10 Bass Preamps To Drive Home Your Tone

There's a preamp for every flavor of bass, from clean tones to upright to overdriven grit. This list covers a wealth of options for all budgets.​​​MXR BASS DI+​​Fine-tune your sound on this 2-channel DI with a 3-band EQ, color switch, and noise gate.$189 streetjimdunlop.comWALRUS BadwaterThis box features a 4-band EQ, optical compressor, and a blendable, 3-voice drive control.$299 streetwalrusaudio.comAGUILAR Tone Hammer Preamp/Direct BoxBased on the company’s Tone Hammer amp, this box features bass and treble knobs, sweepable midrange controls, and switchable tube-like saturation.$299 streetaguilaramp.comRADIAL Bassbone V2This 2-channel preamp includes two inputs plus a PZB booster and piezo input, so feel free to bring your upright on the gig for a few songs.$399 streetRadialeng.comTECH 21 DI-2112Geddy Lee’s signature box is a feature-rich dual-channel affair with separate level controls, plus drive, saturation, and blend knobs.$359 streetTech21nyc.comDARKGLASS Alpha OmegaMaximize your grit with this box, which is based on two blendable distortion circuits and features a 3-band EQ plus bite and growl toggles.$349 streetDarkglass.comAMPEG SGT-DIConjure classic Ampeg SVT and B15 tones with this stomp’s voice control and cab sim. A 3-band EQ plus switchable high and low boosts, plus overdrive and compression, round out the features.$399 streetAmpeg.comELECTRO-HARMONIX BattalionThis affordable offering features a 4-band EQ, compression, noise gate, and three signal-flow modes.$174 streetehx.comMARKBASS Mark Vintage PreLoaded with a glowing 12AX7, this box features a 4-band EQ, three EQ presets, aux in, and headphones out.$399 streetmarkbass.itFENDER Downtown ExpressThis unit features overdrive, compression, and a 3-band EQ, each with their own footswitch, plus switchable effect order.$249 streetfender.com