Clean DI & PREAMP With Headphone Output Choice.

What would you pick considering my thoughts?

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    46
Levent

Levent

Oct 26, 2022
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#1
I'm mostly a jazz, latin, blues kind of stuff player and I prefer using humbuckers and flatwounds with hollow, semi hollow, acoustic, med scale etc. basses. Not a single regular bass :angel:
I'm looking for a clean DI Preamp with a headphone output. I can go from 50$ upto 500$ If It will feel like ''the one'' for a few years. I want to be able to practice with It with headphone and I need It to be solid enough to carry as a DI ampless to practice studios and stage.
I don't mind If It has extra options like drive, distortion and fuzz as long as the clean sounds has anything from deep reggae, motown sounds to light vintage drives. Some thump and punch with optional characters is what I am after.
I did my research. Reading old forums and demos gave me some ideas, add anything you seem to be in same category or If I should remove one from here. Speak your mind please If you think I'm missing a point in my comments.
  1. Markbass Mark Vintage Pre (It's not on top of the list randomly. Demos are good but comments suggest some hiss and ground problem that makes me worry and 10 o'clock sounds don't sound usable in any situation.)
  2. EBS VALVEDRIVE DI (both choices being tube shouldn't scare you, just sweet coincidence.)
  3. EBS Micro Bass 3 (I'm not EBS fanboy or anything too, this has a sweet tuner and every sound option usable in every degree. This is a big possible choice so far. Only negative side is It's too modern sounding for me, lacks the vintage vibe like most others.)
  4. Electro Harmonix Battalion (Distortion ain't my thing but clean options sounded good to me)
  5. Tech 21 SansAmp Character VT Bass DI (No headphone but I liked the subtle drive and punch, no headphones makes It kinda dealbreaker)
  6. Taurus T-Di Plus Mk2 (I'd 100% go for It If I didn't have the onboard preamp and combo of this but again no headphone out)
  7. Darkglass Vintage Ultra v2 Aux (expensive and a ''metal'' brand but goddam good cleans and sweet overdrive that can be used subtle)
  8. Tech 21 QStrip (Isn't advertised as a ''bass only'' and no headphones out but I really liked the sounds)
  9. DSM & Humboldt Simplifier Bass Station (cool sounds but too complex, I don't understand, worth It?)
  10. Palmer Pocket Amp Bass (Can I use It on stage? Are the demos exaggerated? It's sweet.)
  11. Two Notes Le Clean (Sounds good but wouldn't be my first choice, should It be?)
  12. NUX Melvin Lee Davis Preamp (Price, sound, simplicity all together)
  13. Marleaux Tonwerk Bass Preamp (haven't seen a demo that made me choose It yet, I can hear It's solid af. but expensive too )
And where the heck is Sadowsky,MXR,Aguilar,Ampeg,Fender,Phil Jones..? Well, I don't like very preamp character or haven't heard good enough demos yet. I'm willing to listen If you got some :bassist:
 
Last edited:
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#5
I have 3 pres a DSM, Melvin LD and an atomic bass box. The MLD is my favorite, and you can you it as a digital interface keeps you from having to go through the whole DA process, and audio through the aux in goes out the main which helps alot when listening to tracks with the band. Software is simple. Plus the EQ point are bass specific. It's a great pre. The DSM is great as well The phone out doesn't go through main outs but it allows you to raise volume of everything through the headphones with a separate volume knob. I think of it more as an onboard mixer. Many configurations. Get it if you like tweeking with knobs. The Atomic bass box, just a great all in one solution for a solid core bass sounds. Took it off my #3 pedal board because I just want a simple setup, just one box, but it's pricey.
 
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#8
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#11
Just discovered Verellen Meatsmoke Preamp too, It's the most expensive option but sounds undeniably good.
Correct Sound Beta Tube and Carl Martin Bass Drive seems to be up my alley eighter.
All 3 fails to include headphone out though ;)
 
#12
I have to put in a plug for the AMPEG SCR-DI.
If you are sensitive about the "baked in" Ampeg tone, please hear me out...
There are some things that get missed on these. I bought and re-bought this one a few times until I figured it out. Took me 3 times and am happily using this one and anticipate it's on my board to stay...
1. The EQ is +/-, but unity is not at 12 o'clock like you would expect. I guess Ampeg wants you to use your ears, not your eyes...
2. There is an aux in/headphone out. Very useful!
3. There are internal dip switches to change the volts and give you more headroom.

The two downsides for me anyway, are the large size, and the scrambler circuit.
The scrambler circuit is not a problem for me because I don't use it. I have read here that people don't care for it when they have a more robust or specialized drive solution.
As of the size, I really don't have a problem with that either. My entire chain consists of a tuner pedal, HPF, a LPF, a compressor, and the SCR-DI on the end.
I can get a nice raspy p bass tone by setting the eq by ear, and engaging the ultra high button. that can be too bright for some, but what I do is roll off the LPF until it sounds perfect. - The other thing that helps is the compressor. The one I have includes a wet-dry knob. I use it as a lightly compressed clean-boost.

Hope this helps/good luck with your search!
 
