If this is going to be your first diy I´d suggest to take some tested and easier to do projects and use them for your application. What about combining a green pre with the Calrec EQ in one box. That´s probably a nice Basspre AND a nice mikepre
I think this is a good idea... just finished some a*p*i mic-pres that have Hi-Z in and sound really nice for guitar/bass. Really nice. So my own 2ch bass pre plan will use at least one channel of this. And the bass pre can double as 2ch mic-pre.
I figure there are a huge number of sessions where the engineer recorded the bass 'straight into the board'. Even given the choice of any method, board pres were what the 'golden ears' decided to use for bass on many many sessions that sound great to me (instead of cabs and mics, like guitar). Every time i'm in a studio with a nice board, it's straight in for recording. So what better for a bass pre?
W.r.t. power-amps, I don't know if you just want to do that yourself or see it as an unavoidable part of the full amp. If the latter, a shortcut could be to get yourself one of those rackmount 'PA-power-amps' (& perhaps mod these...). I don't have much experience with any of such types, but there'll be usable ones for decent prices and it would likely give you a more reliable & better protected amp (at least it should be decent in this department) than your own one will be in the beginning (unless you really do your homework).
Yes, IME the power amp makes as much or more difference than pre and speaker. And an underpowered amp is usually cleaner than one running close to rated power, but depends on brand. I like the old Crown MT1200. IMO those amps sound great. Anyway, I'm a rookie at DIY, and doubt i could make anything better, esp for price.
Bass amp history: Acoustic 350 in early 80's (w/ 2x15Bassman cab, the big one),
then GK200RCB (100w, 5lbs) and Bagend 15" cab,
then GK800RB, added Hartke 4x5" radial top cab,
200 shows a year/5 years, so had 2 800RBs.
traded Hartke for Ashdown mini110T top (and EV1000BX 15 for McCauley 15") in there somewhere.
Ashdown replaced with Eden 210MBX last year.
Now the 15" cab is mostly amp-stand. Only plugged in for big shows.
EV1000BX is an older model, 1000w is 'peak'. RMS probably more like 400w. 300w side of 800RB, fresh from repair, could crap it out at 80%level. But a better power amp like old Crown makes it sound nice up to 400. And 1000w Crown at vol '2' is much cleaner than 800RB at '8', etc.
So it might sound better to overrate the power amp (maybe 400w), then don't turn the volume up as much. But heavier.
I've tried Avatar cabs here in US, with 2x10 and 2x12 Kappa Pros and Foster horns. Very nice and tight low end. Very similar to Eden 210, and same horn. The good smaller speakers give you more usable sound for stage monitoring purposes. Much easier to hear intonation, especially if you amplify an upright or EUB, like i do. The 15" bottom is so the band can still feel some bass on stage at outdoor shows, without cranking it in their monitors.
My pref for a combo would be horn, 1x10, 1x12
I use a solid state Ampeg B3 amp from the mid 90's. Incredible sounding amp with some very good sounding Vactrol limiters built in.
Helsing
I also liked the older SS B3s. For me, limiting is more important than eq.
What you want greatly depends on type of bass, type of music, technique, etc.
Actually there is no matter what kind of circuit I use for pre. tube, or IC, or fet. I think that EQ must be active with parametric middle. Maybe more important are frequency of EQ part. They must be good for my ears.
At this time like to make research and find more schemes with good sound.
IMO with electric (73 P-bass, 9v EMG also Tune 18v), most times the problem is with the volume of the signal, not necessarily the tone itself. E string sends more signal to amp, and G sends less. But what i really want to happen is not to attenuate bass eq in the amp... this will give me less bass freq in the output signal. it's to limit the output level of the bass freqs. (or compress to raise the level of the rest of the freqs).
The difference to me is (assuming all the stages sound good) the P-bass and uprights sound less muddy when limited, because rather than attenuating bass freqs across-the-board, the peak levels in the low hz region are the only ones affected (hopefully smoothly).
You can try this with an EBS Tri-comp, if a local store has one.
Also if you like to slap, like me, comps or limiters can be very handy.
1) The best amp is the one you don't need to turn any EQ's. I don't want to deal much with EQ. Not in the practice-room nor on stage. So: No more Trace-Elliot for me. From your position in relation to the amp the sound is much different to what the audience hears.
I agree. With a 2-or-more-pickup bass, there's usually at least 3 knobs, sometimes 5, plus switches etc. IMO this is the best spot to adjust eq. I've never been able to make a bass sound 'better' or 'more defined' by adding (active) eq. Maybe better to make a nice pre/gain stage, followed with 2-band passive eq. Or you could mod the onboard electronics on the bass to use the nice eq you mentioned.
Good example is the Rickenbacker 4001 (traded mine for P-bass 15 years ago). I never found an eq that added the bass/low mid frequencies the bass didn't output in the first place. It had the Rick sound, and even a nice eq just made it the Rick sound + mud.
2) The bass-amp is kind of a monitor for me. With important preamp-function though. But if I'd turn it to loud the sound-engieer has no chance for a good mixing (typical problem with Marshal-Guitarists..). So I think 200 - 250 W should be way enough (for me...). I believe a bass-amp is no additional PA-system...
Sometimes with the 15" cab as a table, not-so-good FOH guys will run up yelling 'turn that thing down!'. Then i have to show them the 15 is unplugged, only the Eden wedge is making sound. Then they go back and adj low rolloff in FOH.
Please don't clone a Yorkville! The ones i've heard are terrible. In the US, you could buy one already put together for 1/4 the cost of a nice DIY.
From my own first DIY i've learned you could that it's not necessarily about saving money, unless you go for a really nice one.
Even then, when you add in your time.... it's more about building it 'just how you like it'.
You could DIY a 'cheap' bass amp that would sound as good as a Yorkville, (IMO not hard) but it would cost more than a Yorkville (unless they are really expensive in Germany?).
