AinsleyWalker Posted October 11, 2021 Share Posted October 11, 2021 Always been a big fan of having a preamp pedal somewhere in my signal path, even with active basses, and often in differing positions. After a big pedal clearout, I'm left with an Aguilar Tone Hammer and a Darkglass Vintage Deluxe. Usually I'll run the Tone Hammer at the end of my chain for an overall tone control before going out. Does anyone use theirs solely as a drive? With the gain past noon and the AGS engaged it can get pretty hairy. I've also seen some players run their TH at the start of the chain, I suppose to control their clean tone precisely before it hits the effects in the chain. I'm finding myself seeing a use for mine diminishing though. With the Vintage Deluxe, I'll almost always use that as a low-gain drive or to get a boost in the high mids, it's a bit too bright and lacks warmth I want for it to be a general preamp for me personally. How do you use your preamp(s), and where do you put them in your chain? Interested to hear other people's setups Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumOne Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 My chain at the moment is: tuner>fx pedals (in 2x loops that can be reversed) >preamp>compressor>eq/di. Ideally I'd like separate pedals for everything and to be able to move them around easily (with a boss ES5 type thing) because generally I want preamp at the end of the chain but that doesn't always work so well if it's colouring the sound and has something like fuzz ahead of it, and some things like delays sound best after the preamp. Preamps with built-in DI and no fx loop cause a bit of a problem for me as the DI needs to always be at the end of the chain. I'm not such a fan of Multi-Fx but re-ordering for different presets is something they're really good at. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doddy Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 I like having my preamp at the front of my chain so I can shape my tone before hitting any other pedals, even if I'musing it for some drive. I pretty much never use the DI on most preamps either because I want the DI at the end, so I always use a seperate box. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 Often at the end of the chain so it effectively replaces the front end of the amp. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merton Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 My preamp is also my DI box, so it's the end of the chain after the FX. Same as @fretmeisterit is used as a preamp instead of the one on the amp. Or as well as, if I need to tailor the onstage sound differently from the FOH. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stofferson Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 Sansamp at the end, it just makes everything sound better. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rikki_Sixx Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 This has been an interesting read. I picked up a Behringer BDI 21 ages ago but haven't used it much yet. I've been having it at the start of my chain, but definitely going to try it at the end and see what happens! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewUser Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 Having low mid high on the amp and a preamp with low mid high built into the guitar I've wondered if I bought a preamp pedal if it would just be overkill and bring me instant buyers remorse? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danbowskill Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 11 minutes ago, NewUser said: Having low mid high on the amp and a preamp with low mid high built into the guitar I've wondered if I bought a preamp pedal if it would just be overkill and bring me instant buyers remorse? Sometimes its great to experiment with more than 1 preamp into a amp..... A VT bass into the B7k is stupendous. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumOne Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 Preamp pedal is a broad term: From simple tone changers like the One Control Crimson Red through to clean EQ/DI things like the Q-Strip, through to some that are more like distortion pedals, and some that are more like Multi-Fx with compressors and IR loaders. That along with whatever other pedals you have and sounds you want probably means there's no definitive answer but it seems to me that ones with a DI are designed to be end-of chain. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewUser Posted October 12, 2021 Share Posted October 12, 2021 Is the Electro-Harmonix Nano Metal Muff a preamp, since it has high mid and low? I almost bought one but intentionally went with a distortion that didn't have all that stuff, thought since it's already both on the guitar and amp I didn't need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skidder652003 Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 yep my preamp also doubles as a DI (although I use the DI out the back of my Markbass these days) so it's for emergency use only. It goes at the end of my signal chain/pedals. Tuner goes in first. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewUser Posted October 14, 2021 Share Posted October 14, 2021 I leave the low, mid, and high knobs all the way up on the built in preamp of the bass guitar, then adjusted desired tone at the amp head low mid high knobs. I'm staying away from a preamp because I can't figure out why or where or how to set those same controls in my pedal chain. Probably wouldn't benefit me at all would it? Maybe I'm making a rookie mistake? