Aguilar DB924 Preamp

Just got this one and put it through about 3 hours of practice. Has input, output, bass, treble, and volume and that's about it. Takes two 9v batteries. Sucks that ya gotta unscrew the plate to get to them but I guess Aguilar was thinking "absolute bombproof" and didn't want to use any plastic. A DI our mid control would be nice, maybe even an AC adapter. But I guess if I REALLY wanted all that I would have bought the Sadowsky.

I love the simplicity of this preamp. It has a very natural and warm inherent tone. It's not real bright nor is it muddy at all. I only play fingerstyle or with a pick, and I think it works better for fingerstyle. You can get a really sweet, fat tone with it for that. With a pick, I kept turning down the bass and cranking the treble which basically yielded the same exact tone as I get with just my amp. I slapped a few notes and it sounded pretty good but I didn't spend too much time on that.

It's absolutely quiet. I've used it with a passive P-bass and an active Jazz bass with no onboard preamp, and it sounded great for both.

I tried running it directly into a power amp and out to a cabinet which yielded some great results. Not much in the way of flexibility but it definitely sounded a million times better than any middle-of-the-road or worse amp that I've owned! I had to turn the volume up a bit more but it was definitely useable. So I guess that answers that question.

Seems reliable and it's on its 2nd owner in 3 years.

A+

Overall I'd buy it again for sure. The greatest thing about this to me is that I can run directly to the house or my power amp and still get an awesome sound. I do wish it had a mid EQ band and maybe a DI but I think for its simplistic design and smooth and natural tone, it beats out anything else I've had.

I bought this unit used from E-Bay, I think it was made in 2001. I play mostly jazz, country, rock. Plus lots of other stuff in my spare time at home. The DB924 is pretty straight ahead... input, output, volume, bass, treble.
Additional features I wish it had: tuner out with muting, low battery LED, easier access to control cavity to change the battery, XLR out, groundlift.
I've only used it live, but am anxiuos to see how it records too.

I own a Sadowsky Metro 5-string with the famous Sadowsky preamp, and I love the tone, but for the past several weeks I've been looking for a way to 'beef it up' a bit and open up the sound. It's just not as warm, fat, or crisp as my ears would like. The highs are clear but too harsh, the mids are present but too thin, and the bottom is tight but not fat enough.
I've spent some time A/B'ing the Sadowsky and the Aguilar, and to me the difference is pretty profound. The DB924 has more headroom and a broader sound spectrum top to bottom and in between. The highs are more pleasant and crisp, the mids are more profound and punchy, and the bottom is fat and moving with one heck of a growl. It's already been used, but organic and transparent are two very good terms to describe the sound.

It's built very well, feels very solid, and I would feel confident taking this unit anywhere.

Obviously this doesn't apply...

I've been playing for almost 30 years and I'm always looking for something to improve the sound of my basses. I use onboard EQ quite a lot and always try to go for a big thick bottom that still cuts. To do that, I use pre's that are very broad and don't have too much of a voice of their own. The DB924 adds color, warmth and clarity, but it still allows you to paint the picture yourself. I am a huge Sadowsky fan, and I have tremendous respect for the sound of his basses and preamp but to me when you boost the EQ it's too narrow and can get harsh pretty quickly. I prefer the sound of the DB924 because of its warmth, clarity, headroom, transparency, and power.

Basic outboard pre. Excellent two band, shelving EQ (boost only) at 80Hz and 4kHz, exactly where it's needed. 18V from 2 9V batteries. Folded metal plate enclosure with machined aluminum knobs and top-quality pots. Everything you need, nothing you don't.

Use it with my '59 P bass. Run direct to the PA for live sound. Fat, tight, solid sound. The circuitry is so well designed that it damps any RF field interference coming through the old Fender pickup. Absolutely noiseless. Can't ask for more.

What can go wrong? Battery access leaves something to be desired, but it's a minor annoyance.

No idea. Never needed it. A testament to Aguilar's design and manufacturing. The best customer service is good design, in my opinion.

