bass preamp pedal shootout Trickfish Amplification Trickfish Minnow Bass Preamp DI Pedal Blue

DESCRIPTION

The Minnow is a great utility pedal that exemplifies Trickfish's philosophy of creating tools that enhance rather than color your natural bass tone. At its core, it's a great-sounding transparent DI that maintains the integrity of your signal while adding just the right amount of polish.

Its overall character is neutral with a slight sheen, think of what you get from a high-end studio preamp that just adds a hint of magic so that your tone sounds more alive and present. This isn't about dramatic transformation; it's about bringing out the best in what you already have, making your bass sound like the most polished version of itself.

The Minnow is combined with one of the most useful EQ sections anywhere. It features lows, highs, and two mid controls with selectable frequencies: 333Hz and 473Hz for the low-mid, and 1kHz/1.8kHz for the high-mid. This is huge because the bass lives in the mid frequencies, and with these switchable frequencies, it's easy to find the tone you're after. The frequency choices aren't arbitrary, they're specifically chosen to address the most common tonal challenges that bass players face in real-world situations.

Also, with the sweep of the EQ, it's hard to make it sound bad. It's more like choosing between different versions of great. The controls are musical and interactive, meaning that adjustments feel natural and musical rather than clinical or harsh. This makes the Minnow incredibly user-friendly, whether you're dialing in your sound in the studio or making quick adjustments on stage.

The Minnow excels as a studio pedal, providing that professional sheen that helps bass tracks sit perfectly in a mix without losing their fundamental character. It's equally great for gigs where you need to use your DI to go straight to front of house and monitor with in-ear monitors. The clean, noise-free signal path ensures that your tone translates consistently.

Trickfish's attention to detail is evident in every aspect of the Minnow's design, from its robust construction to its intuitive control layout. This is a pedal designed by bass players for bass players, addressing real-world needs with elegant solutions.

From Trickfish:

The Minnow is a high quality, low noise bass preamp DI pedal equipped with our Bullhead EQ section. This single channel Bullhead preamp features shelving EQ’s for the BASS and TREBLE controls and variable band pass EQ’s for the LO MID and HI MID. A selectable mid frequency for both LO MID and HI MID controls provide complete control over the midrange. We’ve also added HI SHIFT to the treble frequency to further tune the cut/boost capability of the treble control.

In addition, the Minnow preamp includes a tuner out for silent tuning and a balanced XLR output for use as a DI, great for both live and studio use.