Small battery/phantom powered preamp with notch

[Jack Orion]

Hi all,

I have a Grace Felix which I use with three K&K equipped guitars and I'm very happy with it - great EQ section, lots of routing options, built like a tank, all good.

But... every now and then I have a gig which has to be a super quick setup and break down situation - festivals or opening act in folk clubs etc etc - and, for that situation the Felix doesn't work that well for me - it's a slightly bulky bit of kit to carry around, I need a plug, when I'm finished I can't just grab it and go and so on...

So what I'd like is a small (ie will fit in the accessory pocket of a hard case) preamp that I can run on battery or phantom power BUT with a notch filter - the notch filter on the Felix has been the best thing for my tone and it's completely eliminated the feedback issues I've previously had with K&K pickups...

I know I could rely on the soundperson to dial out the feedback during 'soundcheck' but, trust me, that's a lot easier said than done!

But I can't find anything anywhere - the closest if the Radial AC driver but that needs a PSU the other option is a LR Baggs Align but they're quite pricey, or also a PARA Di but I can't seem to find one second hand anywhere (I forgot to mention I want to spend as little as possible on this as it will be for something like 5 gigs a year...)

Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions?

[Villamarzia]

What about an Headway pre like EDM1? They’re also made in UK

[Shredmaster007]

Originally Posted by Jack Orion

Hi all,

I have a Grace Felix which I use with three K&K equipped guitars and I'm very happy with it - great EQ section, lots of routing options, built like a tank, all good.

But... every now and then I have a gig which has to be a super quick setup and break down situation - festivals or opening act in folk clubs etc etc - and, for that situation the Felix doesn't work that well for me - it's a slightly bulky bit of kit to carry around, I need a plug, when I'm finished I can't just grab it and go and so on...

So what I'd like is a small (ie will fit in the accessory pocket of a hard case) preamp that I can run on battery or phantom power BUT with a notch filter - the notch filter on the Felix has been the best thing for my tone and it's completely eliminated the feedback issues I've previously had with K&K pickups...

I know I could rely on the soundperson to dial out the feedback during 'soundcheck' but, trust me, that's a lot easier said than done!

But I can't find anything anywhere - the closest if the Radial AC driver but that needs a PSU the other option is a LR Baggs Align but they're quite pricey, or also a PARA Di but I can't seem to find one second hand anywhere (I forgot to mention I want to spend as little as possible on this as it will be for something like 5 gigs a year...)

Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions?

I have the LR Baggs Align EQ and I'm pretty happy with it. Not phantom power but checks all of your other requirements. I had a red-eye and MXR 6 band EQ before and like the Align better - the notch works great. It fits easily in my Gibson case and I either play it direct into an S1 pro or take it to open mics (I use it with an M80 in passive mode.) I tried a headway EDM-1 and didn't like it because it had too much noise - the LR Baggs is perfectly quiet (the Redeye was *completely* silent.)

[Villamarzia]

Originally Posted by Shredmaster007

I tried a headway EDM-1 and didn't like it because it had too much noise

Interesting to know. Was it noisy also when battery operated?!

[Shredmaster007]

Originally Posted by Villamarzia

Interesting to know. Was it noisy also when battery operated?!

Yes - I really wanted to like it (tried it on battery and plugged in.) Don't know if I got a bad one or not, but bought it new from Musicians Friend, returned it and got the Align EQ instead and was satisfied. I tried the EDM-1 through both my AER 60/3 and S1 Pro with mogami cables - just too much floor noise.

[Jack Orion]

That’s interesting as I was thinking about the EDM1 - no notch but a HPF and the bass control is at 125 which is around where I notch on the Felix so I thought it might work...

I think the align would work really well - I actually reviewed it for a website in the U.K. and liked it a lot but it’s a bit more than I want to pay for the odd gig (nearly £200) at the moment, but I’d keeep an eye out for a preowned one...

[RogerPease]

Two ideas:

The LR Baggs Session DI (not the Align Session) is small, battery or phantom powered and has notch filter.
It does not have other EQ, in the conventional sense, but it does have compression/EQ and saturation controls.

The Fishman Platinum Stage has no notch but does have sweepable mid and a switchable high pass filter that would probably cover your needs.
It does everything else you asked for. It is a great little problem solver and not that costly.

