JamesXP Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 I currently have a Yamaha P4500 which I'm borrowing long term of a friend.. I use this with a line 6 bass floor pod.. it's a good setup but slightly cumbersome so i'd like a fully rackmounted setup.. The amount of rack preamps on the market is pretty dire... all I can see is the Sansamp RBI and BBE.. theres a few others that have astronomical price tags but they're not for me! I'm pretty clued up on power amps but I can't for the life of me find a reasonable preamp... I dont wanna go the full multi-fx/amp modelling route as I want to simple it down slightly and give me less options as i'm fed up of going through 20 mediocre amp sims when i'd rather have one very good amp! I'm a 3 piece rock band.. we do mostly 70s covers including classic + glam rock plus our own material.. so i'm looking for something that can fit in to that.. I'm using two genz-benz focus 410 cabs.. I like to have a sound with a tiny bit of dirt in it.. nothing too crazy though.. so people of BC.. what can you suggest? thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Acebassmusic Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 If you're looking for 1U pre amps then you could try one of these. Some are mic recording pre-amps that I've used and do a good job Joe Meek VC6Q Alembic F1X - good but ££ Mindprint Envoice Ampeg SVP PRO, SVPCL, BSP etc..... Demeter HBP-1 - again £££ Fender TBP-1 LA Audio MPX10 Rocktron Blue Thunder Toft Audio EC-1 SWR Interstellar Overdrive Some are discontinued but can be found lurking in second hand form sometimes here on BC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesXP Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 I've used a SVP-Pro before.. I did like that but struggled to find one since which is pretty upsetting..I'll have a look on eBay at some of the ones you have suggested. I just wish that the Aguilar Tonehammer was in a rack format as it does seem very me.. haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 stick up a wanted post- it will get some preamps out in the open... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 oh - you either read that and acted on it very quickly or two minds think alike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dincz Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 The LA Audio MPX10 mentioned by Acebassmusic was known as the MPX1 in its early years. They're both the same but the model number was changed to avoid confusion with the Lexicon FX processor with the same model number. The MPX1 turns up used more often than the MPX10. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesXP Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 I had the idea luke, I've posted there previously but nothing of interest popped up unfortunately! maybe my luck will change! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesXP Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 I have just found one on eBay.. (the MPX1 that is) How would you describe it dincz? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subthumper Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Look for a peaveyl alpha or TB Raxx. Always regretted getting rid of mine. Dead simple to use and better built than most of today's offerings. The ampeg sounds good but does tend to be a bit fragile and is a total pain if you need to change a valve. Worth getting it serviced if you get one second hand. I,'ve always thought this is a superior way to put a rig together despite the draw back of size and weight as it allows you power amp of superior quality to most power sections in a lot of amp heads. Don't skimp on your interconnection leads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesXP Posted December 30, 2013 Author Share Posted December 30, 2013 I do like the versatility it offers you in terms of swapping things around.. and the general ruggedness of a rack case compared to a standalone head! all our instrument cables are made from van damme tour cable with genuine neutrik connectors by our guitarist and he makes all the speaker cables with neutrik connectors too.. not sure on cable though its hefty stuff though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grissle Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 (edited) The secret magic when using the Bass Pods is to run them through full range cabs. The amp and cab sims were developed based on recorded samples of the various setups. So they basically recorded say an SVT/810 in a studio and went to work matching it up in a studio environment, with studio monitors etc. that's why if I run a Bass Pod "through" an SVT with say a VOX sim its not going to be accurate. But going from the Pod to a power amp to something like a nice PA cab or monitor will be much, much more accurate. I believe this is partly why people struggled with them. For that matter you will get a more accurate result with even the VT Bass units running them the same way. Ask anyone who's had to use their VT straight to a DI or Board and they'll tell you. Edited December 30, 2013 by Grissle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_S Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 The Sansamp RBI is an easy to use and (subjectively, of course) good sounding preamp for live use, but I've had two and found both can be a little noisy alongside other electrical equipment, plus they have difficulty driving some power amps depending on input sensitivity. I'm tempted to see if I can sell the RBI and pick up the new VT-Bass Rack instead. The BBE B-max is very well built and not at all noisy, but for all its knobs I couldn't find a sound I wanted in there and the compression wasn't to my taste either. The Rocktron Blue Thunder was good for a laugh but not at all easy to use and again I failed to find any sounds I wanted to keep. The best I've owned for being an easy to use preamp with a good basic tone is the Peavey TB Raxx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dincz Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 (edited) [quote name='JamesXP' timestamp='1388440570' post='2322114'] I have just found one on eBay.. (the MPX1 that is) How would you describe it dincz? [/quote] It does everything I need except of course dirt. The EQ section (especially the 2 parametric mids) is very flexible and the compressor seems good too although I rarely use it. A minor niggle is that the instrument input (in fact all connections) is on the back panel. I normally leave a short cable plugged in which connects to the output of my BDI21 when I set up. The individual ins and outs for each section are a plus, allowing you to rearrange the order, bypass a section completely or use it on its own. As with most studio rack gear, there's bags of