AntLockyer Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 A few things happened which made me think about active basses and outboard pre amps. I currently run my basses direct into my EBS Reidmar (2 passive Ps, one old and one new, and my Aria) and can shape the sound from a subtle mid push to a full on honk fest. The sweepable mid control is great as is the 1 knob compressor. I've been thinking about a more modern sound for a while, and my late model P has rounds on it and gets pretty close. I was listening to Jeff Beck last night and Tal's PJ sounded wicked (through her EBS rig). So onto the questions. Am I missing anything by having my passive basses straight into my EBS? I love the simplicity. Would an external pre be a waste seeing as I think only the newer P needs anything with the Aria already being active and the 62 being awesome already? Would an Aguilar or Sadowsky be better suited? Obviously Tal's PJ has a Sadowsky pre inside it. Anything else I've not thought about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Any pedal solution for you would need to have two inputs, with separate gain/level/input controls. That way the active/passive choice does no damage to achieving ... erm ... whatever it is you're trying to achieve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntLockyer Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 (edited) [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1430828605' post='2764924'] whatever it is you're trying to achieve. [/quote] Yeah I guess that is the first thing to address. I love the sound of a Sadowsky PJ into an EBS rig and would like mine to sound more like that. And I would never mix P basses with Aria on the same gig. Edited May 5, 2015 by AntLockyer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 If you can't get the sound you want from your amp, then some sort of tone shaping pre-amp is what you need. Whether it's in the bass or not shouldn't really matter, that's just your preference. I'd play about a bit more with your amp, you might be able to find the sound you're looking for Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Ive been using a Darkglass VTMD for almost a year now. I dont use it full on, but it adds something "warm and 3D like" to my tone that i wouldn't be able to get from an active bass (within reason). It just brings my Markbass head to life, without really changing the overall tone. Of course it can be used as a dirt/overdrive pedal, but used with care it just becomes part of the overall tone. I couldn't really gig without it these days, even though i use an active bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntLockyer Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 [quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1430831094' post='2764961'] If you can't get the sound you want from your amp, then some sort of tone shaping pre-amp is what you need. Whether it's in the bass or not shouldn't really matter, that's just your preference. I'd play about a bit more with your amp, you might be able to find the sound you're looking for [/quote] I guess that is the thing. I think I have a sound that is pretty close but do not know if I'm missing something by not having an Active P style bass or a pre amp. I had a Sansamp and that did not add anything I wanted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 A sansamp is an amp simulator, which you don't really want as you like your amp... Can you tell what's missing when comparing the tone you have to the tone you want? Maybe it's some high frequencies? Or "punch"? I wouldn't say you're missing out on anything by not having an active pre, except for the EQ options it gives you. I guess an EQ pedal would be a lot cheaper than the sadowsky pre! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 What are you missing? Apart from some specialised devices that work on different principals, the vast majority of pre-amps don't do anything that you shouldn't already be able to do with the gain and tone controls on your amp. After all this part of your amp is a pre-amp too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Hmmm, i'd argue (polity of course) that a lot of amps have different signature tones. So just liking one amp doesnt mean you can get any tone you want out of it. Some have way more control than others and i suppose thats why we like to use different amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmachine2112 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Wouldn,t leave home without one. most of them double as a DI box as well,covered Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 I swear by my DHA VT1-EQ. I use it to add a bit of grit and polish to my signal before it hits my (uber-clean) SWR head. The DI is great too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntLockyer Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 Played about this evening and I can get the sound I'm after I'm still wondering if there is something else that I'd get by just sticking the pedal in the chain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmachine2112 Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 Hiho you could use as a boost or different sound or just fine tune one killer tone and hard to believe that,s all you need,the rest is fiddle the knobs on the bass and the rest is in your hands Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted May 6, 2015 Share Posted May 6, 2015 [quote name='AntLockyer' timestamp='1430853301' post='2765298'] ... I'm still wondering if there is something else that I'd get by just sticking the pedal in the chain. [/quote] Yup. Loads of stuff. One more thing to go wrong. One more thing to remember to take there and then bring home again. One more thing to worry about whenever you think you "don't sound right". In fact, one more thing to rule them all and in the darkness bind them. I constantly fall victim to all of these. Prune prune prune back down to bass --> amp --> cab and then gradually add more and more paraphernalia until the next meltdown. Learn from my mistakes. It's more than I ever seem to manage. If you don't need it, don't use it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntLockyer Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 Thank you, I really felt liberated when I sold my last pedal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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