Bass Guitar Preamp

[Clear] I read a lot of reviews of this preamp which complained about the lack of headroom and tendency to distort the signal easily, producing a wooly, dark, or muddy tone. If you are looking for a clean, all-purpose preamp with very little character then this is not what you are looking for. However, if you are after a warm, dreamy tube-driven sound then this is a great low-price preamp to add to your arsenal. It's become my favorite preamp for a classic acoustic guitar tone paired with a beyer ribbon mic-- beautiful warm, woody sound with a little gentle tube compression. Happiest I've ever been with an acoustic guitar.

[48 kHz / 24-Bit] Don't be put off by the bargain price, this is a wonderful amp mic, period. The RSM5 is impressive sounding on guitar amps or speaker cabs. In that application, it's better combine the RSM5 w/ another non-ribbon mic, like condenser or dynamic. I get great results combining RSM5 with a ShureSM57. The RSM5 adds a delightfully smooth, warm low end girth & the SM57 adds presence, cut and sparkle. Experiment with positioning the mics on the speaker cone. As with all bargain ribbon mics, be sure to check your RSM5 for loose ribbon tension before keeping it. Google the issue and how to do a test. The tension inside mine was perfect out of the box. The RSM5 takes EQ great, yet doesn't need much to fit into a mix. It's very low noise. I have not yet really tried the RSM5 on other sound sources. Like all passive ribbons, this one needs lots of preamp gain or a mic booster to get a good level with quiet sources. With a loud source like guitar amp, that's not an issue with the RSM5. The preamps built into my Steinberg UR44 interface are more than powerful enough to get great results with Nady RSM5 on amps. I even briefly tried it on my male spoken voice, for which the preamps had to be turned up quite a bit, but I think even that would work without any extra preamp booster. I suspect that on quieter voices, or acoustic guitar from a distance, you'd need a gainier preamp, or FETHEAD or Cloudlifter to get a good level with the RSM5. The RSM5 has presentable build quality, and it sounds much, much better than I imagined, especially at this price point. It's downright unbelievable! I love the tones I am capturing having this mic as part of the mix. I have been playing music seriously for 40 years, and am fanatical about good tone. Nonetheless, given the great results with the RSM5, I could not justify the extra cost of the high end ribbon mics.

[5 Kilohms] I use it for recording on a budget, and it works as a mic and guitar preamp. I would imagine that any other instrument you can plug into it would sound great as well. It has the distinctive sound that you'd expect from a valve. And with a guitar plugged up to it, any but the most picky audiophiles would be hard pressed to tell it apart from a tube amp. It also functions as a splitter as it sends signals through both the XLR and TS (1/4) outputs at the same time. It was so well worth the $ dollars that I ordered a second one within minutes of receiving the first.

[4] I bought this device in order to mix my acoustic guitar preamp, which requires phantom power, and my electric guitar. I can match the respective output levels and process a single signal or pan them stereo and process separately. Works perfectly for my application. Haven’t used the USB interface. Not sure if I ever will. I was also surprised at how heavy it is. Time will tell how robust the components are, but the chassis is very solid and has the feel of piece of pro gear.

I use it for recording on a budget, and it works as a mic and guitar preamp. I would imagine that any other instrument you can plug into it would sound great as well. It has the distinctive sound that you'd expect from a valve. And with a guitar plugged up to it, any but the most picky audiophiles would be hard pressed to tell it apart from a tube amp. It also functions as a splitter as it sends signals through both the XLR and TS (1/4) outputs at the same time. It was so well worth the $ dollars that I ordered a second one within minutes of receiving the first.

I bought this device in order to mix my acoustic guitar preamp, which requires phantom power, and my electric guitar. I can match the respective output levels and process a single signal or pan them stereo and process separately. Works perfectly for my application. Haven’t used the USB interface. Not sure if I ever will. I was also surprised at how heavy it is. Time will tell how robust the components are, but the chassis is very solid and has the feel of piece of pro gear.

I read a lot of reviews of this preamp which complained about the lack of headroom and tendency to distort the signal easily, producing a wooly, dark, or muddy tone. If you are looking for a clean, all-purpose preamp with very little character then this is not what you are looking for. However, if you are after a warm, dreamy tube-driven sound then this is a great low-price preamp to add to your arsenal. It's become my favorite preamp for a classic acoustic guitar tone paired with a beyer ribbon mic-- beautiful warm, woody sound with a little gentle tube compression. Happiest I've ever been with an acoustic guitar.

[Yes] Ideal if you play bass or guitar and sing. It gives you space from your instrument.

[Side Address] I am using the Telefunken ECC83-TK/12AX7 in the v1 position in my bass preamp. It has a smooth bottom and mid-range without being too bright and harsh at the higher frequencies. Sounds nice with my 4003 Rickenbacker.

[48 V] This is just the budget mic I was looking for to pair with a sm57 when mic'ing my guitar amp. The bass response really fattens up the recorded tone when paired with the mid forward sm57. Add an AT2020 for as a room mic for top end and ambience and you can record some pretty solid guitar tracks.