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spyder Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 On 14/10/2021 at 13:00, NewUser said: I leave the low, mid, and high knobs all the way up on the built in preamp of the bass guitar......Maybe I'm making a rookie mistake? Can I ask why you are turning the knobs on your bass preamp all the way up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewUser Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 2 hours ago, spyder said: Can I ask why you are turning the knobs on your bass preamp all the way up? In all honesty I don't know what I'm doing, but I like the way it sounds. I will sometimes experiment with the mid knob and turn it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewUser Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 8 hours ago, spyder said: Can I ask why you are turning the knobs on your bass preamp all the way up? The settings on my amp usually stay around, Gain 10.5 O'clock Low, all the way up Mid, 9 O'clock High, 3 O'clock Chorus, 10.5 O'clock Volume around 9 O'clock if my girlfriend is home, 3 O'clock if she's not here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 (edited) On 11/10/2021 at 21:33, AinsleyWalker said: Always been a big fan of having a preamp pedal somewhere in my signal path, even with active basses, and often in differing positions. After a big pedal clearout, I'm left with an Aguilar Tone Hammer and a Darkglass Vintage Deluxe. Usually I'll run the Tone Hammer at the end of my chain for an overall tone control before going out. Does anyone use theirs solely as a drive? With the gain past noon and the AGS engaged it can get pretty hairy. I've also seen some players run their TH at the start of the chain, I suppose to control their clean tone precisely before it hits the effects in the chain. I'm finding myself seeing a use for mine diminishing though. With the Vintage Deluxe, I'll almost always use that as a low-gain drive or to get a boost in the high mids, it's a bit too bright and lacks warmth I want for it to be a general preamp for me personally. How do you use your preamp(s), and where do you put them in your chain? Interested to hear other people's setups I used my tone hammer purely as a drive and I’ve posted before about how you can tailor the pedal to give more ampeg like tones… see the post on this thread. I have a Basswitch on my board which is a bit of a hub/brain as it has quite a few options for fx loops etc and has two semi para mid eq’s. I have other pedals on the board but the Basswitch has been a constant for 9 years or so I think!! My Basswitch is my main eq with the compressor in the always on loop and the octave in the mix loop. I have the drive in line after the Basswitch and while pedals come and go the comp and Basswitch are constants. Edited October 16, 2021 by krispn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumOne Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 On 14/10/2021 at 13:00, NewUser said: I leave the low, mid, and high knobs all the way up on the built in preamp of the bass guitar, then adjusted desired tone at the amp head low mid high knobs. It's all good whatever works for you, but I generally like to have eq controls on the bass guitar in middle positions - then I'm able to do things like boost the bass for just one part then bring it back down (without adjusting settings on the amp head which is set up for the overall sound), if everything is on full then can only cut things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewUser Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 4 hours ago, SumOne said: It's all good whatever works for you, but I generally like to have eq controls on the bass guitar in middle positions - then I'm able to do things like boost the bass for just one part then bring it back down (without adjusting settings on the amp head which is set up for the overall sound), if everything is on full then can only cut things. 🤔 There's a notch in the middle of the tone knobs that sort of holds the knob from slipping and finds exact center. I assumed that was zero and up and down was positive negative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SumOne Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, NewUser said: 🤔 There's a notch in the middle of the tone knobs that sort of holds the knob from slipping and finds exact center. I assumed that was zero and up and down was positive negative. Yeah that notch is so you can find the centre easily and is what I use as the default position. All set there means you then have the option to boost (or cut) each eq control, if they are all turned fully up you can only cut. The overall volume will be lower with them all set at mid point rather than fully up but you can make up for that at the amp (or preamp pedal). Edited October 16, 2021 by SumOne 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeresaFR Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 I use a VTBass DI at the end of my signal chain. I don't lug an amp and cab around with me and I like to not need a venue DI when I gig. It's a small effects chain, compressor, octaver (up, down and fifth up), chorus, occasional delay, preamp. Nothing overly complex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewUser Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Is two mids, low mid and high mid worth having? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 38 minutes ago, NewUser said: Is two mids, low mid and high mid worth having? That’s what the dark glass preamp offers. Depends what you think you may need out of a preamp but it can be more use for some players/situations. Being able to bump a bit of low mids and or some higher mids say at 800Hz to poke out a little bit or being able to pull out some frequencies to clean things up a bit. can be useful. If you have access to a DAW or a eq pedla where you can play about with these and hear them in context. There’s some good stuff online about frequencies or the qualities of different frequencies (boomy, muddy, boxy, shrill) etc. so if it’s something folks aren’t familiar with it’s worth checking out even if we’re still limited by the eq points on our amps or pedals etc. We don’t ‘need’ to know all this stuff but it can be useful down there line if you have an interest in such things. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Downunderwonder Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 3 hours ago, NewUser said: Is two mids, low mid and high mid worth having? Worth it to who? It works for a couple or three generations of GK users and others with that architecture. Not my first choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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