THE BIGGEST BASS PREAMP SHOOTOUT // 26 Preamps Compared

We compare 26 bass preamp pedals across 10 playing examples. Let us know your favorite in the comments!

Preamps featured:
Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI
Darkglass B7K Ultra
Darkglass Vintage Ultra
Ampeg SCR-DI
MXR Bass DI+
EHX Battalion
Origin BASSRIG Super Vintage
Origin BASSRIG '64 Black panel
Phil Jones Bass PE5
Trace Elliot Transit B
Trickfish Minnow
Laney Digbeth
Orange Bass Butler
Tech 21 SH1 Steve Harris Signature SansAmp
Tech 21 DP-3X dUg Pinnick Signature SansAmp
Darkglass Alpha Omega Ultra
Darkglass Microtubes X Ultra
Radial Bassbone OD
Sonicake Boom Ave.
Arkham Oracle
DSM Humboldt Simplifier Bass Station
Walrus Audio Badwater
GK PLEX
Tech 21 VT Bass
Tech 21 GED-2112 Geddy Lee Signature SansAmp
-------------
0:00 Moderate Mid Scoop - Country
3:24 Big Low End - New Wave
6:04 Mid Range Dirt - Classic Rock
11:09 Top End Crunch - Alternative Rock
15:43 Deep Low End - Pop
19:25 Extreme Mid Scoop - Slap
22:23 Mid Range Emphasis - Country
25:48 Heavy Low End - '80s Rock
28:45 Vintage Mid Range - Classic Rock
33:17 Heavy Distortion - Rock
-------------
Join The Bass Channel to get access to perks:
-------------
Join The Bass Channel on Discord:
-------------
We make a small commission on any product purchased through our affiliate links. If you would like to support The Bass Channel on your next gear purchase, whether it be strings, cables, picks, or anything else, check out zZounds! Using our link doesn’t cost you anything extra but it helps us quite a bit. Thank you!

-------------
Follow us on the socials:

[ileutur]

Youtubers take note, THIS is how a proper comarison is done. No slow knob turns, no leaving every knob at noon. You pick a type of sound to go for and see how well the pedals do that

[Therealchuckbailey]

A lot of people citing we missed “their favorite” well your favorite companies aren’t always eager to help. 🤷🏻‍♂️ we did what we could with all the rad companies that support us in supporting them. Thanks again for watching!

[jacoby]

Wow. Absolutely epic. Thank you for taking the time to do that. This just goes to show what a great time it is to be a bass player. So many fantastic options out there. I was surprised by how great the darkglass X ultra sounded by itself. I always thought of it as more of a distortion pedal, but it makes for a very full, fat bass preamp on its own as well. I may need to pick one of those up.

[ianrreedtherd]

Wtf even is this????!!?! This is the BEST YouTube comparison video I have ever seen in my 20+ years playing bass. Bravo indeed. I didn't even know the tech 21 Steve Harris preamp existed and now I have one on order. From the bottom, much appreciation.

[DouglasJerome]

Of the handful of things this video demonstrates, perhaps one of the most important is that very good bass gear cannot make up for not so good bass playing. Great comparison thanks for the effort

[thewetterbass]

Wow, thanks so much for the video and the bloody effort put into it! This is the reason why I subscribed to your channel so many years ago.

When it comes to these preamps, I really feel that the ones that have some kind of cab sim have a slight advantage in this particular shootout.

Also, crazy how good the everlasting Sansamp Bass Driver gets the job done in most situations here.

[WdoThai]

I’ve played through Ampeg amps for the past 45 years. I own an original SvT Classic and B15. I was the touring bassist for the Motown group The Miracles for several years up until Covid and always had the SVT Classic waiting for me on stage as my back line. So when I went to find a preamp to put on my pedalboard I knew exactly what I was looking for tone-wise. I demo’d the Noble, Bassrig Super Vintage, Sansamp and the Ampeg SCR DI. Honestly they were all great. I blindfold tested each of them on 3 different settings I typically use and in every case my ear went right to the Ampeg SCR DI. Just the exact touch of grit for the classic Motown tone I love so much and know so well. That said they were all pretty close and all would have been a great add to my board. But the Noble was a bit too bright and clear for my liking and I had reservations about it holding up on tour.. The Ampeg is built like a tank and also has the earphone out and aux for practicing. The Bassrig was the closest to the Ampeg to my ear and the Sansamp was also close. I was able to dial the Ampeg right in and it was like being with an old friend. Now I don’t play heavy metal or hard rock so I can’t opine on those genres. But for R&B and Funk the Ampeg kills it and at a very reasonable price. I use it on the road and on studio dates and it always gets the job done. I work with some of the best sound engineers in the business and they just love it. For me it’s the best choice and I don’t see it coming off my rig anytime soon. I highly suggest when you demo any pedal you do your own blindfold test. I’ve surprised myself with some other effects pedals and you will find that price does not always reflect the best tone. You will all have your own sound your looking for so go at it that way and not by name brand, trends or dollar value. Confirmation bias is widespread amongst musicians when it comes to pedals and something you want to try to avoid.

[Therealchuckbailey]

Fuck man… what a comprehensive comparison… this must have been painstaking to do. Massively impressive. Just fuckin awesome

[sparella]

Pleasant surprises:
The Trickfish Minnow EQ was consistently impressive. There is an art to choosing frequency centers and Qs, and they nailed it.
The Orange Butler is actually way more versatile than I imagined.

[OrganicFaithFactory]

I keep coming back to the Ampeg. Thanks for the epic comparison

[daviddavis]

I guess I learned that Tech 21 and Darkglass are what I like! The Tech21 Geddy Lee and the Darkglass Alpha-Omega were the ones I listened to a few times.

[mitchdebiase]

Big fan of the GK Plex. Haven't played without it since 2018.

[nj]

Love the Digbeth! Sounds great, even without a speaker sim. Orange Bass Butler is much more versatilve and better sounding than I expected. Darkglass is excellent, as always. Origin Effects Super Vintage is also superb sounding!

[smilymike]

This is honestly so damn useful. Must have been a ton of work but I hope it gets turned into a series with other pedal/effect/amp types too!

[andrewcasey]

MAJOR congrats to this video. Good grief! That was a thrill ride. It definitely feels like I should pick up a few preamps >_>

[danzemacabre]

I've owned three of these, tech 21 sansamp nyc, the tech 21 geddy lee and tech 21 steve harris, loved all three each have their strong points but I've settled on one that i use the most and its the steve harris, simplicity ruled here and its so easy to get the desired tone, really not much screwing around and i love that, the geddy lee is a close second and you can split the signal which is a nice feature. and both are so much more than just dialing in the sound of the iconic players they're named after, you can get some really excellent tones that can find their space in band situations where you are competing with double bass drums and guitars that are filling the lower frequencies, especially the steve harris that has a "bite" button and really good mids, good stuff

[aaronfrazier]

You guys are absolute goats in these bass demos. Since day one 🙏

[themacstack]

I feel bad for the poor Trace Elliott pre, just awful in all the songs. Of course the SansAmp products were excellent, except the dUg. GK Plex and Bass Butler were nice. Dark horses are the MXR Bass D.I.+ and EH Battalion. Cheapest of the bunch and held their own.

[CamiloDiaz]

Surprisingly, I loved how the Batallion held its own against heavy players (Origin, Sansamp, etc). Also, how many Darkglass demos we need to say they all sound the same ?

[jdmarino]

Walrus Audio's Badwater was my fav. I own a DG Vintage Microtubes (and love that grunt switch), the DGV gave a good showing in your shootout as well.