Sin or common practice? Buying a Preamp from a diff manu than the amp

2

27Dreams

Sep 26, 2023
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#1
Hey all,

I'm a long time bassist but complete novice to the gear stuff. I only just started learning the differences between pickups a few weeks ago. I honestly never even saw that there were differences in pickups until I started researching and now it's all I see! I should probably visit with my optometrist soon.

That being said, I bought an ELF from Trace Elliot and it's great! My biggest issue is that I don't have a cab and so I either have only heard it through AT M50X's or through my DI on my PC. I am planning on getting a Darkglass BK7 Microtubes ultra Preamp (or at least something that is in that line of pedals if I don't get the $450 one). Is it totally normal to buy a preamp that is a different manufacturer than the amp? Isn't it kind of weird to buy an amp from a company that I love the tone of just to manipulate it with some other tone? How hard am I overthinking here?

My decision on the Darkglass BK7 was made after I was shopping for an overdrive pedal and I found out about preamps and what they do, why they're used, why you can carry one when you're touring and just DI into FOH etc etc. My real question here is: how would the ELF and the BK7 interact? How is the tone influenced? Would the amp literally just end up being a 200w driver and all of my tone come from the preamp??

Thanks!
 
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#2
Using a purpose built preamp with line level out may prove difficult unless your integrated amp head has an fx return or power amp in. If it does not have an fx loop, a pedal that outputs at instrument level is what I'd recommend. I can't remember if the ELF has an fx loop....
Stacking pre amps can be tricky and sometimes noisy. If the only input you have on the ELF is the main input, a preamp might not be a good idea.
 
#3
No the ELF doesn't have an FX loop. it just has a 1/4" input and a headphone jack. It has a speaker output and a DI (out) on the rear panel. Are you saying that none of the Microtubes B*K Preamps even the B3K and B5K would be good for this?
 
#5
NKBassman said:
Honestly, a lot. Get whatever gadgets you feel like and run them into whatever amp/cab you have at the moment, and let the music flow.
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The guy that responded earlier said I shouldn't get a pre amp pedal without an effects loop on the amp. Is this true? What would happen if I use a darkglass microtubes b7k preamp pedal with my ELF? I'm fine with it not working like a true pre amp bringin it to line level when I run it through the amp. I'm more interested in the actual tone effects of the pedal. Other guy made it seem like it's not going to work at all.
 
#6
27Dreams said:
The guy that responded earlier said I shouldn't get a pre amp pedal without an effects loop on the amp. Is this true? What would happen if I use a darkglass microtubes b7k preamp pedal with my ELF? I'm fine with it not working like a true pre amp bringin it to line level when I run it through the amp. I'm more interested in the actual tone effects of the pedal. Other guy made it seem like it's not going to work at all.
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I've never owned a b7k, but after seeing it on a bazillion pedal boards I assume you can run it at instrument level into the front end of your amp no problem. Nothing wrong with that just as long as you keep your gain/level staging where it needs to be. Bonus, then you can turn the b7k off when you don't want that tone and you're effectively back to just the ELF. If you were running it as a preamp into an FX Loop, you'd be bypassing the ELF whether the b7k is on or off.
 
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#7
27Dreams said:
Is it totally normal to buy a preamp that is a different manufacturer than the amp? Isn't it kind of weird to buy an amp from a company that I love the tone of just to manipulate it with some other tone? How hard am I overthinking here?
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You are overthinking big time :roflmao:

It is weird to buy a preamp when you like the sound of an amp as is. Can a particular preamp give you a better sound? Maybe, but it’s a slippery slope buying and trying different preamps that might cost more than your ELF did.

I’d get a cab and live with it for a while before even considering preamps.

But this is TB, so I suppose you will ignore this advice :hyper:
 
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#8
27Dreams said:
The guy that responded earlier said I shouldn't get a pre amp pedal without an effects loop on the amp. Is this true?
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No, it is not true. He wants you to consider the signal levels you are working with

Here is a Sweetwater article about signal levels

Bass jacks output "instrument level" signals,
preamps are "line level " signals -which are stronger /higher voltage / louder.

Some amps have an input pad button to reduce the level of a pre-amped signal, but not the ELF.
Basically, expect your preamp to be louder than a raw bass signal.
Adjust your gain knob accordingly.

An FX loop is not "necessary" in any way, they are just usually designed for line level signals.

I will echo the sentiment that a preamp is not necessary if you like what your amp does already. But, many players have one or more pre's on their pedal board and use them as "more tones". I have done so in the past.

27Dreams said:
Would the amp literally just end up being a 200w driver and all of my tone come from the preamp??
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If this is specifically what you want - the ELF as a "power amp", bypassing the ELF preamp completely, with only the Darkglass as a preamp, then you do need a loop of some kind in your amp, because they typically can bypass the amplifier's preamp section via pre/post switch

Keep in mind that your ELF has a preamp already, that's what most of the controls except volume are for.. So adding a Darkglass will run your bass through both pre amps. Not a danger or anything, just be aware.
 
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#16
I got so many preamp pedals laying around that I use for different projects it’s ridiculous. Some also add something special to the tone. I run two through different signals into my amp so I sounds thick and gets all them good tones. I’m also doing it in front of a Mesa prodigy which some people would find also crazy. I say do what sounds good. I personally wasn’t a fan of the B7K but I’m the minority.
 
#18
Don’t worry about it. Darkglass recommends plugging the pedal into input of an amp. It is likely that the pedal doesn’t send line-level signal, it is not a preamp strictly speaking.

Lot of us are using preamps on our pedalboards including myself. I plug them into amp’s instrument input most of the time.

Enjoy!
 
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