Noble DI: Is It Worth the Hype? | Review after 3 years of use

Taking a look at the Noble Amps DI.
nobleamps.com
All thoughts & opinions shown in this video are mine.
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Gear I Use to Make Videos
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►Aguilar Tone Hammer 700
►Noble Amps Preamp
► Neural DSP Quad Cortex
► Rupert Neve RNDI
► UAD Apollo Twin X
► Sommer Cables
► Dingwall Guitars Super PJ / Super J
► G&L Basses
► Lakland Skyline 44-64 Custom w/ EMG GZR pickups
► Sony a6400 Camera
► Sigma 16mm 1.4
► Sony 28mm 2.0
► Shure SM7b
► SE Electronics SE4 Small Diaphragm Condenser Mic
► Logic Pro X

[@JB-zg1ub]

Virtually indistinguishable in the mix.

[@MarcAntoineForget]

Worth the Hype? At that price no unfortunately. I've had one for a couple of years. Amazing product, well made and everything. But what bothered me the most is the over-exagerated hype on social media. Yes putting Noble in your post will give you more views!! It's good but wasn't mind blown! I eventually sold it because I found the Noble too boomy on a flat EQ and the bass boost frequency was too large, which did not work in every musical context. I got a Demeter Tube DI box for about 300$ US used and never looked back! Same « sparkle » and « wide » harmonics... Just my two cents. Buy it used to try it out and see for yourself. Before dropping that kind of money try a REDDI, Demeter etc... But in the end the Noble DI MIGHT work on your setup ! ;)

[@leandrohrb]

damn I thought I was getting deaf before reading your comment

[@kevmac1230]

Those are kinda expensive also,no?

[@HondoFelder]

100% agreed with everything you're saying here. The feel and harmonics are what make a difference (and a much bigger one than most people think once you include performance), but it's sooooo hard to show that over youtube. Had the same problem with my monique video hahah. Well done brotha!

[@IvanBassist]

Hey Hondo! I know. These nuances are very hard to show 😩 I’ve played through a monique a couple of times and it’s also an amazing piece of gear! Happy new year my friend!

[@Bibblebabbler]

End of the day it’s bass and nobody cares about the bass tone but us bass heads. I’m starting a pre amp di aaa rehab for us bass heads.

[@HondoFelder]

@@Bibblebabbler good call. We need it lol

[@vendettawarcrime]

I’d say the Simone is a better value unit if one is going for that valve sound due to the flexible eq, transformer on the DI and the drive/sensitivity controls. I noticed the difference immediately from using my amp then plugging the Simone into the amp. It was like the bandwidth opened up and the quality of the sound increased. Sure no one cares it’s just the bass but the thing which I think is often overlooked is how we feel using this gear. Playing more confidently or with added swagger because we like the feel is no different than having a favourite pair of jeans/shoes/underwear or when we get a new haircut or have a hot shower. It’s about the feeling we get not about what other folks will or won’t hear.

[@Ralferator]

If you can't hear it, what is it good for?

[@Brink1957]

For anyone who doesn’t like the price or long wait for the Noble, I very much recommend the Rheingold BP-2 bass preamp. They’re hand built to order in Germany and I’m very pleased with mine.

[@shapa-47]

I agree, to be honest, the price is too high for Nobleamps, for less money you can take Avalon u5, it sounds no worse, besides, such a Nobleamps preamp is more for recording in the studio, few people will hear its noble sound at a concert!

[@romulomc]

@@shapa-47 they will hear a clean, thick and defined bass sound that Noble deliver.

[@shapa-47]

@@romulomc Musicians with extensive experience in the studio may be heard, but the townsfolk are not!

[@IvanBassist]

Have also heard great things about it!

[@IvanBassist]

The difference being that the u5 weighs 5.4kg and it’s pretty bulky. I wouldn’t want to carry that to a gig unless it’s in a rack.

[@minibuns5397]

Thank you for all your efforts. The Noble is nice piece of kit. I’m just not hearing a massive benefit at all.

[@IvanBassist]

To each his own :)

[@chriscuthbertson]

That Emperor sure has some fancy clothes.

[@IvanBassist]

😂

[@pidong]

i was about to say the same thing... the emperor has no clothes!

[@okaight7248]

The noble sounds a lot tighter in what sounds like really muddy frequencies with just the interface. It’s much more of a defined note. It has closer to that nice rubber band bass sound

[@cheveyo2403]

its is like having fancy underwear only you know what it is like. all these preamp/ di have a very subtle effect that you can notice on good Headphones or monitors that would be lost to most people on a stage and live settings.

