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Nembrini amp for Bass
Do any of nembrini amps work well with electric bass? I have the PSA 1000 jr but it has no cab simulation
A dedicated Bass Amp would be nice......
Comments
OverLoud TH-U has some Bass Amps. It's a free download and any amp can be had for $5 and any cab for another $5... so with careful selection you could have what you seek for $10.
NOTE: Some don't like the User Interface because it uses large sliders and NOT rotary knobs. I prefer it... especially on my iPhone 5S. Converting finger
sliding to rotary tweaks are usually based on vertical or horizontal sliding after targeting the knob. But many like to see those knobs just like they would on the amp face... TH-U does move the knobs but the controls are shown on the right side of the UI.
Their Amps are based upon emulations of real hardware products:
An awful lot of bassists record direct with a hint of compression — sometimes with a SansAmp (which the PSA 1000 Jr models) for a little saturation. You could use a convolution amp like THAFKNAR to load a cabinet IR. The cabinet simulations in TH-U are not super satisfactory compared to IRs... which is why an awful lot of people send TH-Us output through an IR. For bass though, you might not even need a cabinet...a good room IR might be all that you need.
“Bass Rigs Volume 1” from TH-U is #1 when it comes to bass amps. More on this below...
Nembrini will be releasing an Ampeg bass amp in the near future.
However, one must differentiate between recording/tracking bass and rocking out with a fat bass amp. I love the PSA1000jr (mono) and PSA1000sr (stereo) especially for bass, because when you’re recording bass you want to send the direct dry sound to your interface and daw. The PSA then gives it that perfect preamp magic sauce. Then you can always eq the bass as you mix and master. You can also pair it with a bass impulse response cabinet, Ownhammer sells a great collection. All this to say, if you try and record a big fat processed bass amp, 99% of the time it won’t sit well in a mix and sound flabby and bloated. Direct dry bass sitting panned right in the middle, with a preamp like PSA, stellar. Now, if you’re trying to play live with a bass amp sim or you’re shredding on bass at home, a dedicated bass amp sim makes a lot of sense.
Without a doubt, Overloud TH-U has the best bass amps on iOS, to my ears. As much as I like their bass amps and cabinets collections, my recommendation is actually for their flagship bass rig collection called “Bass Rigs Vol. 1”. Here’s the difference.
TH-U features 5 bass amps and 3 bass cabinets (the Bassface ‘59 amp and 4x10 OB Tweed ‘59 are both for guitar and bass, so they count). They sound really good and all come with the $110 full pack, or you can buy each component ala carte for $5. I’ve noticed that Overloud’s own presets for their bass amps mostly feature the OB Tweed ‘59 cab and they use a splitter/mixer, this is all presumably to tame the bassyness and to split the high/low shelf. Indeed when you make a chain with a bass amp and the traditional bass cab, it sounds too bassy. So if you’re buying a la carte I’d go with 1-2 bass amps and the OB tweed ‘59 cab. Perhaps you have good speakers or an frfr that can handle lots of bass from the Ash cab, but in the headphones it’s too much bass. The OB cab gets it much tighter. So this is $15.
Now, take a look at the Bass Rigs Vol. 1... for $23 you get a Kemper like “Rig Player” that has profiles of some of the best bass amps out there. Real bass amps, captured, profiled, and recreated. So they sound as close to the real thing as possible. Furthermore, the bass cabinets in the collection are actually bass impulse responses captured from real cabinets, not bass cab emulations.
All those bass amps for $23! Why have 2 bass amps and 2 cab sims a la carte when you can have a bass amp loader (rig player) with a huge collection of real amps and actual bass IRs. This is the best value for a bassist, and on top of the rig profiles, you get a phenomenal preset bank just for that rig collection. Most importantly, they all sound better than anything else out there, by a long shot.
To be honest, I have both the bass amp sims/cabs and the Bass rigs, and I use both and love both. I’m just pointing out the value in the Bass Rigs Vol. 1 vs a la carte, should you not already have the $110 full pack (rigs aren’t included in that, only the regular amp collection).
Alternatively, Amplitube has a bass amp collection, and they sound pretty good, though not AUv3.
Mammoth Bass app features a collection of amps and IRs dedicated to bass but it’s virtually all heavy metal and compressed clanky stuff, not really for a fundamental clean bass tone.
