (look at the price of this thing Used Solid State Logic SSL L-500 Plus 96x96 Turn-Key Package ,) Distressors, top notch PA speakers and subs, blah blah blah.

Myself and the rest of the staff musicians unanimously agreed with Reddi was not only the best, but the Noble was overrated. It's nice, but it's not twice as nice as the Reddi.

Sounds like the churches around here lol

 

[Sean Brookes]

It’s very expensive with a waiting list because it seems to be handmade by one guy. This makes it a pretty exclusive device. It’s obviously a great sounding device because of the quality that goes into it, but people buy into the exclusivity of it and start thinking “I am not a pro bass player unless I have a Noble DI”.

 

[Admiral Akbar]

Noble just has that sound.

I’ve used mine on every gig, every recording session since I got one 2 years ago. Had a REDDI too which also sounds great, but not as much for bass as the Noble.

 

[Kijuer]

Bet anyone hearing you playing will go screaming in awe "That's a Noble! I can hear that!!!"
Yeah sure.

 

[BassDad1964]

I am opening my eyes (ears) to improving my bass sound. I am just a weekend player and my lessons in bass tone have been through trial and error. I bought a multi effects unit thinking I "needed" some cool effects but didnt want to spend large amounts on 4 or 5 different pedals. I learned that my multi has about 4 sounds that I use. The EQ and compressor in it did improve things, the rest is mostly wasted space. I just purchased a broughton hpf and I look forward to what it is going to do for my sound through my amp and PA. After hearing these sound samples I now have my ears open to that pre amp La-1a combination. Though I cant spend that kind of cash on a noble ( I actually like two others in that list more) I am now saving my change for the Effectrode and then a good pre that I can manage. Asking my first question here on TB has made me just a little smarter. Thanks again.

 

[LaklandLaksNADA]

Rumor is Jesus solders them himself.

 

[MikeBass]

I’ve owned the Reddi, a Demeter tube DI, an Ampeg SVT- DI, Groove Tube Ditto Box tube DI, and now a Noble.

I hit the Noble on a trade. Wasn’t looking for one or even wanted it.
So when it came I had no preconceived ideas on how it was supposed to sound, nor did I buy into the hype around it.
Got it because I knew they are a hot item and I could flip it fast.

Anyway, i was stunned on how much depth and warmth it has without sounding like an Ampeg. It’s really musical.
I didn’t really appreciate it until I retracked some songs with it, using the exact bass and played the same lines on a few songs.

It really is that good.

That being said, is it “better” than the others I listed? To me it is, but it’s going to be subjective at best. I was completely happy with the ones I listed. (Oddly, the Reddi was the one I didn’t care for the most).

I’ll add the Acme Motown DI is freakin awesome and had I not got the Noble on a trade deal, I’d probably have the Acme on my board.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

If you’re looking for a clean sound with some tube warmth, you’ll like the Noble. It’s a very pedalboard friendly format, and I can bring a Mono Tick and have everything ready to go in a few seconds. Is it expensive? Yes. Is it overpriced? A 3-4 month backlog, and the market says “No”.

 

[db59]

well.....the name itself

 

[Ewo]

I get session calls every now and then, and I bought the Noble to use for tracking. I just take the Noble along and ask the engineer to put its output straight into the DAW with no plugins other than light compression. (An Ampeg sim plugin seems to be what most are used to doing for bass, as a matter of routine. I just ask them to leave off that plugin and give the Noble a listen first.)

So far every one I've worked with has agreed this thing just sounds great for recording a clean tube tone.

 

[pbass2]

I’ve owned the Reddi, a Demeter tube DI, an Ampeg SVT- DI, Groove Tube Ditto Box tube DI, and now a Noble.

I hit the Noble on a trade. Wasn’t looking for one or even wanted it.
So when it came I had no preconceived ideas on how it was supposed to sound, nor did I buy into the hype around it.
Got it because I knew they are a hot item and I could flip it fast.

Anyway, i was stunned on how much depth and warmth it has without sounding like an Ampeg. It’s really musical.
I didn’t really appreciate it until I retracked some songs with it, using the exact bass and played the same lines on a few songs.

It really is that good.

That being said, is it “better” than the others I listed? To me it is, but it’s going to be subjective at best. I was completely happy with the ones I listed. (Oddly, the Reddi was the one I didn’t care for the most).

I’ll add the Acme Motown DI is freakin awesome and had I not got the Noble on a trade deal, I’d probably have the Acme on my board.

Very curious about the Acme. Heck, I admit it, it just looks cool. Have you tried it?
I owned a REDDI for a while, and eventually went back to just using a JDI and going into whatever awesome mic pre the studio had - usually API, Neve, or Neve-y clone of some kind (my fave being the API). The REDDI, as cool as it was, just didn't fit some things I was doing, plus mine started having some issues (introducing weird harmonics at one session that had the producer telling me to throw that giant red thing in the trash!). I got it fixed by A-Designs but still sold it eventually and put the money towards another mic pre for my home studio. As for the Noble, it does sound good in the sound clips, and all the top hotshots are using them it seems. But that is a lotta chedda! I can see if the front end of the studio isn't all that great, it could make a huge difference. But for me for the sound I like (not necessarily going for "tubey" going in) I'm pretty happy with a JDI and then API or Neve or similar front end.