Been playing over 30 years. Got rid of everything except the P bass and the 924. Don't need no stinking rig anymore. Straight to the PA or recorder, baby. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat, but probably won't have to, unless it's stolen. Best piece of electronic musical gear I've bought at any price - EVER. If you've got a passive P or J bass, get one -- you'll like it.

3 knobs - that's easy. 9v batteries only - inside a screwed-on door - that sucks, but it's a tolerable inconvenience. I guess it maintains a simplicity in its design ethic throughout.

Simple, beautiful, natural, powerful. Recovers all the sound in my P-bass signal and lets me shape it any way I want. The treble control is especially nice. Perfect controls for the sounds I like - just absolutely perfect. Haven't noticed any noise yet. I wish I had better words to describe the sound quality.<BR><BR>But I don't. Maybe that tells you something about how sweet this little box is.

Looks reliable; hard to say yet.

Got fast email response from someone who knows what he's talking about. Top-notch operation.

Bass is a second for me, but I was a guitar performance major, and I did a massive woodshedding glut when I started bass, so I feel like I know what I'm doing. I play anything that pays at the moment (not busy enough to pay the bills; thank God for my wife's income). A simple P-Bass, stock PU and electronics, with DB924 and sometimes an ART Levelar, sounds so sweet that nobody has complained so far it wasn't the right sound. I don't expect to ever hear any complaints about this sound. It is oo-la-la nice. Head-turning nice.

volume-bass-treble. doesn't get much easier than this

Well I use this in between my active EMG's and my Aguilar DB359 all tube head. Now you might wonder why i'm using a preamp if i have the best of the best, the father of all bass heads, the db359. Well its simple really, i just like to beef up my signal before the tubes get there share.
I played without the db924 a couple times, going back and forth... with to without, with to without. I deffinetly prefer with. This thing give you a very warm, beefy signal into your head.

Thing is built like a brick. i realy dont think i'm ever going to have a problem with it..... ever!! No backup.

I don't know whats up with Aguilar not answering some of my e-mails. but maybe there bussy.

I play maily metal with my band, but were very very experimental. But i think i'm even more experimental in my room alone. from Jazz/Fusion to Funk.. alot of stuff. This thing suites all those styles. It just beef's up your signal. Warmer, Smoother signal.
I bassically run my head flat, and same with my DB 924. Aguilar voiced it well, and it sounds great flat. Hats off to Aguilar!!
GET IT. It's awesome... you wont be dissapointed

2002 preamp. It has volume, bass & treble.
2 9v battery required. Sturdy folded metal casing powder coated.
In & out jacks

It growls. I tried it with different basses in the store even bypassing Lakland 55-94's preamp and running straight through from the pickups. Such a phat tone. It adds and cuts both bass & treble frequencies nicely. Can't get a bad sound in it's ranges.

It has very slight hiss when volume is not cranked sometime but is still quite acceptable. I am running it after my active systems on my Peavey TL-5 and it adds a new dimension of sound. I used to think the bass sounds pretty good direct into the p.a. but now it raised the bar for me. I love it.

Very sturdy.

After I registered through the net, they sent me a catalog within a week. That's awesome

I've used it for 2 months now and the battery seems to last very long.
I would buy it again if is were stolen.
It might move a little if just sitting on top of amp. The jacks on the opposite side of knobs is a little anoying sometimes because your cable usually runs sideways. Just need to leave a little gap behind the amp. I was considering the Sadowsky preamp but this caught my ears first. Aguilar made the Sadowsky bass preamps anyway, I don't think it should sound too diferrent.

As an outboard bass preamp, this is the easiest, best sounding pre on the market. VERY simple controls: 1 volume, 1 treble, 1 bass. There is an internal battery compartment which holds 2 9v's. I've used this unit for about 3 months and haven't changed the batts yet. Construction of the unit is rock solid.