The other bass offerings on iOS sound... bad.
Hope this helps!
Nice write up.
It sounds like the best first step would be to check out a good IR file loader like Fiddlicator
which is free and has EQ, reverb and delay capabilities. It's IAA and for AUv3 check out ThAFKnAR... it processes in stereo or IMPULSation. There's also iConvolver which many like.
Lot's of solid apps to get that "cab" effect.
Totally agree. I’ve been using PSA with the Ampeg IRs from Ownhammer, works great. Bass amp sims just don’t have the same usefulness as guitar amp sims. But the bass rigs from th-u use IRs and they’re very impressive, more so than their regular collection bass amps/cabs. I do think some people just want to rock out with super fat bass amps because it sounds massive and satisfying, regardless of how it records.
Mammoth is a bass amp app, pretty versatile sounds pretty good https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mammoth-bass-amp/id1517411435
I would assume when Nembrini releases the bass amp they’ve been hinting at (Ampeg SVT), it will have IRs for cabinets and maybe even a loader by then, and it will be a massive hit. I hope.
From what I understand, the Nembrini amps will not have an IR loader. Their IR loader is going to be an additional plug-in. I don't think it will bring anything to the table you that you can't do with THAFKNAR or Impulsation or the other convolution apps. The IRs that come with the current amps are ok but not as good, imo (and there seems general consensus) as the IRs from other vendors. My understanding is that the IRs that come with the amp are optimized for performance.
Yes I think you’re right. And we already have IR loaders that do the job, I particularly like Thafknar. But here’s why I’m hopeful that an IR loader release could be useful...
Plug in Rig Host already exists on desktop, and there’s obviously an IR loader plugin on the way. If they both come to iOS it would be a beautiful thing, in my opinion. The Rig host says it can only load Nembrini products, but presumably the IR loader will take outside IRs, rather than just feature their native ones. So having a rig host like this on iOS with their amps/fx and IR loader, even as a plug-in, could be extremely useful for effective streamline, cpu, midi, etc... essentially it becomes a guitar universe like th-u or bias or amplitube, but better if it sounds the way it does and loads IRs. Certainly for a guitar rig “live” this would play.
I have the Bias bass amps and some amplitube amps, but they all sound very artificial, at least for my ears, a lot of bass and treble, little mids and an exaggerated compression, for my taste the bass loses that organic and creamy touch, maybe for styles as metal that sound works well
I don't know if the TH-U amplifiers will improve that aspect or be similar to the ones I already have, I was asking for Nembrini because I like how the PSA 1000 respects the sound of the bass and surely with a cab it would have a very good sound
Yes, I have always recorded direct bass, but I wanted to try recording two lines, one for direct bass and the other for “bass + amp” and mix them, as is done when recording a real amp.
THAFKNAR is an option, although I would prefer an all in one solution, but I will try it, although I will have to ask for help in the forum again, I am very clumsy hahaha
Wow, thanks, lots of info! I have to read it well and assimilate it, thank you very much. The Aguilar and SWR amplifiers tempt me a lot, more if they are IR's
Thanks, I'll try Fiddlicator, didn't know about that app
Exactly, I'm more interested in the sound in the mix than the sound of the solo bass, TH-U keeps gaining points ...
I will investigate it thanks!
That would be perfect!
None of the iOS amp sims includes an IR Loader that will let you load your own IR. So, there isn’t an all in one solution, imo..although I haven’t tried the bass rigs in TH-U (but those will be pricier than using an IR loader and purchasing a top-notch bass cab IR (which will still probably come in handy with a good amp sim).
Just make sure when you record 2 inputs or you have 2 tracks, one DI and one with amp sim, that you pay attention to phase, typically by delaying the DI track. If pro-q (or any eq you have) has an all pass filter, then you can use that to rotate phase as well. I use the little labs IBP and melda m-autoalign on Mac to do these tasks, but you can use a delay set to 100% wet and an all pass filter to do the same thing (and also move one track against the other).
Mammoth lets you load your own IRS. I’m using Dr Bonkers Sunn 2x15 ones with it to get a more rounded tone for my fretless that the one I get using the cabs included in the app
Good to know
Bias Fx2 can't load external IR's?
