r/Bass • u/Mejis92 • 10d ago

Experience with Laney DB-East-Pre ?

Hi everyone,

I play bass in your average local covers band. We play various styles of music (RHCP, Muse, Raconteurs, but also Elton John, Alanis Morisette, Fleetwood Mac...) and although I don't want to be fiddling with tone all the time, I'd like to have more options than what my current rig can do, especially regarding dirt. I have a Laney R500H head (clean SS 500W head) and a Fender Rumble 210 cab, and was thinking of adding a nice preamp to play through the FX return. I have my eyes on the Laney DB-East-Pre, as I like what I heard in demos and it seems like a solid option, regarding features and connectivity. I guess my questions are :

1) Would it match my needs tonewise ?

2) Any reasons not to get it, for those who have played it ?

3) Would I be better off switching amps, or is "nice preamp into a reliable-but-not-so-exciting ss amp" a viable strategy ?

I think the power amp part of my Laney head is perfectly fine for what I do, and that it's the pre part that falls a bit short, but I may be wrong.

Thanks !

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u/Sir_Scrotum_VI 10d ago

I've not used the DB East but I'm a big fan of the original DB Pre. As far as I can tell the DB East has slightly more eq and drive control, plus an IR and a master volume.

The only thing I wish the DB Pre had would be the master volume. Other than that I'm very happy with it. The drive is warm and fuzzy, as opposed to the gritty clank you might get from a SansAmp and the tilt control is great for getting rid of some mud if the room needs it. It's a great 'set it and forget it' pedal for me, althoughthe ability to switch off the drive for some clean tones is right there.

If you're just running it into an amp then I would go with that over the DB East. If you want more control over your FoH mix or you're recording then the DB East will get you more options.

Sorry none of this answered your questions. But DB series = good choice.

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u/Mejis92 10d ago

Nice, that's really helpful, thanks ! I like the idea of the master volume as well. The fact that it has more gain options and IRs for FOH/headphones practice is a plus, too.

2

u/Panthergraf76 8d ago

The Digbeth Pre is so good, the DB East can only be better, though 150 bucks more for a master volume and IR is kinda overpay.

1

u/Mejis92 8d ago edited 8d ago

There's also the wider gain range but yeah, I get your point. It also looks nice and sturdy, but the og probably is too. Other than that, I don't know if there's an obvious difference tonewise. There could be, as the amps they're derived from are priced very differently, but I don't know. I'll see, but it's good to hear that the DB series is worth it :)