Which Bass Preamp Should You Buy? Tier List: 13 Ranked! | My Ultimate Preamp Pedal Revealed! 

What’s your favourite preamp/DI pedal? Where would you put it on this list? Also: A couple of mistakes I picked up when editing on the names of some of the pedals! All have been corrected in the list in the description. See you in the next video! T

Well sir, you have sold me on the Tech 21 VT! I just ordered one.

MXR M80 DI is my go to. It's been on my board since it came out. I was going to get the sands amp because I had a Bass Comp that I loved until it broke. I liked the 2 channel option and the noise gate on the dirty channel. The clean channel has 2 voices. Built like a tank. It survived a house fire and works fine

Cool video man! Some great choices there. My favourite preamp is the Tech21 Sansamp Bass Driver V2🤘

Would've needed this yesterday, before I bought mine :D In the end I got the B7K v2 Ultra, so the bigger brother of the one you had here. Fooled around with all of these from the list at the music store for several hours, and I kept circling back to the B7K I was eyeing the Helix after playing through my friends, but I just got overwhelmed trying it out

If you're into tube preamps, I'd suggest to try the EBS Valve Drive. It's a very clean sounding all tube preamp pedal with incredible signal to noise ratio that can also do pretty nasty overdrive sounds if you crank it. Can either be used as a standalone preamp or as an overdrive pedal. Everything from crystal clean warm funk sounds to roaring pure rock'n'roll madness a la Motörhead. Only con is the loss of low end definition in overdrive mode. But that's just what real tube distortion does.

The MXR M 81 is a great pedal. Wondering about the ranking. Pure neutral tone, great DI and EQ with parametric mids. Not bigger than a standard Boss Pedal. In my opinion a preamp should not colour the tone.

The big sansamp programmable DI brought to a whole new level the expression "Set it and forget it"! 😅😂

A preamp DI that always gets over looked, that I think is awesome, is the TC electronic Spectradrive. I use TCE amps, so this pedal gives me the exact same thing minus the capability to power a speaker. 20+ years playing so I know what I want to hear and love that I get the same sound weather it's from my amp or di pedal. The tone print thing I thought would be a gimmick, but it gives you a large option for compression and drives. Take a look if you haven't tried one yet.

I got the bass driver programmable, used it really often and love it. You can reconstruct the settings with the flashing led. But I also got the HX Stomp since one year ... and yes, it's a killer pedal. Totally agree. And also agree: I got the BassVT as rack unit and it serves as quick and easy frontend to my DAW - with DI and the SansAmp output ... great unit. Of course not so flexible as the HX, but just plugin and play something / practice ... great. So thank's for the video, like it. Always searching for tips and opinions about gear and it served me well. Even if it just confirmed my love to the HX Stomp ;-)

Good review. Absolutely right about the stomp. Also, the EBS Microbass and Nu-X Melvin Lee should be considered. Obviously I don't expect you to own them all. Love the classic Sansamp as long as you the blend is no more than 10 o'clock.

I really would love you showed HOW THEY SOUND

I'm kicking myself, because I bought the MXR pedal last week, and THEN I saw this review. Had no idea there was a preamp pedal review on your channel. Wish I had checked. LESSON LEARNED. (Also, Tyler, you were the single biggest deciding factor in my purchase last week of the Aguilar DB751. Can't wait to receive it. Hmm... now that I'm thinking about it, I LOVE the fact that I'm sitting here annoyed about a pedal, rather than having regrets about a $2,500.00 amp. Hah, now I feel good again.)

If I'm going for a clean and usefully bass tone my Sansamp is my preamp of choice. If I'm looking for a distorted tone I use my Darkglass B7K. This summer I bought a Boss GT1000 Core and I'm using it as an all-in-one solution and I'm planning to insert my Darkglass B7K in the FX loop. One of the most underrated pedals is the TC Electronics Spark Booster. It can be used as a clean boost, light overdrive and some tone shaping. If you like the Sansamp tone and you're in a budget you can try the Caline Wine Cellar or the Behringer BDI21.

dUg Pennick has great tone stack and the FET sounding, to me anyway, compression is very good. Easy to dial in crunch too

I’m looking forward to testing out the soon to be released XB Driver from Tech 21. Split the signal at your own preferred frequency, compress below, drive above, EQ, DI, though no digital impulse response

I have the Ampeg Classic and it changed my bass like night and day. I can also get several types of sounds as far a bright and aggressive or deep, low window shaking. If you learn to use it, it is a great pedal at a budget price. Just fyi this one is being used on a passive bass and now sounds better than my neighbors bass which is a very nice active bass. Even he was blown away. I also have the Ampeg Opto compressor and a Hartke bass attack 2, but the "good stuff" is coming from the Classic.