Nembrini PSA1000 Jr has a Phase button, would that solve the problem?
I don't believe so. They sell some cabs that are IRs, but I don't believe you can import your own.
That’s polarity, so it only stones the problem of the phase difference is 180 degrees. It can help, but aligning time or phase is the best way to get it right. Moving the mic until the DI and mic signal sound powerful together is the way to do it without any further processing.
It seems that you can load your own IR's, in this video you can see it at minute 7:10
I’m happy to see this, it also looks like they’ve finally added celestion IRs to the factory folder. Pretty sure IR loading was a promised option that only recently became available. The problem is you have to buy the “Professional” package to access IR loading option. I actually got a code for the entry level “standard” package, and turns out there are a few good amps in there. That being said, the bass amp is not satisfactory. Adding an IR to it will not change the world. Though I’m encouraged by some nice amps in my package compared to the free demo, still not swayed to use this app. TH-U, Nembrini, Ge Labs, even Amplitube, all sound better.
Personally I still wouldn’t go this route. The problem with adding IRs to Bias is that’s it’s sort of like polishing a turd. In AUM I’ve tried pairing my Ownhammer IRs with Bias amps, and the results are not very satisfactory imho. The fizzy and rinky dink quality of the amp still shines through.
The other thing is, outside of standalone, I wonder what loading an IR into an IAA app inside AUM will do to cpu levels. I’m not going to pay to find out. If you go this route let us know how it sounds. But you can already pair a bias amp with an IR for much cheaper and find out.
Thanks for the info. It looks like this feature is a part of a pricey IAP -- one can get an IR loader that one can use with any amp sim for a few dollars.
Has BIas FX Mobile 2 improved the quality of the amps so that they are on part with TH-U and the Nembrini and Mooer apps?
For me, the only truly pro app specifically for bass players so far on iOS is Mammoth. I love the Nembrini stuff for guitar and if you’re running a split signal set up and want a dirty signal to blend in then a lot of the Nembrini stuff works well for that. Mammoth though, gives you 2 signals in one. I’d love a Nembrini bass amp to use as an alternative to Mammoth for a different tone. I’m not fond of using those guitar rig style apps for recording. They’re ok for other situations though.
Were you able to find even one clean bass tone in Mammoth? I wasn’t able to. It works well for metal and industrial stuff, I found virtually all the sounds to be extremely clanky, too much harmonic compared to fundamental, and the signal to noise ratio is not proportional. Lots of noise and squash, not enough tone. Certainly works for many genres but not for a rich clean bass. It kind of reminds me of the Klevgrand guitar apps that impart an unnatural imbalance. Doesn’t sound like a bass amp to me, imho. More like a distortion filter/saturator and compressor.
I agree about guitar rig style apps though. Apps like bias or amplitube, being IAA, impart their own gain stage and sound stage just by being loaded. However, TH-U is a big exception for me. As an AUv3 app in AUM, it is totally transparent to me. When I play a direct dry guitar with nothing loaded in AUM, and then I load TH-U also empty, my pure signal stays the same. I’m sure I’m not explaining this properly, but usually in AUM or DAW I will always load TH-U AUv3 in the front and use all their pedals before amps like Nembrini. I do believe you can use a TH-U bass amp or rig in the same way you can a single Nembrini amp. As a guitar rig app it’s an exception to me. Their bass amps and bass rigs with IRs sound great imho. I also think I need to give Mammoth another shot and spend more time dialing in, since you recommend it.
I love Mammoth as I love Darkglass preamps or the NeuralDSP bass plugins, not only for metal stuff. I’m using in conjunction with the Nembrini BST100 clean channel in parallel for my baritone and sound great for ambient stuff. Great with the 8180 for that kind of progressive rock bass tone.
Waiting for the Nembrini one though, I really love their amps too
THU impressed me but, I’d already bought all the IAPs for Tonestack and I have all the Nembrini stuff. I was reluctant to start buying more stuff inside THU you know - the prices seemed a bit much after Tonestack, which I love the sound of and Yonac did say they were looking at making it AUV3 - but that was some time ago. I really hope for that.
Yep! I like the sound of that as a setup - I bet that sounds pretty awesome!
