Gig Pro Mini Pre-Amp Reviews 5

$50 US at Parkway in Clifton Pk, NY. I'm electifying an upright [but this little pre-amp also serves to make my Fender Musicmaster gig-able] so I was looking for a tiny pre-amp.

It's very small, smaller than the Fishman pre-amps, in a rouund-cornered all-metal housing with a belt-clip. It's very simple, and it makes my stock Fender Musicmaster sound like a P-bass.

Needs a screwdriver to access battery.

Round-cornered all-metal, flat overall shape with oval top and bottom panels. Top panel has gain, bass & treble knobs while bottom has 1/4" in & out jacks. There are tiny trim pot adjusters for bass trim and total output. A sturdy spring metal belt clip is attached by 2 screws [easy to remove or adjust if it gets out of shape]. Tone is very true, basically just a louder version of your ax, but the two tone knobs allow noticeable enhancement if desired or to adjust to various amps or other variables. Background noise is minimal. There's no indication that this is a Bass-Specific device, or that it's made in versions for bass and guitar. The instructions hint that it's for acoustic instruments and bass is not mentioned so I think it's really for guitars, banjos, mandolins etc. But it does a great job for acoustic bass or Fender bass, and is especially good at enhancing fretless solid-body electric bass. It's small enough to ride on your strap, but I'd suggest George-L cables of the spagetti-skinny type. The weight of two normal style of cables adds makes strap mounting unweildy. I put a piece of Tyvek tubing on the metal belt clip to make it less slippery and protect my clothing from getting frayed.

I don't wear a belt, I wear suspenders. If you wear a belt, you will like this device even more than I do. I suppose you can even wear it in a "foundation garment" if you're the Diva type [the cables will make you look way cool...]. A lot of boost in a very small package.

Golem rated this unit 5 on 2004-08-03.

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