Radial Bassbone V2 2-ch Bass Preamp and DI Pedal Reviews

Great product for switching between acoustic and electric bass live or studio

I changed from a Fishman Platinum Stage to the Radial because I went to a pedalboard format. I play a lot of casuals all over town and I wanted to speed up my set up process with the board.. I was amazed at the tone flexibility of the Bassbone V2. I play upright and it makes my bass sound amazing. The FX loop feature is really convenient for adding effects pedals without having to go through the main signal chain. AND, I can add a second bass to the V2 and just toggle back and forth. So quiet, so straight forward and easy to use..This is part of Radials Tonebone preamp pedals series.. Get one!

This is one of the only preamps that works extremely well for upright bass. It"s clean, and it has a high pass filter which is crucial when you want to crank up the Volume of a piezo element and not get too much feedback in the low register. The boost is a nice feature as well for getting that little extra bump for a bass solo.

If you want a clean preamp, this is it. For upright bass it is truly amazing.

The Bassbone by Radial Engineering is an all-round outstanding product. For the price, I thought I was getting what I paid for, but for how much it has improved every aspect of gigging, recording, and finding new sounds for me, it's a bargain. The first three paragraphs cover general features and specific uses and applications, and the fourth paragraph covers specific information you probably are not aware of about this product. I am a bassist who plays an upright with an unpowered non-magnetic piezo pickup, and bass guitar. The first feature on this dual channel preamp that is essential for my application is the "PZB" button located on the right side of the pedal. This switch, only affecting channel 2, adjusts the gain to massively boost the weak signal from most piezo pickups, giving a piezo pickuped upright a full, strong sound that can be matched to the volume of any other instruments plugged into the other channel. Because of this, when I'm playing a gig with both a bass guitar and an upright bass, I can use "level 1" and "level 2" to adjust the volumes of both instruments until they match. Then, using the channel select footswitch, I don't have to mute anything or adjust any gain or any volume or any EQ to switch instruments. I just get the other instrument amplified instantly, without changing any cables. Also, with both basses plugged in, I can use the channel switch as a mute button, in order to go fully acoustic on my upright bass. I use it for bowed solos in pit orchestra situations. Going back to the features on channel 2, there is 3 band EQ available just to EQ your upright (or other bass guitar, if you don't use the piezo boost switch, or you can even use channel 2 as a boost channel to switch to while only using 1 bass on channel 1). The EQ centers are designed at perfect frequencies to shape the sound of your upright. I get a very good organic, smooth sound by rolling off highs and lows to bring out the mids. As mentioned before, you could also plug in only one bass, tap over to channel 2, and then have a different EQ and volume preset waiting you! Another tone option, on channel 2 (aka the upright channel, for me), are low frequency roll off options. This rolls off, or completely iliminates, low, generally unwanted frequencies that cause feedback and boominess at high volumes. I have mine set at the middle roll off to preserve some guteral low end, but not be overwhelming on the low E string. Very helpful in a high volume stage situation or acoustically terrible room.
I wasn't expecting much in terms of helping the tone of my bass guitars via channel 1, but it has made a positive impact on every bass I've plugged into it. There are only 3 preset options to shape the sound of your bass guitar, via a 3 way switch. The first one is "normal", which doesn't add any EQ character to your sound. However, my 5 string korean built Spector has very hot pickups and a shouty preamp, and normally, plugging it straight into any amp without an extensive preamp section makes it sounds harsh, a little overbearing, and boomy. When I plug it into the Bassbone on "normal" mode, I get a round, smooth, controllable and malleable tone coming from my 5 string that I can use for jazz, show tunes, and pop with no issue! Honestly, I don't hear a difference on any of my other basses-just thought that was interesting that it automatically improved my five string. Tone-A is a low end boost, high end roll off filter for a fat, vintagey sound that is good for reggae or bossas. I personally never use it because I prefer rolling off the tone and palm muting for those styles. Now Tone-B is a game changer. Tone-B gives you a massive low end boost and a high end sizzle/sting. It's so aggressive that I don't even use it for slapping. I use it for drop tuning and playing heavy metal riffs or playing punk rock lines (plecktrum or fingerstyle). It's so aggressive that I can get a Joe Principe tone out of my P bass using Rotosound flats, and even a David Ellefson sound using the Spector with nickel strings. It will make any bass guitar sound huge, and make any amp tear your face off. I was shocked that this clean cut, practically engineered preamp would allow me to create face melting crunchy, gut hitting heavy metal tones alongside being a tool for jazz/broadway bassists.
