The Trickfish External Pre Amp (EPA) is a bass preamp/EQ pedal from Trickfish Amplification. It takes the circuit of the company's onboard Internal Pre Amp (IPA), the preamp Trickfish fits inside its instruments, and puts it in a stompbox: the maker describes it as "Our iconic Internal Pre Amp (IPA) in a box."1 The idea is to add what Trickfish calls a studio quality preamp/EQ stage to a pedalboard, placed before or after your effects chain for extra tonal control.1
Trickfish sells it as the External Pre Amp (EPA), a bass preamp pedal built into the same rugged, metal box that the rest of the pedals in this line enjoy, and Bass Gear Mag reviewed it for players weighing up their EQ options.2
Controls and EQ
The EPA carries three EQ bands, and the center frequency of each can be configured internally, which is the pedal's distinguishing feature. The mid knob gives shelving boost/cut of 12dB at 330/500Hz.1
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| BASS | Shelving boost/cut, configurable at 40Hz or 80Hz1 |
| MID | Shelving boost/cut 12dB @ 330/500Hz; band configurable at 330Hz, 375Hz, 430Hz or 500Hz1 |
| TREBLE | Shelving boost/cut, configurable at 4kHz or 8kHz1 |
| ON footswitch | Toggles effect on/bypass1 |
| IN | 1/4" phone jack input1 |
| DC IN | 9V DC power input, center pin negative1 |
Bass Gear Mag's reviewer made the switchable frequencies the headline of his verdict: "the ability to customize the center frequencies that these three bands work at is a feature I value highly."2
Power and connections
The EPA runs on 9V DC with center pin negative polarity and draws 2.6 mA, a light load by pedal standards, so it sits comfortably on a shared pedalboard supply.1 Input and output impedance are 1M Ohm and 100k Ohm respectively, and the input is a 1/4" phone jack.1
The 1M Ohm input and the maker's description of the pedal as "Perfect for passive or active instruments"1 mean a passive bass plugs straight in without loading concerns.
Where it came from
The EPA is a variant of the Trickfish IPA (Internal Pre Amp), the onboard preamp in Trickfish instruments. Fairchild's review put it plainly: "The EPA is a faithful rendition of the IPA preamp," built into "the same rugged, metal box that the rest of the pedals in this line enjoy," with a latching footswitch for engage/bypass.2 It belongs to the wider family of preamp pedals and equalization pedals that shape tone rather than add an effect of their own.
What reviewers said
Bass Gear Mag reviewed the EPA in May 2024 as part of its look at Trickfish's four-pedal release. Fairchild's review valued the configurable band centers highly and described the pedal as a faithful rendition of the IPA circuit in the same metal enclosure as the rest of the line.2
Videos
Trickfish Amps
Questions
Does the Trickfish External Pre Amp work with passive basses?
Yes. Trickfish describes the EPA as perfect for passive or active instruments, and its 1M Ohm input impedance is the kind of high input that keeps a passive bass's pickups from being loaded down. It can sit before or after your effects chain on the pedalboard, according to the maker.
What frequencies can the Trickfish External Pre Amp's EQ bands be set to?
The bass band is a shelving boost/cut configurable at 40Hz or 80Hz, the mid band is a boost/cut configurable at 330Hz, 375Hz, 430Hz or 500Hz, and the treble band is a shelving boost/cut configurable at 4kHz or 8kHz. The mid control gives up to 12dB of shelving boost or cut at 330/500Hz, per Trickfish.
What power supply does the Trickfish External Pre Amp need?
The EPA runs on 9V DC with center pin negative polarity, through its DC IN jack. Power consumption is 2.6 mA, which is a very light draw, so it is easy on a pedalboard power supply.
Is the Trickfish External Pre Amp the same as the Trickfish IPA?
It is the same circuit in pedal form. Trickfish calls it the Internal Pre Amp (IPA) in a box, and Bass Gear Mag's reviewer Sean Fairchild called the EPA a faithful rendition of the IPA preamp. The IPA is the onboard preamp Trickfish fits into its instruments.
What is the input impedance of the Trickfish External Pre Amp?
Trickfish lists the input impedance at 1M Ohm and the output impedance at 100k Ohm. The 1M Ohm input suits both passive and active basses.
Sources (2)
- External Pre Amp (EPA), Trickfish Amplification
- Trickfish Amplification Pedals: Signal Filter, and more..., Bass Gear Mag, 2024-05-30