level available for driving a power amp - about +18dBu I think. In case you haven't seen it, there's a review here: [url="http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/1997_articles/aug97/laaudiompx1.html"]http://www.soundonso...aaudiompx1.html[/url] and the excellent manual here: [url="http://www.laaudio.co.uk/Resources/Documents/MPX10Usermanual.PDF"]http://www.laaudio.c...0Usermanual.PDF[/url] Edited December 31, 2013 by dincz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigcapener Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Just a suggestion if you don't mind it being more that 1u..I'm about to take the plunge on making a preamp separately by getting a rack eq and limiter, using a DI to get a balanced sound and using the eq as gain essentially. You go from the DI into the eq, then into the limiter and from there into the power amp..it also doubles up as a guitar rig too if you have a guitar cab handy I've been looking at pre-amps for a long time and never found one that has the right balance of price/quality that was on the market at the time. Good luck in your search! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesXP Posted December 31, 2013 Author Share Posted December 31, 2013 Dincz that sounds like it could be a good solution.. Do you find the preamp allows you to get away from the scooped mids of the BDI21? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dincz Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 [quote name='JamesXP' timestamp='1388497043' post='2322644'] Dincz that sounds like it could be a good solution.. Do you find the preamp allows you to get away from the scooped mids of the BDI21? [/quote] I normally don't use bass or treble boost on the BDI so any mid scooping would be minimal. The low mid parametric should get you around that anyway. There's 15dB of boost available if you need it and I expect the right combination of freq and Q should fill the hole nicely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmayhem Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 I've been collecting preamps for a while and have found some favourites. In my rack I have from top to bottom: - Roland M-120 Line Mixer - for connecting all preamps to one power amp. - Yamaha PB1 - one of the first rack units for bass. If you find one of these 80's gems: GET IT! - Eden WP-100 Navigator - the most versatile of them all. - Ampeg SVP-PRO - the one that differs most from the others in tone AND noise. - EBS-1, series 2 - also a versatile preamp, more hi-fi. A bit strange to tweak, though. - Trace Elliot V-Type - the surprise of the year! Very, very good sounding preamp. Like the Yamaha it builds on the Fender tone stack. Find one: GET IT! [IMG]http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd169/bassmayhem/1-BassPreampRack_zps6afb9610.jpg[/IMG] These things have NOT cost a fortune, more like basement bargains, due to weight and bulkiness. Today you get light weight stuff that is really, really good. I got a Genz Benz Streamliner 900 for ordinary "meat and potato"-gigs. These things mostly sit at home, or get rented out to some local studios. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinterMute Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 [quote name='Grissle' timestamp='1388443785' post='2322157'] The secret magic when using the Bass Pods is to run them through full range cabs. The amp and cab sims were developed based on recorded samples of the various setups. So they basically recorded say an SVT/810 in a studio and went to work matching it up in a studio environment, with studio monitors etc. that's why if I run a Bass Pod "through" an SVT with say a VOX sim its not going to be accurate. But going from the Pod to a power amp to something like a nice PA cab or monitor will be much, much more accurate. I believe this is partly why people struggled with them. For that matter you will get a more accurate result with even the VT Bass units running them the same way. Ask anyone who's had to use their VT straight to a DI or Board and they'll tell you. [/quote] I run the Pod XT Pro rack into a Crown XLS1500 and barefaced Big Twin T for precisely this reason, no point in using modelled signals into a voiced cab, the BT is effectively a bass PA and handles any and all of the models I throw at it with ease, if you like the modelled approach (and I do) then its a perfect set up, huge amounts of tonal variation in a vey small package. The XT pods do need a bit of time to understand the architecture, but I've been using them in studios for years and they are immensely flexible beasts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolo Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 I recently found a new trace gp12x pre. Only used it once so far, but it offers many different ways to shape your tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disssa Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 (edited) [quote name='JamesXP' timestamp='1388431816' post='2321956'] The amount of rack preamps on the market is pretty dire... all I can see is the Sansamp RBI and BBE.. theres a few others that have astronomical price tags but they're not for me! so people of BC.. what can you suggest? [/quote] I collected all that [url="http://www.stoffer-net.de/reviews.html"]preamps[/url]: There are some good preamp for less money. Look at ebay... Edited January 2, 2014 by TraceAmp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 [quote name='TraceAmp' timestamp='1388678655' post='2324718'] I collected all that [url="http://www.stoffer-net.de/reviews.html"]preamps[/url]: There are some good preamp for less money. Look at ebay... [/quote] right onto translating your reviews! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disssa Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 My english isn't so good... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 [quote name='TraceAmp' timestamp='1388685332' post='2324840'] My english isn't so good... [/quote] Dein Englisch ist viel besser als mein Deutsch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUI101 Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 If you can't find a preamp that suits the sound you're after, you could consider getting one built.... DHA (Dave hall amps) do some custom work and did me a rack version of their VT2 pedal. Fairly inexpensive too. [attachment=151439:IMG_00000006.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted January 2, 2014 Share Posted January 2, 2014 [quote name='TraceAmp' timestamp='1388685332' post='2324840'] My english isn't so good... [/quote] wife is a german teacher so between her and google translate I'll work it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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