The best pedal that crushes all of these is the Tech 21 SansAmp DP-3X - Dug Pinnick signature pedal that has a tuner, compressor and headphone jack.

Excellent review. I'm interested too, where the new version version of the Sansamp Bass Driver would sit with its 500/1000hz selectable mid control....

do one for compressors as well ;)

Thx for this excellent video review. I already have a Line 6 Helix for guitar, so it is also now my bass DI.. even more value added to owning a good modeling unit 👍🏼

Hi! I’ve got a lot of your preamps but my favorite is still the « Le Bass » from 2 notes. Cheers! 😉

I like a clean sound and am very pleased with my Mesa Subway Bass DI-Preamp pedal.

good review. suggestion: when speaking. 1. change the voice tempo form fast, medium to slow. 2 change you voice range dont stay in the same nerrow tone range though the entire review. change the pitch. dontforget to put a few brief pauses in your speach. and say something funny or catchy once in a while. I really enjoy your channel. keep it up.

i use the Laney DB-preamp, for the price it is fantastic, all quiet switching, 2 channels (tube & fet) can mix both or use each individually, 4 band eq with 3 position low-mid settings, mute/bypass footswitch & fet or tube or mix of both footswitch, from soft clean tone to full on drive...& the best bit the Tilt pot..great idea...better than most sub £250 pre-amp pedals for just £125...XLR, DI, pre-post switch & earth lift etc...i luv it.....fantastic tones to be had from it....

Very informative, thank you. Have you ever tried the Boss GEB-7? Great tone enhancer or clean power boost. It just lacks a di connection. I use it much more than my MXR M81. The MXR was kind of disappointing.

I have an m81. I think about it as an active di box with light eq rather than a preamp. I think for that case it works great. I use mine a lot for upright gigs where I just was a clean tone. If you already have your tone and just want a way to interface with front of house, I think the m81 is a little better than using a di box but it won't do any tone magic.

Darkglass X Ultra, Radial bassbone OD, mesa boogie Subway, Mxr M80, Sansamp VT Deluxe.

Nice comparison Tyler.👍🏻 If you’re going to do another one of these may I suggest the GK Plex and Trace Elliot Transit B?

I bought the NU.X MLD pre-amp DI that does many things which many others don't...a fantastic pedal i use any time i cannot use an amp head & cab...works with a live rig as well...clever box with an interface & editing built in & a choice of bass amps & cabs with every switchable set up possible...a great price for a fantastic pro level pre-amp DI which takes up to 6 string bass's..Melvin Lee Davis uses mostly 5 & 6 string bass's..does everthing for a fraction of the price of most pre-amp DI pedals...i think it was out then ,yeah it was..

In my opinion, the best overall pedal preamp is the Grace Design Felix. It sounds awesome and is versatile as hell. (It's got dip switches to change all sorts of things. It even has a clean boost with a footswitch!) And it's not just a bass preamp either. It can used as a pre for any electric or acoustic instrument, or even vocals. And have you any of you guys ever heard of Suncoast preamps? I haven't heard them, but they look pretty awesome. One of their models, the BC-3 XL, is a stereo preamp with dual clean channels and an overdrive channel complete with it's own EQ. (It was designed with Billy Sheehan. BassCentral carries it). And then there is the Acoustic Image Flex. It's mostly known be used by upright players, but is of very high quality. You can even put in on an optional stand or integrate into one AI's powered speakers. (kind of like the Mesa Subway series amps)

I strongly suggest you try Behringer's bass di. People say it's almost identical to a Sansamp, I'd say it's worth the shot for 30 bucks.

