Is is Pre-amp or Preamp?
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Not liking the SansAmp VT Bass DI, but I know people rave about it.
I do like the VMT sound, but generally donāt like all other Darkglass sounds. Shame the VMT doesnāt have a DI out. The bigger Vintage Deluxe v3 and Vintage Ultra v2 I donāt like as much and they have too many controls for me really. Maybe I donāt need a DI out though. I currently plug straight into my DAI as it has one of those multi-sockets. Not currently playing anywhere where I wouldnāt plug into an amp. I also like the form factor of the VMT. But do you think I donāt need EQ then? Or are you suggesting I use the EQ on the amp or computer instead?
Seems to be EBS ValveDrive vs VMT at the minute.
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I would say decouple the preamp from the DI. You can always buy a cheap DI later if you need one. Plus, I have never wanted the DI to be at my preamp - usually after the reverb, which is always after my preamp.
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Yes.
BTW, Iām also checking out the Mesa Boogie Subway and the Noble Pre-amp
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May also want to look at the Two Notes Le Bass.
Yeah, I looked at that one already. Seems very complicated and didnāt like the demos I heard of it.
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Not the cheapest one 
Seems to be top of the heap though 
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My opinion of that thing isā¦ strong 
Two band EQ? No.
I get that it is supposed to be the pinnacle of a DI box.
If it doesnāt have at minimum a mids control, then itās useless as an EQ, and would require another pedal.
And while I am sure it sounds great, it wonāt sound that much better than, say, a ValveDrive. If it sounds better at all (which is not at all a given.)
It also costs two to four times what an excellent preamp should. I get that it is hand made. It still, at $1100, is a joke for pricing for what you are getting.
And a 13 week wait.
Justā¦ no. If I had one, I would sell it immediately and buy a more capable preamp and two or three other top tier pedals, and still sound indistinguishably good.
Still pretty expensive but much more reasonable and worth checking out. Excellent tone shaping controls and very versatile looking. Love the dual parametric mids. Looks like a nice solid state preamp and Iād like to hear one
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Iāve just ordered a TC Electronics Spectradrive. Donāt really know why, a case of some late-night GAS I think but it was ridiculously cheap at Ā£145 from DV247. I donāt need DI and I sit about two foot away from my Ampeg in my practice room so itās not as if I need a more easily accessible EQ but what I do like is the fact it comes with headphone and aux in sockets and has the Spectracomp compression architecture and overdrive circuits built in so its virtually a complete headphone amp in a small box.
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Itās a very versatile little preamp and has some cool options for practicing with just it.
Itās also a very transparent sounding EQ and all the tone for it comes in TC toneprints, which is either good or bad depending on if you like them.
I considered one really early on and itās got some neat features! I decided against it because I donāt want a clean, transparent preamp - but it looks like a really viable option for someone that does. Looking forward to hearing how you like it!
People seem to love the SpectraComp so I bet the compressor part is cool.
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Yeah, I knew it was expensive, but not THAT expensive. Was expecting more like $600 rangeā¦
I donāt think itās worth it for an amateur like me. Not yet anyway. But, Iām getting close to making a decision.
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Donāt worry, I donāt think the Noble is worth more than $300 for anyone, regardless of level. And I would not pay that for it personally.
Itās nice and handmade and everything, and I am sure gearsnobs are very proud of having it, but the utility just isnāt there over something like the ValveDrive, Le Bass, or other tube preamp choices with more control options. Which in the end will also sound just as good (and likely can be dialed in to sound better.)
On the other hand the Subway definitely looks worth checking out to me. Curious how you like it.
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Might want to check this out:
@DaveT has one and it looks and sounds great to me. Like the ValveDrive, itās got Fender tonestack style EQs and should be much like an improved version of the ValveDrive. Very nice looking preamp.
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The problem with that one is that I canāt find a demo with bass anywhere and there are threads saying it is optimized for guitar, not bass. On their site it says it behaves well with bass too, but thatās not quite the same thing. Could be great, but I wouldnāt buy it blind. Need to hear a bass demo.
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They have some down in the soundcloud links. Hereās one:
That is indeed something to watch out for though as it affects the EQ cutoffs. Might want to ask @DaveT.
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I have both the TC clip and the TC tuner pedal, because of course I do. the tuner pedal is on my main board and I run it always on out of my tuner out port, so it doesnāt mute anything. so I also have a simple mute pedal on my board also. the clip is on my ubass. it is as fast and accurate as the pedal is. and one big clip advantage: you donāt need to plug in to use it. BTW, I used to think all tuners were the same. I bought the cheap ehx tuner trying to save a few bucks. itās terrible. slow and not very responsive. the TC stuff is great.
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What I like best about it is how musical the tube distortion is. I havenāt heard anything else in this format so far that I like as much.
I have other places for EQ so I donāt worry about itās tone stack so much. Itās usable, but it doesnāt get to everything I want for bass. Itās based on the tone stack from the Fender Blackface amps, which has a mid scoop when the knobs are set to noon. If you want to set it neutral, the knob settings look goofy being turned to extremes but work just fine.
You can preview where the EQ points are and how the knobs change the curve with this tone stack EQ curve simulator ā¦,
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Note that the ValveDrive is based on the same circuit.
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Wellā¦ now Iām thinking of buying 4 pedals and replacing my current setupā¦ I blame @howard 
DARKGLASS HARMONIC BOOSTER 2.0 CLEAN BASS PREAMP & BOOST PEDAL
DARKGLASS HYPER LUMINAL HYBRID COMPRESSOR PEDAL
DARKGLASS VINTAGE MICROTUBES BASS OVERDRIVE PEDAL
DARKGLASS ELECTRONICS ELEMENT HEADPHONE AMP & CABINET SIMULATOR PEDAL
I think that gives me everything Iād want apart from effects (which Iām not crazy about anyway) and a tuner. More than I want to spend, but I do have my 20th Anniversary coming up in April so weāll see. 
P.S. Iām also looking at the Darkglass ADAM, which has all these rolled up together, but I think I prefer the individual pedals.
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The Element even has a DI out and is an audio interface too 
Thatās some solid tone youāve got right there.
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