I've been through a few. Tube Preamp/DI Sound Samples — Noble, Oracle, P-15, Super Stack, REDDI, Tonecraft, Jule... More than 30 to be exact. There is definitely more to life than the Noble.
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.
What's so special about a Noble preamp?
- Thread starter BassDad1964
- Start date
I went from a Shift Line Olympic MKIIIS to an Oracle, and in the back of my mind, I thought I might trade up to a Noble at some point. It's easier for me to sell something and invest a few hundred more in the next piece than coming up with a lump sum. But I've never been tempted to move on from the Oracle. In fact my board keeps shrinking because I just like playing clean these days.
I'm sure I'd be equally happy with the Noble, the Monique, and probably also with the JT Alpha, Khan, REDDI, SVT DI, etc. I like a bit of simple eq, but could make do without. These devices are all wonderful and I'm glad I found a long term keeper on my second try. And honestly the SLO was also wonderful and had some real perks, too.
I work at a live music venue as a sound person. I've mixed hundreds of bands and occasionally one showes up with a Noble. They are well-built, they sound clean and have a certain sound if you like it. But they sound like any other good quality DI in the mix as they don't have drastic characteristics. No one has complimented/noticed a bassist because he's using one so far, but no one has complained either.
I listened to this comparison in a real world situation - in my car. A 2014 Toyota Rav 4, it’s a pretty good stereo, which tends to favour the low end.
I listen all my final nixes and masters in my car. The Noble is noticeably better, to my ears it is a richer warmer sound. It has a tube in it, it is what it is - and I am a big fan of the Mesa sound. If money was no object I’d have both, but in this test the Noble wins. I don’t think it is worth the price though, but neither is a Fodera or caviar.
Last edited:
I agree the Noble sounds better in that video BUT, like I said, I think with a little eq adjustment the 2 would sound nearly identical.
In this video, the Noble has a fundamentally different sound to the Mesa, which I think is due to the tube. I think EQ would get them very close, but not the same. The Mesa just sounds cleaner snd more ‘solid state’ to me. If Line 6 ever model the Noble, I’ll have the best of both worlds in my Pod Go. Then I’d challenge anyone to a blindfold test between the real and modelled pre in a mix.
I used to say that until I ate caviar. Now I understand.
I used to say the same thing until I bought a Fodera Monarch P. Incredible instrument!
People listen with their eyes a lot. Myself included.
I'm pretty happy with my Broughtons (SSDI and ETDI), which together cost less than a new Noble, I believe. Nobles are cool looking, they sound really good, but they're not special enough to justify the price to me. As I've been saying a lot recently, though, buy what thou willst that thou can afford. It's a great time to be a bass player, there is so much quality gear to choose from these days.
Look it is very simple no matter what you are buying cars, Televisions, Clothing, etc. etc. there is an item that seems excessive to many people but not to those who use or want it. Having played a Noble in the studio its a quality piece of gear and if I was recording or gigging professionally I'd surely have one.
Now can you find something that's a high quality piece of gear far cheaper to use absolutely.
But in no means does that diminish its merit to buy one ABSOLUETELY NOT.
Because if that was the case Ferrari, Alembic, Prevost Coaches, etc etc wouldn't have cliental knocking down their doors.
Now can you find something that's a high quality piece of gear far cheaper to use absolutely.
But in no means does that diminish its merit to buy one ABSOLUETELY NOT.
Because if that was the case Ferrari, Alembic, Prevost Coaches, etc etc wouldn't have cliental knocking down their doors.
Well, merit to buy is completely subjective, so for someone who finds something that works for a lower price it absolutely does diminish the merit to buy the more expensive item. I have nice little Denon stereo shelf system and a lower tier turntable. I don't need a Macintosh, or a Dumble if I played guitar, fine pieces of gear though they may be. If I had the money to buy a Ferrari, I wouldn't, because that's not how I want to spend that kind of money.
For those that afford top of the line whatever, and want to spend their money on it, there is no reason they shouldn't, however. I would never tell someone not to buy a Ferrari, but I might have questions about them if they did.
Like I said it depends on what it means to you. What is diminished to you will not be so to someone else period.Well, merit to buy is completely subjective, so for someone who finds something that works for a lower price it absolutely does diminish the merit to buy the more expensive item. I have nice little Denon stereo shelf system and a lower tier turntable. I don't need a Macintosh, or a Dumble if I played guitar, fine pieces of gear though they may be. If I had the money to buy a Ferrari, I wouldn't, because that's not how I want to spend that kind of money.
For those that afford top of the line whatever, and want to spend their money on it, there is no reason they shouldn't, however. I would never tell someone not to buy a Ferrari, but I might have questions about them if they did.
BTW I have Mcintosh gear LOL Krell, Martin Logan, Revel (had), B&W, Tannoy (my 1st high end studio monitors from 1982), Rotel, NAD but that doesn't mean I also do not own Kenwood, Yamaha, JBL, and sound bars. Life is short its up to each of us to live as we see fit.
Which is pretty much exactly the point I made. It's entirely subjective.
