Just as a well-written preface to a book can make the following story stronger and more interesting, a quality preamp can make your overall bass tone much better and more malleable. The word “preamp” is short for “preamplifier”, which is an electronic device that not only boosts your bass signal but also gives you the ability to shape your bass tone with EQ. Preamps can come in a variety of forms, so let’s talk about three of the most common.
You might be thinking, “I never use a preamp”, but if you have ever plugged into a bass head or combo, you have used one. You see, every bass amp has a preamp built into it. The input gain control and EQ section are part of the preamp, which prepares and shapes your bass tone before it is passed onto the power amp section and ultimately sent to the speakers. It might be helpful to think of it like a car: the preamp is the steering wheel, and the power amp is the car’s motor.
Preamps also come in pedal form and have gained in popularity in the past few decades. Preamp pedals like our Tone Hammer, AG and DB925 pedals feature controls that adjust the volume and tone of your bass. Preamp pedals are perfect for many musical situations, including venues that do not allow amps on stage.
So, if you have a preamp on your bass amp can you still use a preamp pedal with it or is that a bit of a “hat-on-a-hat" situation? Not at all! Using a preamp pedal in conjunction with a bass amp gives you even more control over your tone and, for single channel amp users, can give you a “second channel”. Additionally, preamp pedals like our Tone Hammer and AG pedals, also have DI outputs and are perfect for sending your signal to the front of house mixer or to a DAW.
Preamps can also be built into a bass guitar, putting active EQ controls literally at your fingertips. Onboard preamps, like our OBP series, are powered by batteries and can significantly boost the signal on your low-output basses and make it easier to adjust your tone in a live setting without walking back to your amp or kneeling down to your pedal board. You might not think that is a big deal but wait until you split the seam in the crotch of your jeans and see how important it is to you not to turn your back to the audience or bend down. (I cannot confirm or deny that this very scenario has happened to me. Twice.)
Although preamps can come in many forms, they are all designed to do one thing – give you more control. And when your singer is telling you where to stand on stage, your guitarist is telling you to turn down and the drummer is, well, being a drummer, it is an awesome feeling to have control over something in your life!
Story by Dale Titus
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Dale has been a professional bassist for 40 years and during that time was an instructor/counselor at the Bass Institute of Technology, a freelance writer for Bass Player magazine as well as the Editor of Bass Frontiers magazine. He also released The Ultimate Beginner Series for Bass videos and book for Alfred Publishing, as well as the Everything Bass YouTube channel.