Bass preamp. What should I buy?

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BernatTC

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May 20, 2018
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#1
Hey guys!

I need your help and experience! I'm playing with a latin/reggae/ska/rock band in Barcelona, and we're starting to have some gigs around. The fact is that we are 8 members in the band, and moving all our stuff and people around is a bit of a s**t, and we are trying to "economize" all the transport.

I've been thinking on not bringing my amp to the gigs, as it's easier to go around, but the direct sound from my bass to the PA through the DI, I'm afraid to be so colourless and "dry".

The idea would be to bring a bass preamp pedal with a DI out, so I can EQ/colour my sound a bit before sending it to the sound desk.

Do you have any recommendation? I'm not much an overdrive kind-of-a-guy, so that's not really important for me. I've found the Trace Elliot Transit B a good choice, but I'm openminded!

I'm playing an active Musicman Bongo 5 at the moment.

Help me please!! ;-p
 
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#2
Personally if I had the money and needed a preamp my first choice would be a Trace Elliot Transit B too, I am a little biased though since my main amp is an old Trace Elliot and I love the tone of it, you can't really beat the features the Transit B offers though.

Another cheaper option would be the the TC Electronic Spectra Drive, which unlike Transit B that is 100% analog, is digital, it does mean that you get tons of features under the hood though that you by hooking it up to a computer can tailor the exact tone you wish with.
 
#3
I used to be an out-and-out shameless Aguilar Tone Hammer apologist. Part of me still is. Part of me believes you would love this bass pre too. But..

The GK Plex is really rockin my boat. I'm biased because my main rig is an 800rb, but this thing has all I could ever want and more! Neat compressor on tap too.

Also, if you like the idea of tubes and can part with the $$$, I can't recommend Darkglass Microtubes stuff enough. I'd use it if I could afford it and hadn't fallen for the GK.
 
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#4
Important to get a few facts straight first, as not all preamp pedals will be good for a reggae sound or react well if you are boosting a lot of bass from your Bongo.

You already have a 4 band EQ on your bass, do you set it up for a really dubby sound with a big dollop of bass and the highs / high mids rolled off? Do you typically stick to one sound throughout the set?

If you want to add a bit of tube warmth, boosting a lot of bass into most units would result in an overly fuzzy sound so you might want to add low level drive then EQ after for example - or leave the EQ side to be handled downstream at the desk!

I too am a big ToneHammer fan, although I've found I can get a very similar sound out of my One Control Sonic Silver Peg and am leaning towards using that instead from now on! One thing about the TH though is it's a pretty dry sounding EQ by itself without the AGS engaged, and with it on it does roll off the deep low end, a good thing in many cases IMHO, but something to be aware of if you're into a lot of sub bass.

TC Spectradrive is worth a look, the compressor and EQ on it is top notch, and you have footswitchable drive too.
 
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#9
If you want to treat yourself to one of the cleanest, finest, and most well-defined sounds, I highly recommend the Sadowsky pre-amp pedal. The Sadowsky tone is one of the most sought after, ever since Roger started making the preamps in the 70s for Marcus Miller. I've been playing a Sadowsky MV5 jazz bass for 4 years now through my time as a student at Berklee and I have used it for a vast variety of genres (from reggae, to jazz, to metal and country) and it ALWAYS blends in beautifully in the mix. Just my two cents on the topic!

Brian L.
 
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#11
I searched for months and watched reviews for almost 12 candidates.
This is the result and I'm actually going to run a massive test tomorrow.

IMG_2290.JPG
 
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#13
dannybuoy said:
I too am a big ToneHammer fan, although I've found I can get a very similar sound out of my One Control Sonic Silver Peg and am leaning towards using that instead from now on! One thing about the TH though is it's a pretty dry sounding EQ by itself without the AGS engaged, and with it on it does roll off the deep low end, a good thing in many cases IMHO, but something to be aware of if you're into a lot of sub bass.
Click to expand...

