why having the preamp built in?

[boilingTheDead]

As far as I know (correct me if Im wrong) when onboard preamps were first used on bass, like sadowsky equipping fenders for session bassists, it was to give the session players a consistent tone in terms of eq. No metter where you go, with a preamp the frequencies to cut or boost will always be the same. Less room for 3rd party to scew things up. Makes sense. Only downside: Batteries

Now here are we now, In a world of affordable pedals and DAWs.

I do not leave the house at without a compressor at least, so I will have to carry pedals and power anyway. By having my preamp in form of a pedal, it won't require batteries, I can use it with any bass, and I can swap it out to choose one of the many options avaliable, might be an amp sim at the same time. Might have xlr out. I can set the controls much more precise due to the graphic indications on the pedal, most onboard preamps are "blind". It happened to me more than once that I accidentely canged these beautiful chrome knobs completely. You will also never be able to have the same setting with these knobs from gig to gig, unless you tape them down or put the controls inside. Most amps are class d, perfectly clean and have a good eq. You can easily go without any preamp at all, if you are not using an amp sim or looking for something specific. If Im in the studio, I can use the same pedal from my board or one of the many great virtual tools which will be 100% consistent.

Many fantastic basses and players using preamps without a doubt, I personally never really liked them for the mentioned reasons. Would be interested to see what you use them for or why not to use a preamp in form of a pedal.

 

[Passinwind]

As far as I know (correct me if Im wrong) when onboard preamps were first used on bass, like sadowsky equipping fenders for session bassists, it was to give the session players a consistent tone in terms of eq.

FWIW, the first widely accepted onboard implementations many of us old timers would cite would be Alembic, and recording was not really the primary focus. They also didn't/don't require batteries.

 

[Zooberwerx]

FWIW, the first widely accepted onboard implementations many of us old timers would cite would be Alembic, and recording was not really the primary focus. They also didn't/don't require batteries.

I was thinking Jack Casady and an almost-painful last minute tech support on Phil Lesh's Alembic (video).

Riis

 

[JRA]

Would be interested to see what you use them for or why not to use a preamp in form of a pedal.

onboard EQ is a no-brainer, IME/IMO, but i like (and depend on) the active blends a lot! i find pedals so cumbersome that i actively think of reasons not to use the ones i have! and they're too 'fidgety' for the payoff. YMMV

 

[RattleSnack]

I have to say, often the battery is mentioned as some kind of negative, reason not to have onboard preamp. I don't think that reasoning stands.
Many bas guitars have passive/active switch, and even if they don't, it's really easy to check battery voltage and replace it on time. I have never ever had problem with dead battety.

 

[XLunacy]

Many fantastic basses and players using preamps without a doubt, I personally never really liked them for the mentioned reasons. Would be interested to see what you use them for or why not to use a preamp in form of a pedal.

Sometimes you get your tone perfectly dialed up, and the very next day you find it lacks lows, or it's too burpy, or whatever, and the day after that it's the opposite... I like to use my onboard preamp for this kind of on-the-fly small adjustments, to get the tone I want at that moment without changing my whole signal chain.
It's great for headphone practice too, all you need is a simple headphone amp, and the onboard preamp gives you all the flexibility you need to practice many different genres and techniques without relying on an external device (you won't EQ your bass the same for Motown and tapping / chording for instance).
Changing a battery once a year for all this is a very small price to pay in my opinion.

Addendum : a pedal preamp and the same preamp as an onboard will not be the same, because in one case there's a very long wire between the pickups and the preamp, altering the tone of the pickups before the signal even reaches the active part of the signal chain.

 

[Killing Floor]

Are you asking why musical instrument pioneers like Leo Fender and the Wickershams wanted to make their instruments more consistent and more useful?
It goes further back than the bass. Rickenbacker, DeArmond and others were making some sophisticated controls for guitars half a century earlier.

To me, the answer is simple. The designer of the instrument has a greater vested interest in the sound of that instrument than a 3rd party pedal seller.

There’s no best way but onboard preamp type controls preceded pedals by a very long time.

 

[Jefenator]

There is something about the simplicity of having everything you want in your signal, all ready to go from the output jack. And being able to make minor EQ tweaks, mid-song with your plucking hand.
The 9V battery has never been a significant problem. I buy industrial Duracells in bulk, keep spares ready to go in every gig bag and test or change before a bigger show.
Following Yogi Berra's advice, I take both forks in the road and also use and enjoy passive basses for their strengths. I've tried "activating" them sometimes with a preamp pedal, but found I don't really enjoy that approach.
Whether the bass is passive or active, I prefer to plug straight in to the amp. I've been resisting the pedalboard trend thus far. Maybe I'll surrender eventually and change my tune. But even if I do, outboard preamps just aren't quite the same experience IMHO.

 

[G On Bass]

I prefer onboard preamps as they allow me to make changes, on the fly, from wherever I am, even at the back of the room during a sound check. No bending over for pedals, or any of that nonsense. That being said, when I have used a preamp on the board,it is dialed in for a specific tone for specific songs, not part of my default sound.

