tallchris wrote: Mon Aug 04, 2025 2:58 pm Yeah I was switching between using a tube preamp into the effects return of the GK or going straight into the GK input, and had to juice up the pedal input when going into the amp vs. the separate preamp. Not sure if that's a normal think w/ tubes in a preamp section vs. solid state, or something else (paging Ben Adrian who probably know this!).

So, the difference in the pedal. Perhaps the GK SS preamp has a higher headroom than the tube preamp, and your used to cranking up the RAT to the point where the preamp (be it tube or solid state) distorts.

My guess is that the GK preamp has a high headroom and a low output to give plenty of clean volume and transient response for all kinds of bassists with all kinds of basses. So the knobs have to be turned kinda high to fully hi the power amp, especially if you're not driving the GK SS preamp that hard.

Now the tube preamp, it's probably designed to distort, and look smore like a tube guitar amp with regards to distortion and signal level. It's not "playing it safe for hi-fi bassists." So my guess is that it distorts sooner, and puts out a hot level to really drive a tube power amp, if hooked to one.

There's no wrong answer here. If you're doing anything grotesquely wrong, the tone will sound grotesque and wrong.

tallchris wrote: Mon Aug 04, 2025 1:42 pm Pulled my 400RB out this weekend since it's gonna get used as part of the backline for a neighborhood festival my band is playing. I hadn't played through it in non-power amp form in a long time and man, that amp sounds really fucking good. Like I kinda want to try playing through just that for a bit instead of my Meatsmoke.

Side question, I saw you with Maple Stave in Durham a year or two ago. I think you had a single speaker compact cab situation going on. Do you remember what you were using then or on the album? Mr. Hull runs through a GK, no? Regardless, that show and that album sounded great.

VaticanShotglass wrote: Wed Sep 10, 2025 4:51 pm

tallchris wrote: Mon Aug 04, 2025 1:42 pm Pulled my 400RB out this weekend since it's gonna get used as part of the backline for a neighborhood festival my band is playing. I hadn't played through it in non-power amp form in a long time and man, that amp sounds really fucking good. Like I kinda want to try playing through just that for a bit instead of my Meatsmoke.

Side question, I saw you with Maple Stave in Durham a year or two ago. I think you had a single speaker compact cab situation going on. Do you remember what you were using then or on the album? Mr. Hull runs through a GK, no? Regardless, that show and that album sounded great.

Ah thanks! I think at that show I was using the Origin Effects Super Vintage fake SVT pedal into the power section of the Quilter, and then into a TL606/Dietz clone that I got off the used Guitar Center site and had sent to Evan. Album was a little different--I used one of EA's TL606 cabs, and at first tried their blonde Bassman but it was totally drowned out by other amps and broke up way sooner than the blackpannel Bassman I often play at home. Ended up using EA's YBA-3 and took a couple of minutes and dialed in and then off to the races.

tallchris wrote: Thu Sep 11, 2025 3:17 pm

VaticanShotglass wrote: Wed Sep 10, 2025 4:51 pm

tallchris wrote: Mon Aug 04, 2025 1:42 pm Pulled my 400RB out this weekend since it's gonna get used as part of the backline for a neighborhood festival my band is playing. I hadn't played through it in non-power amp form in a long time and man, that amp sounds really fucking good. Like I kinda want to try playing through just that for a bit instead of my Meatsmoke.

Side question, I saw you with Maple Stave in Durham a year or two ago. I think you had a single speaker compact cab situation going on. Do you remember what you were using then or on the album? Mr. Hull runs through a GK, no? Regardless, that show and that album sounded great.

Ah thanks! I think at that show I was using the Origin Effects Super Vintage fake SVT pedal into the power section of the Quilter, and then into a TL606/Dietz clone that I got off the used Guitar Center site and had sent to Evan. Album was a little different--I used one of EA's TL606 cabs, and at first tried their blonde Bassman but it was totally drowned out by other amps and broke up way sooner than the blackpannel Bassman I often play at home. Ended up using EA's YBA-3 and took a couple of minutes and dialed in and then off to the races.

Rad. That jogged my memory. Definitely a Quilter and a TL606 looking thing. I figured that was a pretty handy set up what with the fly out and all.