My favourite preamp is the Tech21 Steve Harris Signature Sans Amp! It‘s pretty expensive, But completely worth it! Even if you aren‘t looking for Steve harris (like me), But you are looking for a slight Drive in your tone, then it‘s your thing! Better than Most overdrive pedals. I only Miss a mid Control for 1Khz (ist has 200 hz and 500 hz for the mids). But still, it’s going to the Grave with me.

Tyler you should review the EHX Battalion. Looks like a great and versatile pedal for the money. Curious why you will think of it.

The SansAmp bass driver has a speaker simulation like the VT too, and it is an Amp Sim like the VT too and not a simple harmonic saturator. The BDDI has a V2 now

Great info. Thx! Definitely would like to hear a sound version playing through…

Comparing the HX-Stomp to analog preamp pedals? Come on, Tyler! That's not a fair comparison. But yes, I totally agree. I use the HX-Stomp for bass and guitar and it's absolutely stunning, that the sound quality of almost every single effect can easily compete with the original it was modeled after. I have an Ampeg SVP-CL all tube preamp from the early 2000s, one of the best 19" preamps I know. I was surprised how close the SVT 4 preamp model of the HX-Stomp gets in direct comparison. You won't be able to hear any difference in a mix for sure. With all its possibilities and the superior sound quality there simply is no real competitor for the HX-Stomp these days, I think. It's just an awesome all-in-one solution for any pedalboard. One of the (very few) cons of the HX-Stomp though, is the poor DSP-power. With the 3.0 software update, there are some really great new features like the "poly capo", that unfortunately take so much DSP-power, that you cannot combine 'em with some other effect blocks. A real bummer for me. But for the price point and the small footprint, it's the best you can buy in my opinion.

What I want to accomplish is as follows: Plug bass into bass preamp - pedal size or slightly larger preferred. Plug BALANCED LINE LEVEL OUT of preamp directly into my Ad/Da converter to capture PROCESSED signal. TRS or XLR is fine. Simultaneously I would like to take an INSTRUMENT LEVEL output from the preamp and plug it into the instrument level inputs on one of my mic pres to capture the UNPROCESSED DI. Right now the only thing I’ve been able to find with these features is the MESA SUBWAY DI box. But I’d like a few more options to choose from before spending any money. Nice Overdrive and eq section is a bonus. Any suggestions that can achieve that routing?

I had the same thing with the fender! It was half price on black Friday and I kind of thought ‘oh their rumble LT and studio are good, if nothing else it’ll do the bass man and rumble tones well’. Ended up returning it even at half off just because it was massive and didn’t really seem to do much more than eq and drive, and lord knows there’s enough drive pedals on everyone’s board already

My favorite format at the moment are the Tech21 Fly Rigs. I own the Bass Fly Rig and the SH-1. With a tuner and a DI-out you have everything in one unit, and they both sound awesome. I like the Helix for its versatility. I use it at home most of all to record and play guitar. But as a bass preamp it lacks an DI-out and it does not feel as real as an analog unit to me. The VT Bass DI used to be my bead and butter pedal also, but was replaced with the Fly Rig and the SH-1.

Currently using eden wtdi and does what I need it to do live. In the studio i usually have some plugins too and most of producers want my stems dry any way so they can add their own stuff on top. Also use the Sadowsky preamp in my Mike lull jazz - so smooth and just sits where I want it

I agree with you on HX stomp but I think it stumbles in the area of overdrive. Otherwise it really gives great freedom in terms of routing, EQ, compressors etc.

Bass Rigs are nice,and the Bass Butler and Le Bass work great.Of course the Geddy 2112 is a good one.

Good comparison of preamps. Appreciate real touring experience. . But odd to include a multi fx 😂 Maybe a comparison of multi fx pedals would be more interesting?

Have you tried the Orange Bass Butler yet? It definitely exceeded all my expectations. No need for other pedals anymore.

Oh great, I sold my HX Stomp (great pedal, but wanted to move back to analog for guitar). I've been using the new SansAmp BDDI (with mids), but think I'll try the Sadowsky. Not sure it'll make my P-bass sound like a Sadowsky though. I've owned Sadowskys and have loved them, but, like moving back to analog from the HX, I moved back to passive Fender bass for the classic rock sound and sold my Sadowskys. Yours are my favorite reviews, with intelligent opinions, so thanks!