IMHO, many people greatly exaggerate the perils of batteries. It is just part of a basic pre-gig check to look at the battery level. Every year or so, I change it out as a precaution and I have never had a battery die on me. Even passive basses should stay unplugged when not in use to avoid accidental damage to the jack with a cable in it. My wireless unit is far more likely to die mid-gig than a preamp and there seems to be far less hand-wring and pacing the floor about that around these parts...YMMV...

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

I don't prefer basses with active pteamps, but I get why some do.

 

[brianrost]

Batteries are not a reason to avoid onboard preamps. It's wrong to state "By having my preamp in form of a pedal, it won't require batteries". I currently own three outboard preamps and all of them run on batteries. One of the three can be run using phantom power but none of them have jacks for a power supply.

 

[r_bnks]

Why battery is a negative thing? Because you have to change them every 6 to 12 months?

 

[Element Zero]

I use my active pre’s for different reasons. On one bass, it’s to shape the sound going into my amp. This particular bass I’m not a fan of the “flat” sound. A bit of boost on the BASS knob makes it sound phenomenal. I then use the EQ on the amp the dial in the room or achieve a specific sound. Another active bass of mine sounds good in its flat setting and I use the EQ to adjust on the fly. Maybe I want a bit more low end for a tune or maybe it calls for slap so I’ll take some of the Mids out or maybe it’s a funk tune and needs that Jaco type tone.

I like options especially ones I can reach easily and at a moments notice. And I’ll say, I’ve only owned active basses for the last 24 years and never had a battery die on me mid gig or right before a gig. Discipline to change batteries shouldn’t be difficult.

 

[cxcxcx]

I’ve been playing active basses with batteries for nearly 3 decades now. Never had an issue with any battery and never had one die on a gig or session.

I’m not religious or OCD about changing them, either. Once every 9-12 months. It’s not a major hurdle or inconvenience.

In terms of EQ, it’s very difficult to match the distinctive audio and response of onboard preamps. If you simply boost 40Hz and 4KHz in a plugin in a DAW, it still won’t sound like a Sadowsky preamp. There’s other things going on in that circuit.

 

[aprod]

Are you too lazy to change a battery out once a year?

 

[dave64o]

I like having an onboard preamp because we play a lot of small stages and I can rarely get back to my amp to make adjustments without our keys player moving himself and his gear out of the way. So I set my amp for the room and then I can easily make adjustments on my bass if needed.

Also, we play mostly small stages because we play smaller rooms. I rarely go through a house PA, so making those adjustments on my bass won’t interfere with a sound guy. Instead, our guitar player does our sound and he’ll walk around the room to gauge how we sound and he’ll suggest adjustments when needed.

Not all of my basses are active, but most are, and having the onboard preamps in most of my basses is very helpful in my case. Might not be the right solution for all, but they are for me.

 

[FullumMusic]

it's really easy to check battery voltage and replace it on time.

For me, even that simple task of checking or replacing batteries ever few months is starting to annoy the heck out of me. After 20+ years, I’m over it, even if it’s really a fantastically simple task that only happens occasionally. I might be that lazy (or old and cranky?)

To the OP:
There’s probably as many reasons why players use onboard Pres as there are players using onboard Pres. Some like the idea of having the pre there solely as a sort of Circuit Buffer to send low impedance signal right out of the bass. Others just like being able to get different tones without having to go over to the amp to futz with settings. Others prefer it on the bass because they don’t like messing with pedals. Others use it to compensate for the “natural” tone of their pickups that they don’t particularly care for.

I find myself wanting to move away from onboard Pres at this point in life. I found I mostly used it to make up for the shortcomings of the pickups I don’t like. I set the EQ the way I like it and never change it. But now I’m like, I should just put in pickups that sound the way I like and not deal with a Pre and a battery.

Also I’m a minimalist. My amp has a pre. I don’t need another pre before that pre, either onboard or in a mess of pedals. I like going bass -> cable -> amp.

 

[arbiterusa]

Are you too lazy to change a battery out once a year?

oh hell yes. Almost too lazy to even type this out. I hate gear maintenance.

 

[6-3-2]

It's in the end about what works for you. I have an active pre-amp pedal, cause I didn't want to mod my bass. I also like to constantly adjust my tone to suit a song. I'll switch pedals, grab a pick, change my blend, etc. For me that's fun, but plenty find it a hassle.

In the end nothing has to or will work for everyone. I think too often players doubt themselves, cause what they're doing is "unusual," but if the tone is there who cares? Some do it with lots of tweaking, some set it and forget it. All of it can sound amazing.

edit: one clear advantage of an on-board preamp is that it has a buffer. So you're much less likely to lose tone through long cables and pedal boards than without it. Not all preamp pedals have a buffer, so the on-board preamp can simplify your set-up.

 

[el murdoque]

In those times I was heavily relying on my onboard pre:
1. Volume control. The active preamp lets me set the volume at any level I desire. Most (all?) passive volumes will take off top end along with the volume.
2. EQ on board. To push the lows a little and to take the bite off fresh strings.
3. Long cables. I had that one cable that was close to 50ft. Did not matter, I had an active bass driving it.

Nowadays I travel with a pedalboard wherever I go and have moved most, if not all of the signal shaping onto that board. Of my three main player basses, only one is active, and even that sees a lot of play time with the preamp bypassed.