Now that we've covered the basis of tone shaping, (I bet you weren't expecting those possibilities) let's move on to more practical options. First off, let's talk about what's located on the sides of the pedal. Now there's not actually anything sticking OUT from the sides of the pedal. Instead, there are small holes in the side of the pedal with white buttons inside that you can press or unpress by using a toothpick or a paper clip. As I mentioned before, one is the PZB button which is essential for weak pickups, such as on my upright bass. Above that is a "blend" switch, which determines whether you want to be able to switch between channel one and two, or have them both playing at the same time. This feature makes sense if your bass guitar has two output jacks for both a piezo pickup and a magnetic pickup system. It also makes sense if you have a similar set up, or a microphone, on your upright bass. If you were also giving a lesson, and wanted to have your student's bass guitar plugged in at the same time as yours, it makes sense. There is a "180 degree" switch, which reverses the phase of your signal by 180 degrees. That basically means you'll get less feedback, I think? There is also a boost/mute switch of the left side of the pedal. This controls the "boost" footswitch on the left side. Not pressing it will make that footswitch work as a volume boost, which is controlled by the "boost" knob directly above it. Pressing it makes it work as a mute button, which I don't need. If you solo a lot, you'll love having a clean boost switch. The input and output jacks on this pedal look beautifully machined and have a tight, firm, high quality feel to them. The tuner out is excellent because you can connect a tuner, and tune both of your basses by only using the channel select switch. I have never used the effects looping system, but it has some options which I find somewhat unncessary. But for any effects fashionistas, there's nothing it WON'T do for you. (wet and dry mix, footswitch to activate effects circuit, options to have it one one or both channels). Also, the line out has a solid, tight feel and works perfectly well along with the ground lift switch (meant to improve the line out signal). It sounds like a lot of stuf, but the pedal layout is still simple and manageable! Just have your switches set to where you want them before the gig, and then you just have a couple knobs and switches to set on the front panel depending on your environment or the tone you're going for.
Here's an important note that you don't know, and I didn't know before I got this. When I plugged this into my Power-All, 2000 milliamp daisy chain, it wouldn't work, and none of my effects pedals would. As soon as I unplugged it, everything else worked. The reason is not because of the voltage required by the pedal. After calling Radial Engineering, I learned that it was because it has some sort of "independant grounding" circuitry. This means that it can only be used by itself by it's own special power supply (which is included, and also very high quality). So be ready to make space on your power strip for another wall-wart. Other than that, you might not realize by the photos how good this pedal looks. It looks like a force to be reckoned with. The paint is extremely fine and sturdy and gives it a beautifully finished, solid professional look. The metal housing is perfectly fitted, extremely sturdy, and gives it a heavy, high quality feel. The knobs also have an extremely smooth, purposeful feeling to the way they move. The footswitches have a firm click to let you know you've activated them successfully. I actually put this pedal on top of my amp so I can reach over to move knobs, and I press the footswitches with my fingers to change channels at restaurant jazz combo gigs. For heavy metal, punk, and rock gigs I have it on the floor with one bass guitar to hit the boost for extra gross riffs and solos. I don't care who you are, if you take playing seriously, and especially if you're versatile, this pedal will completely improve your life as a bassist. You don't even need to be an upright player to find this extremely helpful. It's the best bass investment I've made in my life, so I highly recommend it to anybody who plays upright and bass guitar, has multiple bass guitars, or wants endless volume and tone options for one bass. I hope you learned something new about this pedal from this review.

The Radial BassBone is great for using both acoustic and electric basses through one amp. It would be even better if the 3-band EQ could be used on both channels. The EQ only effects channel 2 which is where the acoustic bass is input. I would like EQ on both channels.