Which PreAmp for silent practice?

Ampeg SCR-DI for me as part of my practice & studio setup. I don't use the Scrambler portion, although I do like the Scrambler pedal.

 

Honestly, the TT handles that very well. In your shoes, I would grab a super cheap Behringer mixer to get me by for a couple of months and then just rock the Mesa.

That being said, that EBS (among your choices) seems pretty amazing.

 

I am using a Sansamp into a Rolls for silent practice and for my church rig. I hear lots of good things about EBS and I have started recently eyeing the NUX. The cab sim IR on the NUX looks interesting.

 

HX Stomp
/thread

 

TC SpectraDrive. Checks all the boxes, plus onboard (TonePrint capable) Drive, and Compression. And cheap!

 

I can't give you a real educated answer here b/c I have very limited experience, but I will toss out the DSM Simplifier Bass Station. I picked one up on the classifieds here a couple months ago and it's been pretty great for silent practice (I literally have no room for a worthwhile amp in my place). Headphone and Aux, two fx loops, plus cabsim options. Fully analog if that matters. Just another option to consider!

 

+1 for HX Stomp. It's a very versatile digital beast. Great for silent practice, sounds fantastic through FOH, and fits in a gig bag.

 

+1 for the Spectradrive

 

“Anyway - at first I was leaning toward EBS vs Markbass, and I think i still do ) Any thoughts about this matchup? ”
I had an EBS for a brief time, and it was just too clean for me. Almost sterile. Had no character in my opinion.
The TC works great for at home, IEM’s at Church, and live through a monitor.

 

The Spectradrive seems like the best deal. The EBS has a lot of features, probably sounds better, but worries me because it seems like people often sell them right after buying. Some seem to like the second version of the EBS better, but they actually both look good to me, if there's nothing wrong with them.

I have a stomp, but if you don't want to spend a lot of time editing, that is not the right choice. If the Darkglass element worked better, I would recommend it, but it didn't for me. It has everything you could want, in theory.

How about one of the shift line rigs?

Shift Line

 

If you like the Markbass sound, that looks really cool. I don't see anything missing, feature-wise. Weird that it has the digital outs, but could be useful I suppose (I could use it for an extra input on my audio interface).

 

I like amplug style headphone amps. No wires.

 

I have an EBS MicroBass 3, and it is a huge upgrade from the 2.
Sounds better, drives power amps MUCH better, I like the drive channel more, the compressor is actually usable, and the tuner is quick and accurate.
I think the overall build quality is much improved on the 3 as well.

I had a 2 for a long time, and it was fine, but the 3 is well worth the $.

Will it replace my regular amp? No way, but it's great for home use, and as a backup at gigs or practice if you have a PA.

 

Ampeg PF-500. -has mini aux in and headphone out. -can double as a backup/practice amp -has "that" ampeg sound. -you can pick them up for stupid cheap! (saw one on CL the other day for $200)

 

Ashdown Tonepocket.

 

I use a variety of tech 21 fly rigs these days.