Your response, given context, makes sense.
I don't own a Ferrari but I do own a Noble and I like several things about it including the way it sounds, the way it looks, the fact that it fits on a pedalboard and can power other pedals. But people can get all of those things for a lot less $$ if that's what they wanted.
If we're just talking about sound, there are plenty of other preamp/DI units that others rave about that I haven't tried. I'm pretty sure some of them sound as good as the Noble, especially in the context of a mix with other instruments in the studio or live.
I know from experience that just running an Effectrode LA-1A compressor as a preamp into a power amp and/or FOH creates a tone that is every bit as good as the Noble (though a little different), for less than half the cost. True, the Effectrode doesn't offer the 2-knob EQ, but it does offer wonderful compression that the Noble doesn't offer. In other words, Effectrode + EQ sounds every bit as good to my ears as Noble + compression, and is considerably less expensive. I bet I could also find a handful of other devices that could be used instead of the Effectrode that would sound equally wonderful.
So, speaking as a Noble owner, I guess the short answer to the question, "What's so special about the Noble?" is, "Nothing that you can't also find in other devices." But I do like owning the Noble for the reasons stated above.
If we're just talking about sound, there are plenty of other preamp/DI units that others rave about that I haven't tried. I'm pretty sure some of them sound as good as the Noble, especially in the context of a mix with other instruments in the studio or live.
I know from experience that just running an Effectrode LA-1A compressor as a preamp into a power amp and/or FOH creates a tone that is every bit as good as the Noble (though a little different), for less than half the cost. True, the Effectrode doesn't offer the 2-knob EQ, but it does offer wonderful compression that the Noble doesn't offer. In other words, Effectrode + EQ sounds every bit as good to my ears as Noble + compression, and is considerably less expensive. I bet I could also find a handful of other devices that could be used instead of the Effectrode that would sound equally wonderful.
So, speaking as a Noble owner, I guess the short answer to the question, "What's so special about the Noble?" is, "Nothing that you can't also find in other devices." But I do like owning the Noble for the reasons stated above.
Last edited:
Lowendtech
Happily trending in my own peculiar direction.
As a previous Noble owner, I can attest to the fact that it sounds great.
However, when I owned mine, it cost me around $1000 CAD. Now with them regularly popping up used in the CL’s for $2K USD, I can say I’ll never own another one.
A Broughton P-15 or SSDI does the job just as well for me at under $700 USD new and put my Noble, Monique, Oracle, Grace Designs, Zephyr and likely a few others that I’ve forgotten about into the CL’s for other people to enjoy.
The fact that you can spend and additional 6 or 700 bucks to bump up your build date is just crazy to me.
I often wonder just how popular they would’ve become if Tim LeFebvre hadn’t been an early adopter.
Don’t get me wrong. They are very good. But you do need a snotload of disposable income to get that last couple of percentage points of tone.
As was mentioned earlier, an LA-1A with any decent (tube) preamp/DI can get it done just as well for half the money.
Kinda reminds me of some booteek pedal brands that seem to magically gain over twice it’s value as soon as someone owns it for a week.
However, when I owned mine, it cost me around $1000 CAD. Now with them regularly popping up used in the CL’s for $2K USD, I can say I’ll never own another one.
A Broughton P-15 or SSDI does the job just as well for me at under $700 USD new and put my Noble, Monique, Oracle, Grace Designs, Zephyr and likely a few others that I’ve forgotten about into the CL’s for other people to enjoy.
The fact that you can spend and additional 6 or 700 bucks to bump up your build date is just crazy to me.
I often wonder just how popular they would’ve become if Tim LeFebvre hadn’t been an early adopter.
Don’t get me wrong. They are very good. But you do need a snotload of disposable income to get that last couple of percentage points of tone.
As was mentioned earlier, an LA-1A with any decent (tube) preamp/DI can get it done just as well for half the money.
Kinda reminds me of some booteek pedal brands that seem to magically gain over twice it’s value as soon as someone owns it for a week.
I had some time with a noble and I ended up going with a used Jt amps alpha di instead for $300 and have been plenty happyAs a previous Noble owner, I can attest to the fact that it sounds great.
However, when I owned mine, it cost me around $1000 CAD. Now with them regularly popping up used in the CL’s for $2K USD, I can say I’ll never own another one.
A Broughton P-15 or SSDI does the job just as well for me at under $700 USD new and put my Noble, Monique, Oracle, Grace Designs, Zephyr and likely a few others that I’ve forgotten about into the CL’s for other people to enjoy.
The fact that you can spend and additional 6 or 700 bucks to bump up your build date is just crazy to me.
I often wonder just how popular they would’ve become if Tim LeFebvre hadn’t been an early adopter.
Don’t get me wrong. They are very good. But you do need a snotload of disposable income to get that last couple of percentage points of tone.
As was mentioned earlier, an LA-1A with any decent (tube) preamp/DI can get it done just as well for half the money.
Kinda reminds me of some booteek pedal brands that seem to magically gain over twice it’s value as soon as someone owns it for a week.