[@shapa-47]

I agree, to be honest, the price is too high for Nobleamps, for less money you can take Avalon u5, it sounds no worse, besides, such a Nobleamps preamp is more for recording in the studio, few people will hear its noble sound at a concert!

[@IvanBassist]

It’s hard to pick up from a KZbin video, but sound engineers at shows do notice the difference. At the end of the day it’s our job as musicians to provide them with a good signal

[@AndreasKreuzer-tc7sm]

Hi Ivan, great video. You mentioned some other DIs in the video, but not the Gnome or the Goliath from WRA. Have you ever had the opportunity to try one of them? I think it could be an interesting comparison especially for bassists in Europe, since the are price tag is rather reasonable and there are no additional taxes and duties.

[@IvanBassist]

Hi Andreas! Thanks for watching! Unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to try that one, but a couple of my friends use it. Another great option in Europe is the Caveman DI

[@kevmac1230]

The Goliath sounds real nice but isn't it about 8-900 bucks?

[@bwgiddens]

Hey! I’m sure you probably won’t see this, but I use your Noble captures on the Quad Cortex. I was wondering if you are open to making any custom captures with the Noble?

[@mwagliardo]

I'd like to try one, although I have other tube options. Feel is a big deal, and the Noble is certainly not indistinguishable to me. Nice demo!

[@IvanBassist]

Love it!

[@mariusgoldhammer]

What he says! I love my Noble and have used it for at least five years now. It’s excellent in every situation, live, in the studio or in a TV setting. I‘ve recorded more than 180 songs during the pandemic alone with it and I enjoy every note since I got it. Sure, it’s pricey. But, for me it’s definitely worth it. Great review, Ivan!

[@IvanBassist]

Danke, Marius! LG aus Hamburg 🙌🏽

[@donkeybrains4140]

Nice review. Just for curiosity have you changed the tubes during these 3 years of use? Any tube rolling to change the sound or just new ones because old ones got played out :P

[@IvanBassist]

Haven’t changed any of the tubes, so far. A friend of mine changed them on his Noble and he said he got a nicer treble response out of the EQ section. I might give that a try at some point

[@raytar84]

Im curious how the freq. response looks like.

[@cheveyo2403]

got a caveman bp1 compact a couple of months ago. main difference is that that is soldid state no tubes

[@BassMonstrum]

How do you like the BP1? Considering it over the Noble.

[@IvanBassist]

Have heard great things about it! Might get one at some point

[@Romain_Chafore]

I have a Darkglass Vintage Ultra. I play clean bass and like the Ampegy thick and warm sound for funky soul music. I am thinking of getting a better DI box or preamp on my pedal board to play sans amp. The Noble fits all the boxes but I am kind of afraid to buy too much for my needs. Any opinion ?

[@IvanBassist]

I would recommend it If you are serious about your playing and have the cash at your disposal. The Caveman BP1 compact or the Origin Effects Super Vintage are other great DI options

[@Romain_Chafore]

@@IvanBassist I eventually ordered one. Thx a lot

[@paolomoretti9291]

I don't know what interface you used (maybe a very good one) but I'd personally think that I wasted 1300.

[@shapa-47]

You can take Avalon u5 much cheaper, and not wait half a year until Nobleamps are made, Avalon U5 sounds no worse than Nobleamps, I worked on both, so I know how they sound!

[@paolomoretti9291]

@@shapa-47 I've seen on their site that if you pay 680 more you can skip the line...lol

[@shapa-47]

@@paolomoretti9291 In 2016, I ordered Nobleamps for myself and paid only $50 for accelerated production, well, then there were probably fewer people who wanted it, to be honest, the price is too high for a preamp, you can buy Avalon U5 for less money, it is not inferior to Nobleamps!

[@57precision]

@@paolomoretti9291 they let you pay to skip the line? That is so scummy. Not that I wanted this meme box anyway, but I want it even less now.

[@57precision]

@@shapa-47 Agree. Geddy Lee used the U5 for years. If it's good enough for him...

[@omardogknifemartinez2751]

I had the Noble DI preamp, I liked it, but I ended up selling it and for the Caveman BP-1. I have a friend who builds amps and pedals, and he said, "There's always someone who will figure out how to build an expensive pedal for a fraction of the price" I'm not into tubes, it's just a preference.

[@IvanBassist]

Both are great DIs 😁

[@chasekemp]

isnt that the same price but barely different lol?

[@EricT43]

That G&L sounds fantasic!

[@IvanBassist]

Yes! It’s a great bass :)

[@flomali]

Hi Ivan! Did you had to change the tubes so far?