Cheers, _RP

[Shredmaster007]

Originally Posted by Jack Orion

That’s interesting as I was thinking about the EDM1 - no notch but a HPF and the bass control is at 125 which is around where I notch on the Felix so I thought it might work...

I think the align would work really well - I actually reviewed it for a website in the U.K. and liked it a lot but it’s a bit more than I want to pay for the odd gig (nearly £200) at the moment, but I’d keeep an eye out for a preowned one...

In a way it worked out better for me - the align sounds better (to me, ignoring the noise) than the EDM-1 and has more flexibility with the EQ, notch, phase, hpf, and gain selectors. The only thing I think might be better would be to have a parametric EQ like the Empress (no battery option) or Q-strip, which were next on my list if the Align didn't do the job.

[Wistah]

The Valeton Dapper acoustic mini is tiny and has a notch filter. It also has reverb, a tuner, and compression (although I'm not a fan of the compressor). It is not phantom powered, nor does it have a battery. But, it runs on 9VDC so you could get a 9V pig tail wired to a barrel plug and you'd be good to go. Or use one of the ubiquitous boss style power supplies.

I have one. I use it for open mics and such where quick set up is necessary.

[varmonter]

I have a k&k pure xlr. For just that reason.
it runs on 48v and has bass treb and mid knobs.
gain and volume. No notch but its designed
for your pickup and works really well with it.
i also have the felix and that and the pure
xlr i will never sell. Its about the size of a wide
cell phone and thrice as thick. It would fit in
a accessory box of most hardshell cases if you
didnt have too much stuff in there already.
https://reverb.com/p/k-and-k-sound-p...ds&hfid=520255

I bought mine used for about 140 iirc.
This little pre is quite good.

[Rudy4]

Behringer Acoustic D.I. A lot of users like this cheap D.I.

The Behringer ADI-21 checks all your boxes, sweepable mid control for feedback, basic EQ, impedance matching for piezo-equipped instruments, output level control for its XLR output, battery operation, and it's CHEAP.

I used to carry one for our fiddle player to use at gigs where house PA or PA at outdoor venues was provided. At $30 if you accidentally leave it when you pack out it's no big deal.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/ampl...MaArmOEALw_wcB

[Methos1979]

I use the EDM-1 and it's dead quiet. I always use it on battery. Have not tried phantom power. Very powerful little preamp. There is no notch but there is a variable high pass filter which is great at taming feedback issues. I do wish it had both the variable HPF and a notch though. Then it would be perfect. For the size it's a great little preamp and always comes with me to open mics and gigs just in case.

[mandowilli]

I also have the Grace Felix and find the High pass filter to be one of the best(of many!) features.

Occasionally I find myself in the same situation that you mentioned and have a LRBaggs Venue that does the trick. It has a good amount of eq control and a notch filter in addition to a mute and runs off of a 9V.

It has a small hard sided lightweight case about 8 X 8 X 1.5

Most of the settings are already in the ballpark when I go out and it can be setup and off stage in a flash.

[birdmove]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Behringer Acoustic D.I. A lot of users like this cheap D.I.

The Behringer ADI-21 checks all your boxes, sweepable mid control for feedback, basic EQ, impedance matching for piezo-equipped instruments, output level control for its XLR output, battery operation, and it's CHEAP.

I used to carry one for our fiddle player to use at gigs where house PA or PA at outdoor venues was provided. At $30 if you accidentally leave it when you pack out it's no big deal.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/ampl...MaArmOEALw_wcB

Rudy, I have a cheap acoustic guitar that I put a, I believe it's a transducer pickup on. It's non powered and has no controls. Just wanted to be able to plug into an amp if I wanted. I like the guitar pretty well. But, I went took it into a music store the other day to try out a Fender Acoustasonic 15 amp. I was not impressed as there was very little volume. I'm an old retired geezer on a fixed income, so don't want to spend a lot. Would this Behringer unit boost the volume for me? I don't need or want a bunch of effects, just a kick in the rear in volume. I have a few solid body electric guitars and a few amps for those. I was wanting an acoustic amp that had a channel for a mic also should I decide to play sometime in a small setting and sing too.

[dcopper]

Headway EDB2 - fantastic preamp with all you will ever need and battery powered and fits in the guitar case!
Excellent product.