I'd love a Vintage Microtubes Ultra but currently using a NUX Martin Lee Davis Preamp/DI. Punches well above it's weight. NUX make quality gear and are the best of the chinese pedal companies by far, blowing joyo and the like out of the water.

I play an MXR Bass DI and it has a very natural sound, it doesn't get to fat and bright but for me it works because I play punk music, I also run it with the overdrive just a tad above the transparent mark and then I run a TC Electronic mini Spark. My head is a simple Hartke LH 500 which has a rube preamp and a 3 band eq. It really just use it for the power because on its own its pretty neutral sounding. I did buy the Sans Amp Deluxe but that thing was super bland and didn't do anything for my amp so I sold it. My first preamp pedal was a Sans Amp VT original which sounded really nice but for some reason I got rid of it 🤦‍♂️, also had a Hartke Bass Attack 2 which wasn't bad but it was a little too "fake" sounding once I compared it to the MXR.

Nice video. Wondering your thoughts on the DSM & Humboldt Simplifier Bass Station?

Have you any samples or demos you have created with the HX stomp ? Now that would be brilliant !

I've watched this video multiple and thanks for putting this massive list together. I was wondering if you any recommendations on what preamp would be good if your using an active bass? I know you dont really need one, but I would like to have some more tonal options during live performances.

Just found your channel Tyler. Very useful! Could you offer any advice on a tonal issue I’ve had for ages please? I’v always been looking for that piano tone with what some would call ‘clank’🙄 but never been satisfied. I’ve tried loads of setups over the years… full on valve Ampeg+810 (painful for the body!), biamping my Sansamp RBI into a 212 and my Ampeg 7pro cleaner and fatter into a 410, the RBI into my Crown power amp into some 410’s. Now I’ve bought a Darkglass B7K to run with the RBI into the power amp to get a little bit of colour and different mild drive and nothing seems to get that sort of Chris Squire/Geddy tone. Any ideas what might work? I can’t seem to get the right gear!

Tyler what about a video on where to put pedals on a pedal board for best sound.

Awesome bunch of information. I wonder how similar products by EBS, eden, gk, orange, xotic, markbass and gr bass would've compared...

Thoughts on new Darkglass 'ADAM' ? Just bought it and i use it in fx loops of my HX. It rivals the HX when it comes to versatility.

Have you tried out the Aguilar DB 925? I’m really curious about it

What about this one : Eden Amplification Terra Nova Module Bass Preamp w/ Effect Loop

Ampeg SCR DI Hands down. Love it!

You reviewed the old sansamp. I have the version 2 and it does have a midrange knob and boost button

If you have the AGS on the Tone Hammer on at about 7 o'clock at the highest, always on? It's a pretty great tone. I find it to be a bit of a one trick pony, but it's a big ass pony!

The best budget preamp is the NUX MLD. It punches way above its price point and NUX themselves are the best Chinese pedal company by far. On a different level from joyo, biyang, etc.

Do u know of good tube preamps for bass that are in rack mount form? The Demeter VTBP-201S, the Demeter HBP-1, the Ampeg SVP models, and the Fender TBP-1 are pretty much all i could find and the Fender and Ampegs are rare to find used, plus the Ampeg SVPs (especially the Pro) are prone to being noisy. I just really want to find more rack mounted options that are tube based preamps. The Demeters seem like my best bet though. They are fantastic sounding, but just trying to see if other options are out there in 2021. Seems like everything has gone pedal format and solid state Edit: not looking for an amp, just tube preamp designed for bass in particular. I want to go the old school route and build a rack

EHX battalion is hands down my favorite pre amp pedal

I know this video is 2+ years old, but you didn’t mention the price of each pedal, or if that even figured into your review. The price range for the pedals reviewed is around $150 to $700. That’s a huge factor, especially for beginner bassist. So, the question is, would you shift the rankings around with cost figured in?

Tyler you should check out Two Notes Engineering Le Bass pre-amp pedal. I’ve tried a mountain of pre-amps and this has blown me away

used a sans amp for years, now i have the hx stomp... with the sans amp sim on it...

I use a pike vulcan XL, but it will be replaced as soon as I save enough money to buy a noble.

You should try Simplifier Bass Station

What are your thoughts on TWO bass preamps on a pedalboard to combine tones? Is it something that people do, or am I just thinking too far out of the box?