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#13
Other: Ampeg SCR-DI. Absolutely love mine. Quiet, easy to tweak, 2 Aux IN (3.5mm + 1/8"), Headphone Out, XLR DI out to board, Ultra Lo/Ultra Hi buttons that actually sound good (if desired), separate Scrambler (Overdrive) sound very nice (if not going for a hard Metal distortion sound), Srambler independently selectable by footswitch (not provided), Ground Lift button. very sturdy case, very small pedal board or stage footprint. I cannot imagine why someone would not like it for practice, travel, rehearsal, session or performing. I am extremely pleased with mine. All that for $275?! Bargain! (No I don't work for Ampeg!).
 
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#15
+1 for Ampeg SCR-DI.
What I like the most is it can operates on 9v battery, very convenient for practice with the aux-out from my laptop/phone/tablet to aux-in on the SCR-DI.
The Scrambler circuit is very good IMHO, it can work as an always on or as a footswitchable drive. The key is the blend and to not go too far with it.
 
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#17
Levent said:
I'm mostly a jazz, latin, blues kind of stuff player and I prefer using humbuckers and flatwounds with hollow, semi hollow, acoustic, med scale etc. basses. Not a single regular bass :angel:
I'm looking for a clean DI Preamp with a headphone output. I can go from 50$ upto 500$ If It will feel like ''the one'' for a few years. I want to be able to practice with It with headphone and I need It to be solid enough to carry as a DI ampless to practice studios and stage.
I don't mind If It has extra options like drive, distortion and fuzz as long as the clean sounds has anything from deep reggae, motown sounds to light vintage drives. Some thump and punch with optional characters is what I am after.
I did my research. Reading old forums and demos gave me some ideas, add anything you seem to be in same category or If I should remove one from here. Speak your mind please If you think I'm missing a point in my comments.
  1. Markbass Mark Vintage Pre (It's not on top of the list randomly. Demos are good but comments suggest some hiss and ground problem that makes me worry and 10 o'clock sounds don't sound usable in any situation.)
  2. EBS VALVEDRIVE DI (both choices being tube shouldn't scare you, just sweet coincidence.)
  3. EBS Micro Bass 3 (I'm not EBS fanboy or anything too, this has a sweet tuner and every sound option usable in every degree. This is a big possible choice so far. Only negative side is It's too modern sounding for me, lacks the vintage vibe like most others.)
  4. Electro Harmonix Battalion (Distortion ain't my thing but clean options sounded good to me)
  5. Tech 21 SansAmp Character VT Bass DI (No headphone but I liked the subtle drive and punch, no headphones makes It kinda dealbreaker)
  6. Taurus T-Di Plus Mk2 (I'd 100% go for It If I didn't have the onboard preamp and combo of this but again no headphone out)
  7. Darkglass Vintage Ultra v2 Aux (expensive and a ''metal'' brand but goddam good cleans and sweet overdrive that can be used subtle)
  8. Tech 21 QStrip (Isn't advertised as a ''bass only'' and no headphones out but I really liked the sounds)
  9. DSM & Humboldt Simplifier Bass Station (cool sounds but too complex, I don't understand, worth It?)
  10. Palmer Pocket Amp Bass (Can I use It on stage? Are the demos exaggerated? It's sweet.)
  11. Two Notes Le Clean (Sounds good but wouldn't be my first choice, should It be?)
  12. NUX Melvin Lee Davis Preamp (Price, sound, simplicity all together)
  13. Marleaux Tonwerk Bass Preamp (haven't seen a demo that made me choose It yet, I can hear It's solid af. but expensive too )
And where the heck is Sadowsky,MXR,Aguilar,Ampeg,Fender,Phil Jones..? Well, I don't like very preamp character or haven't heard good enough demos yet. I'm willing to listen If you got some :bassist:
Click to expand...
If you're looking at 2 notes I'd be looking at the GK Plex. Very versatile and I'm sure you'd find a frequency and GK circuit simulation you'll like.
 
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#18
GTHintz said:
If you're looking at 2 notes I'd be looking at the GK Plex. Very versatile and I'm sure you'd find a frequency and GK circuit simulation you'll like.
Click to expand...
I discovered Plex not long after making this thread, only problem is It is way above the price range of others. Very detailed eq with pressable knobs, cool visuals and tuner. :drool: It's like digital brother of Ebs micro 3 more than 2 notes to me.
 
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#19
Levent said:
I discovered Plex not long after making this thread, only problem is It is way above the price range of others. Very detailed eq with pressable knobs, cool visuals and tuner. :drool: It's like digital brother of Ebs micro 3 more than 2 notes to me.
Click to expand...
You might get lucky and find a used one. If you like the Plex you might like the mxr preamp. It's a similar transparent tone but has a colour button that shifts the mid character. Other than that there's TC spectra drive and nux mld preamp. It's tough to find pedals with aux and headphones out. Especially good ones. I have a mld preamp and I'm messing with other things to see what will wake it up. It's almost transparent to a fault which is nice but I'm looking for just a little character. The GK was perfect for that but it's been broken for a while and I haven't been able to get it fixed yet.
 
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#20
Don't overlook the Quilter Interbass. It's only minor drawback is the fact that the balanced out is 1/4", so you'd want to buy a 1/4 to xlr conversion cable. That said, it sounds fantastic, is highly versatile (4 band active eq, vintage/full range cab sims, phones out, aux in hack by way of parallel FX return) , within budget, and has the advantage of providing a 45 watt (into 4 Ohms, 33 into 8) amp that can easily power a cab.
 
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