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What's so special about a Noble preamp?

#41
I guess this is not necessarily a Noble question but I might just ask here because it's related.

For all of you recording at home, I'm assuming you're using an input of your audio interface. Does that mean that what you record goes through 2 preamps (the Noble and the one on your auido interface) or is there another way to bypass the second preamp? Does the preamp of your audio interface color your sound in a way that you need to be aware of when using Noble?
 
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#42
doran.dragic said:
I guess this is not necessarily a Noble question but I might just ask here because it's related.

For all of you recording at home, I'm assuming you're using an input of your audio interface. Does that mean that what you record goes through 2 preamps (the Noble and the one on your auido interface) or is there another way to bypass the second preamp? Does the preamp of your audio interface color your sound in a way that you need to be aware of when using Noble?
Click to expand...

Good question. I have a digital out on my Focusrite ISA 1, into my audio interface. That way I bypass the pre on my interface and go straight into my computer. A way to go analogue is to go into line level inputs on an interface from the pre amp. It depends on the inputs available and functionality of the interface.
 
#43
doran.dragic said:
I guess this is not necessarily a Noble question but I might just ask here because it's related.

For all of you recording at home, I'm assuming you're using an input of your audio interface. Does that mean that what you record goes through 2 preamps (the Noble and the one on your auido interface) or is there another way to bypass the second preamp? Does the preamp of your audio interface color your sound in a way that you need to be aware of when using Noble?
Click to expand...
My MOTU’s preamp is turned all the way down so I’m getting my input from the DI
 
#45
Before I ordered my Noble, I reached out to Jack to ask a few questions. I wanted to make sure that the money I was spending on this wasn't going to be wasted because of the other gear I use or the genre of music that supplements my income. Most of the demos I had heard for the Noble sounded amazing, but those guys were usually playing passive p or j basses and none of them were really playing any harder rock. I play mainly harder rock on active basses(Spector & Dingwall). Jack assured me that he had quite a few guys rocking out with active basses, and that the Noble would work in, pretty much, any genre. Sales pitch? Coulda been. I figured if it didn't work, I'd have no trouble selling it.

I went ahead and sent him my monies.

When it showed up, I hooked everything up, and it sounded fantastic, but that was at "I'm at home and there are other people here I don't want to disturb" volume. The real test was gonna be the next night. Trial by fire. I stuck my trusty VT Bass DI in my backpack, just in case this went south. Needless to say, the Noble CRUSHED! The "sound in my head" was actually coming out of my rig! It was one of the best nights I've had. I felt like I played well, because I was truly happy with how I sounded. The only thing that was different was the Noble.

I've ran it with two different compressors, The new Empress Bass Compressor and the Effectrode LA-1A. Both comps sounded fantastic! I will say the combo of the Noble and the LA-1A(the Empress is going on the #2 board)is pretty special, mainly because there's FIVE tubes between them!

Is the Noble going to be everyone's cup o' tea? No, but I can hear, and feel, what it added to my sound. I want board #2 to sound a bit different, that's the only reason I'm not saving up to buy another Noble. Well, that and the fact that I'm probably gonna hafta buy a second HX Stomp for the other board, LOL! To me, the Noble was worth every penny.:thumbsup:
 
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#46
There's other options...
black 800.jpg
 
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#52
PBassTX said:
Has anyone on this thread had the opportunity to compare the Noble with the Kahn VTDI?
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I have. I have used Noble for over six years. Last year I sold my noble because I had to scrounge for money. A few months ago I was looking for a used one but as you know, sometimes they’re very hard to find. It just so happened that I couldn’t get my hands on a used one, so I decided to get a Khan. The Noble is amazing. The Khan is amazing. The noble has a few advantages. It has the DC outs and it has an EQ. The DC outs might or might not be useful for you. Lots of guys already have a power source for their other cables. The EQ section is certainly the advantage over the Khan. The Khan is plug and play and it simply doesn’t have an EQ. I don’t need EQ, but if I had EQ, I’m sure I would use it. Both are great… the Khan is half the price.
 
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#53
SamuelSandoval said:
I have. I have used Noble for over six years. Last year I sold my noble because I had to scrounge for money. A few months ago I was looking for a used one but as you know, sometimes they’re very hard to find. It just so happened that I couldn’t get my hands on a used one, so I decided to get a Khan. The Noble is amazing. The Khan is amazing. The noble has a few advantages. It has the DC outs and it has an EQ. The DC outs might or might not be useful for you. Lots of guys already have a power source for their other cables. The EQ section is certainly the advantage over the Khan. The Khan is plug and play and it simply doesn’t have an EQ. I don’t need EQ, but if I had EQ, I’m sure I would use it. Both are great… the Khan is half the price.
Click to expand...

I haven’t felt like I needed to EQ the signal…at least not on the basses I’ve used so far with the Kahn. I’m not afraid to save up and spend the money (and be patient), but I’m trying to figure out if the Nobel is 2X better than the Kahn???
 
#56
The Oracle is a top notch preamp for sure ! Size & EQ are just great. It got a fast attack for a tube pre - not sure fast attack is the right word to describe it, maybe faster transients, almost SS-like. Depending on the bass / the music, it adds some serious punch. Found out pairing it with an opto or tube compressor is right my alley. LA-1 > Oracle is classics ! Omnicomp > Oracle is whoa as well.
 
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#57
It's all really just different flavors of tube goodness honestly I think most of us could be plenty happy with any of them including the Khan, noble, reddi, JT alpha, oracle, lightstone emperor, Shiftline Olympic, Goliath , Sushi box finally, Broughtan p15, ampeg svt di, Ua twinfinity millennia td1, and groove tube brick I'm sure there are few other really good ones I'm missing but those are the ones I have gotten to use and I am most familiar with the sound of.
 
#58
PBassTX said:
I haven’t felt like I needed to EQ the signal…at least not on the basses I’ve used so far with the Kahn. I’m not afraid to save up and spend the money (and be patient), but I’m trying to figure out if the Nobel is 2X better than the Kahn???
Click to expand...

The simplicity of the Khan make it stand out. Plug in and it just works, and sounds wonderful. I’m not sure anything is necessarily twice as good just because it costs twice as much. It’s so subjective. And with Noble, it’s sometimes 3X as much now. There are people posting used ones for almost $2k…
 
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#59
It's a big black box with white lighting that says Noble in an elegant font.
It has three knobs. If you play direct through the XLR out, only two of those knobs do something.
The bass knob makes your bass and tone fatter. The treble knob adds a sweet treble range.
It's just so beautiful in its simplicity.

There is a certain sound associated with tube gear that plays clean. The Noble does exactly that.

You can easily get away without a Noble.
97,8% of the audience will not notice if you replace the Noble with a pedal that costs a fraction.
But when you played through one and your ears have gotten used to playing through it, you will not want to play without it.
 
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#60
I'm not a pro bassist by any means but my music mentor is definitely a top flight musician and producer. He stays booked consistently even during the pandemic he has 3 studios running in his building. All 3 have a Noble preamp on hand. He personally has Noble, Caveman BP1 rackmount and what I now know is a reddi, and man others. But the fact each room has Noble on hand can't be understated. It's above my price range but if that changes I'd get 1 ASAP. Not because it's popular but because I've seen the reaction of the bassist he works with being happy as kid in candy store when they discover he has them available for use.
 
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