Great rundown...But you most certainly have a lean towards the Ampeg sound.

Great video! :-) Love my Sansamp! Using the V2, which has a mid controll knop, which makes it way more flexible then the V1 Version. you shuld try it! :-) Also love the HX stomp and its flexibility. BUT! it has no XLR out, which is, at least for me, one reason why I use stompbox preamps. To get it on my board how I want it, I have to use another DI box mounted on my board. So its not realy convenient. Other wise it would be my go to preamp as well. How do yoo use it live? @Tyler Spicer?

How about Sansamp Bass Driver DI V2 ? Is version 2 better or worse?

If you're on a budget the Behringer (I know!) BDI 21 is a great pedal for £20 - basically a copy of the sansamp

nice video, but your supper is not a pre-amp, and if you go all-in-one route - than as sound quality Boss GTCore take it from the moment it;s on, the DAC (we shouldn't even mention this when we talk preamp/di pedals) is in a different league. You are missing the 2 of the best MODERN companies (both from Sweden, and both doing almost 100% bass products) - 1. EBS (my choice) 2. Darkglass (Metal heads choice). I use 2 preams (and a very big digital board for a bass player GTcore + SY1000 + Tonex + H9 + H90), depending on style, as my entry point (to design the sound coming in) I use either 1 EBS microbass III cover the entire Modern sound I need, 4 metal I'd use Darkglass, but I dont do metal and it gives my the bare minimum for the little metal sound I do use rarely, or 2. SansAmp 2nd gen (the one in the video) 4 everything classic\vintage.

Hello, Why we are using extra DI Box with preamps which has DI output like B7K ?

There is a SansAmp Bass Driver DI V2 that has a mid control. Where would that be in the tier list?

What about the deluxe bass big muff?

How does the Sadowsky Clean Preamp sound compare to Darkglass's B7K clean Preamp with no distortion

bass preamp dunlop+fender player precision+hartke b900=====POWER

You might like the One Control mini preamp pedals.Also the Tech 21 YYZ is mighty good.

Hi, whats your opinion or rank with tech21 bass flyrig and dp3x?

Trickfish Minnow ( and the stomp ) 😊

Auxiliary inputs are a factor for some people looking into pre amps. Thanks for sharing.

What’s your opinion on the Noble Pre-Amp?

what about just using a pod go?

Usefull vid thanks a lot

aside from the mediocre gate, the EHX Battalion holds more than it's own against most of these pre-amp pedals with a $150 price tag

hey Tyler do you have any info about basses weight comparison? think to get rid of my heavy warwick streamer std for something lighter, you think fender squier a good way to go???...thanks for all great info

LR Baggs Stadium DI ? picked one up for cheap.. my jury’s still out!

Hi, Did You tried the zoom gx1 bass?

Hey Tyler, I'm looking for a preamp only pedal (already have big muff for the dirt) and I don't have room for big pedal. I'm looking for Ampeg Classic Analog which you put on lower tier. I use Ampeg BA108, is the Classic Amalog gimme that sound? Is it good enough pedal for my need? Compact non dirt pedal. Thank you before!

Hey from Dublin. Brilliant and insightful review. I have the Classic Ampeg Pedal and I fully agree with you that it is bland and I feel it doesn’t add a lot of tonal options Can I ask. I love a clean sound. I don’t particularly like grit or dirt or fuzzy tones. I would however like to get a FATTER THICKER tonal option. What pedal would you recommend for me? Cheers mate. Niall

Not all preamps have EQ, and not all preamps have XLR, so what really IS a preamp?

What style of music do u play?

The HX Stomp? Isn't that a guitar multi-FX pedal? I thought this list was strictly one for analog bass pedal/DI's? Well, regardless, I've heard that the HX Stomp can used for bass, but I thought there was only a few bass patches at best?

Anyone tried the stone deaf Q boost as a bass preamp?

I love my HX Stomp. It's really pretty impressive. However, after spending a lot of time with it, it can't still take the place of my Ashdown OriginAL preamp pedal.

Behringer GDi21 guitar preamp works good with bass if you like drive. And v cheap.

I don't care for preamp pedals that are ran through the send/return. They often get stacked with other EQ's. If I'm using a preamp -- its usually a stand alone rackmount into a power amp.

15:00 for the list.