Which tube preamp for Ric basses?

shinynewtoy · Post by **shinynewtoy** » Fri May 19, 2006 2:27 pm

Scott...

POD's rock. When you get it, you'll love it.

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Fri May 19, 2006 2:37 pm

You guys have got to stop giving me potential GAS for a bass pod.

cheyenne · Post by **cheyenne** » Fri May 19, 2006 2:41 pm

Sorry Joey, I caved under the pressure. Jeff's constant endorsment finally wore me down.

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Fri May 19, 2006 2:47 pm

Just kidding Scott. Enjoy it when it arrives. Though I might just have to get one again.

anoukane · Post by **anoukane** » Sat May 20, 2006 9:02 am

Have any of you tried the Ampeg SVP PRO preamp?

bigbajo60 · Post by **bigbajo60** » Sat May 20, 2006 11:28 am

Funny that Jeffrey Scott should mention the Mesa V-Twin Rackmount... I'm getting ready to sell one!

I had purchased it for my guitarist, but it turned out not to be what he was looking for. Where his needs dictate multiple cascaded gain stages with distinct clean, rhythm and lead settings... the V-Twin does clean and distortion... period. It does them very well, but that's it. The "Mix" mode feature, which we had assumed was a gain cascade circuit, turned out to be just what the name indicates; a mix of the clean and distortion channels. Too little "oomph" for a lead guitarist, but IMO this arrangement is perfect for a grindy bass preamp. If I didn't already have all the bass toys I can handle, I'd be looking at keeping it. As it is, I need to get some of my $ back out of it.

So now my guitarist has a Mesa Formula pre (which is what I should've gotten him in the first place...), and I've got a V-Twin to sell.

incubus2432 · Post by **incubus2432** » Sat May 20, 2006 1:02 pm

I have an SVP-Pro and love it. It's my second one....I sold the first in my quest for something better.....I came back to the Ampeg. It can be a tad noisy (IMO certainly not bad but not dead quiet either). The noise isn't an issue for me since my tone is pretty dirty anyway.There are some great preamps out there but the SVP fits what I need/want the best.

Plenty of range from clean /bright to filthy/rumbling. I've been using it for about 8 years without issues.

lshaia · Post by **lshaia** » Sat May 20, 2006 1:10 pm

I have an Ampeg SVP Pro; it's a very nice preamp that to me sounds kind of thin, unfortunately. I added a BBE Sonic Maximizer to fatten it up and it was much better. When it started to make funny noises I bought an Ashdown EVO II RPM-1 preamp; although the Ashdown doesn't have the grind of the Ampeg it has a much more full and musical sound to me.

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Wed May 24, 2006 7:48 am

I had an SVP2 and didn't like it much. I tend to use a Marshall JMP1 for recording; if you like overdrive it's awesome (it is a guitar preamp after all).

clankchris · Post by **clankchris** » Wed May 24, 2006 5:51 pm

Hahaha!

I just got an Electro Harmonix "English Muff'n" and I like it a lot...

The pedal: http://www.ehx.com/ehx2/Default.asp?q=f ... h%5FMuff'n

J-Bass soundclip:http://www.ehx.com/ehx2/Default.asp?q=f&f=%2FCatalog%2F01%5FNew%5FProducts%2F10%5FEnglish%5FMuff%27n%2F03%5FJustin%5FMeldal%2DJohnsen

It comes with two cascading 12AY7's, but you can swap out the preamp tubes for 12AX7's or others, and come up with even more tones - real tones, IMO

I own a SABDDI, but this sounds better to my ears..

anoukane · Post by **anoukane** » Wed May 24, 2006 7:57 pm

I'm a big fan of the English Muff'n aswell, although it's not really a preamp, it's certainly an option I consider.

frightnight · Post by **frightnight** » Thu May 25, 2006 4:04 pm

I use two different preamps right now, a Gallien Krueger 2001RBP and an SWR Interstellar Overdrive. (Not at the same time.) Both of them sound fantastic, but have vastly different characteristics. If you're going for a good tube preamp, I would suggest the IOD. It's actually a little tube amp built into one rackspace. (It can power a small speaker.) Very nice sounding, it's been the cornerstone of my sound for a while now.

bigbajo60 · Post by **bigbajo60** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 12:52 pm

An update on that Mesa Boogie V-Twin that I had mentioned earlier in the thread...

I made the "mistake" of fiddling around with the thing a little too much, and now find myself wondering whether to keep it and sell off my current tube pre (SWR Grand Prix). It has a very fat, clear basic sound off of the clean channel... and the lead channel has some very useful tones in it. Combine that with the fact you can set up a mixed balance between both channels... and I've been having a ton of fun with the bugger.

I've decided to gig the thing this weekend. I think a decision to sell or keep will be easier after a couple of real-world nights out.