[@IvanBassist]

Hey Florian. Not yet unfortunately

Nice review but it is not really a big deal. You can still have that sound quality by eq and other mid priced pedals. Especially now line6 has it on its hx line

[@IvanBassist]

Thanks for watching!

[@57precision]

Maybe you have to play this in person to really appreciate it, but I swear I cannot tell a difference if this thing is on or not. Makes me wonder if all the rave reviews are just some kind of massive confirmation bias hive-mind fueled by a positive feedback loop of social media hype. For the price of this thing, I can get a Mesa TT-800 that has real tubes with real tube feel and harmonics and just take the DI out of that. And I can get the Mesa tomorrow and not wait literal years at this point.

[@PaddyLeggBass]

are you wearing decent headphones when you listen to it? Otherwise you probably won’t tell the difference

[@handsdown5x]

Been having my noble for 4 yrs now and no complaints. Absolutely agree with everything you said ! Have you tried the BAE DMP?

[@IvanBassist]

I havent tried it, but I have heard good things about it. The downside is that it’s pretty bulky. It’s more for studio work than live playing

[@rockboxbass]

Ivan, How are you now using the Noble with your Quad Cortex?

[@IvanBassist]

You can see it here :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/fWjIiHeeadh9bJo Summarized: Bass -> Quad Cortex -> Noble

[@simona4693]

Can you do a comparison between your noble and Origin Effects bassrig? how close do they get to each other?

[@IvanBassist]

Totally different sounds

[@simona4693]

@@IvanBassist would be great to see the comparison of the tube emulation vs the actual tube. :)

[@Rick-pi9zn]

You have such an incredible taste for melody and groove, it looks like it comes so naturally and the fills always fit so nice in the bassline, even tho they are actually pretty complex sometimes, how did you lern that? respect!

[@IvanBassist]

Thanks for the kind words, Rick! A lot of transcribing and practicing lines and fills in 12 keys, I’d say

[@colb999]

I'm simply not interested in a DI for $US1300 shipped. I can buy transparent for a fraction of that, I have plenty of EQ already and if I need low order THD I can dial it in from my emulator. Sorry Ivan, I like your channel, but not this piece of kit at all.

[@shapa-47]

I agree, to be honest, the price is too high for Nobleamps, for less money you can take Avalon u5, it sounds no worse, besides, such a Nobleamps preamp is more for recording in the studio, few people will hear its noble sound at a concert!

[@teacher-sean]

I'm late to comment, but I don't hear any difference. I might even hear a slight muffling with the Noble DI. I'm using mixing headphones. Maybe my ears are not up to par. There's no wild difference for me. Sorry. Cool for people who have extra money to blow :)

[@Bibblebabbler]

Not worth the money jake is charging now in my opinion. Get a quad cortex and download your captures or mine of the noble and get a lot more for your buck.

[@CordScott]

Honestly not impressed with the noble. Set flat I hear no natural coloration (which is good if that's your thing) and I think the EQ is very limited.

[@mikegreenebass]

It definitely does sit and feel bigger. I love mine . 7 mthn wait, but we'll worth it.

[@HectorGonzalez-qx9nk]

The Noble is genuinely good, but at the price and wait time, I don’t think it’s worth it. I’m more than happy with my JHS Clover.

[@IvanBassist]

Luckily i got mine when the wait time was 4 weeks 😅

[@josefdepovic8495]

nothing beats a 1073 on bass

[@josefdepovic8495]

@@IvanBassist it's a preamp with DI

[@IvanBassist]

My bad! This is what happens when you read comment late at night 😂 Of course you mean a Neve 1073 haha

[@josefdepovic8495]

@@IvanBassist all good 👍

[@ruslanshalintsev4793]

hi. I do understand that no one will believe me... but, my hobby is to listen and try to tone match everythink i hear using my cheap pedalboard, my p-bass and my headphones audio-trlechnica m50x. Well what would you say, if ill tell i could have match the sound of noble preamp, only using tone knob on the bass and a cheap Harley -benton bass preamp with built in EQ and compressor? And i lustened to allmost all the reviews and samples of Noble preamp (i do have to watch less YT)). Why am i writing all this? I want to ask you to try is. The preamp cost , idk, 60 euro, maybe. I think you will be surprised. and a lot of people allso. To be specific... i think that you can get allmost every tone, only using EQ. Allmost.... I couldnt get Rick-o-sound, no matter how i tried. Sorry for any mistakes... English isnt my native. Cheers! Great channel!

[@SHAKAtheG]

If anyone from the UK is selling one, please let me know, thanks!

[@marcelchaloupka]

A lot of money for nothing