Along a similar vein, I might recommend using the One Control Crimson Red Bass Preamp. I can get an amazing dub reggae tone with it, especially if I completely minimize the Brilliance knob.
~Nick von Nick
 
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#14
I just looked up the TE Transit B.
That thing looks killer!
Found specs on the EQ, if you're curious. Some interesting frequency points.
EQUALISATION:
BASS = +/- 15 dB @ 117 Hz; Q = 0.91
LO-MID = +/- 15 dB @ 279 Hz; Q = 0.89
MID = +/- 15 dB @ 664 Hz; Q = 0.88
HI-MID = +/- 15 dB @ 1.73 kHz; Q = 0.74
TREBLE = +/- 15 dB @ 4.95 kHz; Q = 0.73
They definitely chose those points by ear. But they look like actual usable EQ points, so...
 
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#15
jpTron said:
Tech 21 VT DI because not only is it versatile, but if you go direct it has a switch to engage and disengage a cab simulator circuit. It has a blend too.
Click to expand...

+1 on this, especially if you can try it before you buy it. I have had great luck with the VT Bass DI from Tech 21. Haven't found a sound engineer yet that didn't dig it.
 
#17
mc900ftj said:
+1 on this, especially if you can try it before you buy it. I have had great luck with the VT Bass DI from Tech 21. Haven't found a sound engineer yet that didn't dig it.
Click to expand...
I love my VT Bass DI... I ignore all the high gain nonsense and run mine set somewhere between a B15 and an SVT-alike setting. Nice fat sound to the FOH!
 
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#18
BernatTC said:
Hey guys!

I need your help and experience! I'm playing with a latin/reggae/ska/rock band in Barcelona, and we're starting to have some gigs around. The fact is that we are 8 members in the band, and moving all our stuff and people around is a bit of a s**t, and we are trying to "economize" all the transport.

I've been thinking on not bringing my amp to the gigs, as it's easier to go around, but the direct sound from my bass to the PA through the DI, I'm afraid to be so colourless and "dry".

The idea would be to bring a bass preamp pedal with a DI out, so I can EQ/colour my sound a bit before sending it to the sound desk.

Do you have any recommendation? I'm not much an overdrive kind-of-a-guy, so that's not really important for me. I've found the Trace Elliot Transit B a good choice, but I'm openminded!

I'm playing an active Musicman Bongo 5 at the moment.

Help me please!! ;-p
Click to expand...
The Spectradrive from TC is nice. But, if you also get a Qstrip or some cab sim, you can make anything solid gold.
 
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#19
+1 on the Tech 21 VT DI or the Sansamp BDDI. You will sound like you're playing through an Ampeg amp and a 8x10 cabinet (more or less), but without any of them.
 
#20
BernatTC said:
Hey guys!

I need your help and experience! I'm playing with a latin/reggae/ska/rock band in Barcelona, and we're starting to have some gigs around. The fact is that we are 8 members in the band, and moving all our stuff and people around is a bit of a s**t, and we are trying to "economize" all the transport.

I've been thinking on not bringing my amp to the gigs, as it's easier to go around, but the direct sound from my bass to the PA through the DI, I'm afraid to be so colourless and "dry".

The idea would be to bring a bass preamp pedal with a DI out, so I can EQ/colour my sound a bit before sending it to the sound desk.

Do you have any recommendation? I'm not much an overdrive kind-of-a-guy, so that's not really important for me. I've found the Trace Elliot Transit B a good choice, but I'm openminded!

I'm playing an active Musicman Bongo 5 at the moment.

Help me please!! ;-p
Click to expand...
Check out the Eden WTDI. It's a foot pedal with an Eden preamp inside it. You can figure out which settings you like and then when you send to FOH you'll get the sound you want. It's also great for making any backline amp sound like an Eden amp. you just plug it into the effects-return of the amp and it bypasses the amps preamp and takes your preamp signal directly to the power section for amplification.

If has both balanced out (DI) for FOH and unbalanced out for plugging into an effects-return. Also has an adjustable compressor and an enhance (scoops mids). EQ is simple bass, mids, treble, with a mid shift button to switch between 550Hz and 2.2KHz, and a bass boost if you really want to get carried away. I believe street price is still around $150. Here's a good demo of it:


For about another $40 (street price just below $200) you can get the Eden Terra Nova module which is basically the Terra Nova preamp as a module to hook up to FOH or Backline amps. If you use a compressor much, the less expensive WTDI has a better, more adjustable one. The one on this module is either on or off and you adjust the threshold with the gain control. It has a more adjustable EQ with 2 semi-parametric mid controls (low-mids and hi-mids) that offer a lot of versatility to your sound. The module is much bigger than the WTDI. Here's Eden's demo of it:
 
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