The Incredible
Hellborg Preamp

[Warning: This Product Spotlight contains copious amounts of tech speak.]

The Hellborg Preamp is an amazing example of what a company can accomplish when it does not cut corners or make compromises just to save a few bucks. This preamp, the genesis of which came from legendary bassist Jonas Hellborg's desire to achieve the same sonic quality that he had when he recorded through a Neve desk, is unlike anything that has ever come through my office. From the performance to the aesthetics, the Hellborg Preamp is a completely new experience that will change bass amplification for decades to come.

Let's start this bench test from the beginning of the signal path, the input jack. Like the high-end recording consoles that it was built to emulate, the preamp has a Neutrik combo input jack that can accommodate both a 1/4 inch (high impendance) and a XLR (low impedance) cable. This is great news for players with basses with Lo-Z outputs. The 1/4 inch has a rating of 500k ohm and the XLR has a rating of 600 ohms. In my experience I have found that the Neutrik combo jacks last much longer and perform better than traditional input jacks.

Next to the input jack is a input pad switch that, when flipped down, offers a -20db pad (the up position is 0 db). This is key when trying achieve the perfect input level. Speaking of which, the next control on the front panel is a gain knob which ranges from -6 db to +60 db. There is also a clip indicator to the upper right of the gain knob to help you dial in the correct input level. I found this input section to be quite intuitive and it really shows off the unprecedented headroom that the Hellborg Preamp has.

The next control is an EQ on/off switch which does just what it says. There is an indicator light that shines when the EQ is activated. Having a switchable EQ is a feature found on better preamps and amplifiers, and is growing in popularity. One comment about the indicator light - Warwick has pumped the volume up on all of the front panel lighting. They are incredibly bright and quite striking.

The EQ section is one of the most impressive features on the Hellborg Preamp. The EQ very musical and Warwick provided a wider range of control than is normally found in bass amplification. The Lo Mid EQ is selectable between 110Hz, 300Hz and 800Hz, with a +/- 15dB range. The Hi Mid EQ is selectable between 1.5kHz, 3kHz and 5 kHz, also with a +/- 15 dB range. The mid EQs are coiled-based, which is a special technology that produces much better sonic results in equalizers. Warwick knows that the mid range is arguably the most important to bass players, so I applaud them for making the frequencies variable and with such wide dynamic control. Both the Bass and Treble controls utilize Baxandall shelving filters, which provide extremely musical frequency-dependent boost and cut. The maximum boost/cut at 40 Hz is +/- 18 dB, while the treble control can swing +/- 18 dB at 15 Khz.

All of the specs listed in the previous paragraph do not mean much to the average bass player, but I can tell you that the quality of the Hellborg EQ section is without peer. Not only does Warwick give you a wider range of control for each frequency, but they are voiced at the key points for bass. Well done.

The Master volume control ranges from -40dB to +10dB and is final knob on the front panel. To the right of it you will find the mute switch and the power switch.

I should mention at this point that I am not usually impressed by the aesthetics of a piece of gear. If it performance well I couldn't care less if the chassis is solid black and the knobs are white plastic. With that said, however, the look of the Hellborg Preamp is very impressive. All of the knobs are back lit which not only benefits the player who finds their gear sequestered to the darkest area of the stage, but looks pretty cool to boot. The actual construction of the knobs is quite impressive also. They are crafted so well and feel very substantial. Putting white plastic knobs on the Hellborg Preamp would have been blasphemous. I am glad that Warwick went the extra mile with that detail.

Moving on to the back panel, Warwick included a voltage selector (115/230 V), a tuner output, a top-shelf effects loop, a DI output (XLR - 600 ohms) with level control (+/- 6 dB) and a DI output selector that switches between Pre EQ/Pre effect, Post EQ/Pre Effect, and Post EQ/Post Effect. It is the selectable DI output which will appeal to the recording professional/gigging bassist.

I did not mean to gloss over the well thought out effects loop. In all of my testing I found it to be incredibly quiet and easy to work with. One feature that really caught my eye is the +4/-10dB pad button on the effects send. Many times I have been frustrated by the one-size-fits-all approach of effects loop and I appreciate the extra steps that Warwick went in creating this feature. In short, this is one onboard effects loop that I can recommend without reservations, and that is saying a lot.

While it is true that I spent a lot of time testing the Hellborg Preamp in the controlled environs of my office, I did venture out into the real world to see how it would perform. In the studio setting it recorded better than any preamp or amplifier I have ever used, more than living up to the hype that preceded it. I plugged a variety of passive and active basses into it and, in every case, was able to get the best recorded tone from each instrument. If Warwick had thought to include phantom power I would have tried using it as a microphone preamp. It is that good.

I only had the chance to play through the Hellborg Preamp in a live setting two times, but that was more than enough experience to tell that it is also a tremendous live situation preamp. The vast headroom and incredible clarity meant that my playing was present in the mix without having to play at ear-splitting volume. I could play intricate chord melody passages and each note had its own characteristic and sonic "space". I appreciate a very clear bass tone because you can always dirty a clean tone, but you cannot always clean a dirty tone.

The only criticism that people might have about the Hellborg Preamp is its price tag, but you simply cannot get Ferrari performance out of an Edsel budget. If Warwick would have cut corners then the Hellborg Preamp would have been just another mid-priced, mediocre preamp - which the world has way too many of now anyway.

Besides, I truly believe that buying quality musical gear will always cost you less in the end.