I mostly play an early 90's 5 string Warwick Dolphin. I use the Aguilar preamp solely with a Mackie M1400 amp and two Eden 210xlt's. As far as I'm concerned, this sounds good enough for any application. The controls are extremely responsive and if you've been looking for that right amount of "yeah", $170 bucks is a cheap way to get it. If you have one of those preamp/ amp heads with an effects loop, ditch your existing preamp by plugging this little wonder into the effects return of your head and listen to what happens. You will not be diappointed. I also use the unit when recording. (I usually use a bass with passive pickups when recording, j or p bass) It is noiseless and sounds fantastic as the first unit in the signal chain. At mixdown with a nice and fat tube compressor, man, I can't say enough good things. Kudos to Aguilar.

Hasn't failed yet. I always backup everything when gigging.

no inquiries.

I play all styles of music. Jazz, funk, Latin, rock, reggae, whatever is called for. You really can get any tone you want from it easily. I've played professionally for the better part of 12 years with successful touring bands but most of my gigs are now in the studio. I've played with and played through about everything. This is such a simple, quality piece of gear that either live or in the studio, any bass player would be nuts not to have it in your rig.

This is the OUTBOARD version of the Aguilar OBP-1 active tone circuit for bass. It is a small steel box with volume and two bands of boost(18volts). +18db max at 40hz (bass) and 4khz (treble). Perfect for that Stock '62 Jazz Bass Cream Puff that you can't let a router in the same room with. Three knobs, I taught my dog how to use it. No AC, that's a bummer because the back plate has to be removed (4 screws) to change the 2 batteries. Aguilar says that the batteries will last 300 hours of normal use. I've had it 2 months and haven't hadto change the batteries yet.

Headroom, headroom, headroom!!! Be careful with your amp's input gain because this baby is hot! Quiet as a corpse, though. No humming or hissing at all. I use this with a passive Jazz Bass and passive MTD Kingston with an Ashdown ABM-500 amp. This unit will take your tone and make the highs sing, thicken the mids, and add as much bass as you can handle. Basically this thing is FAT like Albert. Fat like Buddha. FAT like Rosie. I've used the Sadowsky pre-amp and the Aguilar blows it away. I have used an active bass with this unit and it also sounded great. I also used it to record a rhythym guitar track and it sounded great. Think of the best tone you can get out of your rig and then add steroids. Clear, articulate without sounding thin. Adds definition across the board while expanding your tonal spectrum. Think thick, greasy, smooth, chick-magnet tone.

The thing is a chunk of gray steel. The knobs protrude from the unit but the pots look like brass I think. As stated above, changing the batteries would be a pain in the ass in the middle of a set, but I've used it on three gigs and I've never changed the batteries since I've had it. I've had no problems with it.

Several e-mails to tech support regarding features were answered within 24 hours. Aguilar is still small enough to have great customer support. Again, I've never had a problem with the unit so I don't know how quick they are with an RMA.

I admit that at $170 it is a little steep. But I thought about how much it would cost to retrofit both basses with active electronics and it became a bargain. Then I actually listened to it... and price became a non-issue.
I play alt-rock, jazz, dub reggae, ska, pop, and punk. I can honestly say that there is a great sound for every style in this box. Playing for 15 years, mostly on jazz style 4 and 5-strings. Current rig includes Ashdown ABM-500 with Eden 210T and Aguilar 1x12. Stolen, I would definitely buy another one(it makes me paranoid just thinking about it). This has become an integral, indespensable link in the obsessive quest for MY sound. The best thing about it is that it sounds great with ANY bass! I have tried this with about 6 basses and it added something to each one. Other people have tried it and I have to pry it loose from their grimy little fingers. I've had EMG equipped basses, Fender Active Jazz, Highlander on-board Preamp, SD Basslines Active circuit, and Sadowsky outboard unit and this has gobs more USABLE, EASY TO DIAL IN tone than anything I've tried up to this point.(And I've tried alotta s--t) In fact, I've never had a silly box or active electronics that could hold this one's jock! The ONLY thing I wish it had was XLR out for recording, but then I guess Aguilar wouldn't be able to sell me a direct box, eh? The DB924 has helped me make music by giving me a lot more clarity, ass, and tonal range than before. I didn't tell my band mates that I got it and when we started practicing all heads turned, "What the hell happened to your bass, it sounds amazing!"