Thank you for the video. I’m a fan of these devs and the app’s UI, I totally get the appeal. I don’t think Mammoth is going for Jamerson or Palladino, it’s clearly a dirty metal bass app. So that threw me off at first. And the other thing is, for a simple clean bass tone, dry and direct can work without any apps.
There’s actually very little crossover with Mammoth bass and TH-U offerings. TH-U offers lots of clean bass and boost/od bass ala classic rock or hard rock, and the classic spread of pedals. Only a few high gain industrial type sounds. The Bass Rigs Vol. 1 actually has several Darkglass amps, in a Kemper style profile. So if anything they complement each other. Too bad TH-U is so pricey, but for a bassist their rig collection with IRs sounds really impressive. A good buy on a sale, as is Mammoth. I saw it was $10 for a bit, no-brainer. I will load it up today in AUM with some Ampeg IRs from Ownhammer. Nice to see a good amount of bassists on the forum.
I've been watching Mammoth videos, it seems like a good APP, but in my opinion it's geared toward more overdriven sounds like a tube preamp.
I usually play Jazz, Funk, Soul... and I prefer a cleaner sound
If TH-U (Bass rig) drops the price this Black Friday I'll get it
Here’s Overloud’s demo video for Bass Rigs Vol. 1
I think they sound phenomenal and realistic. There’s a particular preset in the bank called “Jacob” (#40) that’s so beautiful I use it on almost every track. So you get a prepared preset bank for these rigs from Overloud, and you get the actual Bass Rigs that you access with the Rig player, of which there are 38.
Essentially the “Rig Player” is an all purpose Amp head face, and you load into it these 38 “rigs” which are Kemper like profiles of the real amps. You can adjust the knobs all you want, so it’s essentially like getting a dozen real amps that have been preset for you but can be tweaked. And they all come with real IRs which can be switched around. That, plus the additional preset bank which pairs rigs with pedals from Overloud’s collection.
Another thing to keep in mind is the Bass Rigs package comes with 6 pedals for free, it’s a great value. The other guitar rigs don’t feature this. Essentially they do this so you can have access to these pedals inside the bass rigs preset bank.
For bass I always use Nembrini PSA1000 or the TH-U Bass rigs. I also use the regular TH-U bass amps sometimes, especially the “bass world” preset bank which pairs bass amps and cabs with pedals. Yes you can buy one bass amp sim and cab and dial it in from scratch, they are still marginally better than bass amps from bias or Amplitube. The bass amps all came with the full package so I use them. But having the bass rigs too really takes it over the top...
Undoubtedly when Nembrini releases the bass amp it will have so much appeal because it’s a one amp app you can streamline and dedicate to your set up. I would still put TH-U pedals in front of it and my own IR after it though. Using a certain amp inside a guitar rig app like TH-U, loaded as AUv3, is really no different than a one amp app. It’s just a visual preference really.
I hope to see a discount on Bass Rig this Black Friday (but I'm not very hopeful lol)
I bought Mammoth, it was quite discounted, it seems a good amplifier, but very focused on sounds with distortion, I have yet to learn how to use it, surely I can get a better clean tones, but I still do not understand how it works
I also have IMPULSation and Thafknar, need time to learn how to use them and find good IRs, but with PSA1000 I like how it starts to sound.
Thanks for your time @JoyceRoadStudios
Mammoth for $7 is a good deal, even if you just use it for distortion on synths and keys. Like you said it’s a really crispy dirty bass amp, it works if you’re looking for lots of compression, overtones, and clank. For clean, funk, classic rock bass stuff, as far as I can tell it comes down Overloud for the amps and rigs, or Nembrini for the preamp.
If you want to start with the best IRs right away go for OwnHammer. They have a 50% off right now, they only sell one bass IR collection, the Ampeg, but it’s stellar and more than you may ever need. Thafknar will get you there, easy to use. If you haven’t done it already, download the IRs straight to your iOS device and unzip them directly in Thafknar. If you don’t want a thousand files inside Thafknar, then unzip the files in the Files App, pick your sample rate folder of IRs, find all the “summary” IRs, zip all those together into a smaller file, and unzip that in Thafknar. Less clutter. Once you load an IR in Thafknar you can turn the gain down in there from 1.0 to .7 or .5, to match your volume pre load. IMPULsation also works well btw.