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which studio bass preamp?
- Thread starter lucaflea80
- Start date
There are just so many ways to go..... don't rule out some of the great lower priced mic pre's out there.... the RNP, the Black Lion Autuer (I love this one), plus many others. The problem with a bass specific pre is that it may not sound as great as you'd like for other stuff.... like vox or guitars. Picking something up that is a bit more versatile when you're getting started is probably a better investment.
I actually like the grunt I get out of the XMAX pres in my Presonus Firestudio Mobile (a bit more color than the XMAX's in my Project or in the Tube). I can even get great results by sending a line right from my GK 700rbII.
It's all about getting the color you want (or lack of color for that matter) for the recording.
I actually like the grunt I get out of the XMAX pres in my Presonus Firestudio Mobile (a bit more color than the XMAX's in my Project or in the Tube). I can even get great results by sending a line right from my GK 700rbII.
It's all about getting the color you want (or lack of color for that matter) for the recording.
Hawkeye
Canuck Amateur
These 3 options are all slightly different sounding, but all good in my book:
Peavey MAX preamp; tube channel / solid state channel with graphic EQ, quiet, nice for slightly overdriven tones via the tube channel. I kicked myself for selling mine a few years ago, so I bought another one.
ART Pro MPA microphone preamp driven by Radial Engineering D2 passive DI
Focusrite Trakmaster (the older one, not the newer PRO series). The platinum series mic preamps aren't really all that great, but it's a great preamp / DI for bass with on-board compression and EQ.
Sans amp BDI, not as good IMO for recording, more like a great stomp pedal for live use.
Peavey MAX preamp; tube channel / solid state channel with graphic EQ, quiet, nice for slightly overdriven tones via the tube channel. I kicked myself for selling mine a few years ago, so I bought another one.
ART Pro MPA microphone preamp driven by Radial Engineering D2 passive DI
Focusrite Trakmaster (the older one, not the newer PRO series). The platinum series mic preamps aren't really all that great, but it's a great preamp / DI for bass with on-board compression and EQ.
Sans amp BDI, not as good IMO for recording, more like a great stomp pedal for live use.
Live I use a Sans Amp Para Driver to go to the house - I may change back to Radial though as I have no use for the grit thing the PD does. The Sans Amp's all add more color than I'm really comfortable with. What I like is the ability to EQ for the house and send a dry line back to my amp. I would really like that feature set without the built in color though...
Recording I've used a bunch of different stuff. Often it is whatever the room has on hand. If the engineer knows his kit, then who am I to say no...
The Eden Navigator is a pretty good suggestion. A couple of years ago I put one up against a Great River mic pre - I had to bypass all the features (turbo boost, comp, eq, etc...) and make it simply a gain stage but - I got really, really close to the noise floor and clarity of the GR pre... Not bad for a live oriented box that costs about 50% less ...
My recording rack at home has a pair of ART Tube Channels. Pre, Comp & EQ in a 1 RU strip. I really like those things a lot... I did a comparison against the old 1.5 RU and newer 1 RU Demeter 201's. The ART's were right there - although not as conveniently packaged for live use.... I no longer own the Demeters... Those ARTs run about $150 in the used market when you can find 'em - and they are a steal at that ...
FWIW - when I record, I record dry & flat & un-compressed. I can add all that in later if necessary ...
Recording I've used a bunch of different stuff. Often it is whatever the room has on hand. If the engineer knows his kit, then who am I to say no...
The Eden Navigator is a pretty good suggestion. A couple of years ago I put one up against a Great River mic pre - I had to bypass all the features (turbo boost, comp, eq, etc...) and make it simply a gain stage but - I got really, really close to the noise floor and clarity of the GR pre... Not bad for a live oriented box that costs about 50% less ...
My recording rack at home has a pair of ART Tube Channels. Pre, Comp & EQ in a 1 RU strip. I really like those things a lot... I did a comparison against the old 1.5 RU and newer 1 RU Demeter 201's. The ART's were right there - although not as conveniently packaged for live use.... I no longer own the Demeters... Those ARTs run about $150 in the used market when you can find 'em - and they are a steal at that ...
FWIW - when I record, I record dry & flat & un-compressed. I can add all that in later if necessary ...
