Bass preamp

Hi folks, I've got an octa capture and a fender p bass... would it be very beneficial to get a bass preamp? I currently just use the hiZ input. I also use amplitude ampeg.
Thanks

I've done some direct recording with an Ibanez Blazer Bass (P Bass type) and a Yamaha 5 string with active pickups.  Its OK but its better, after using a POD Farm Bass amp model (Ampeg B15N clone works good for me).
 
I've also used the Bass through my POD X3 Bass program and that works OK too.

Not only for bass but for vocals. The important part to me is I must have a GOOD analog compressor ahead of the A/D. Most digital solution compress AFTER the A/D.  The EQ on this makes it a swiss army knife pre amp. You can leave your Bass and your mike plugged in as it has both XLR and 1/4 inputs on the back. 
Simply push the line switch and make new settings. I have mine memorized. The Phantom power does not go to the line in so you can leave it on too. 
What I really like is it has 2 parallel outputs. So one goes to my Interface for the recording input and the other goes to a small mixer which then drives my headphones and / or a Mackie SRM 350 powered PA speaker.
I need the big speaker so I'll play the bass the way it was meant to be played. Loud. This stops me from making unwanted noises which you won't hear through wimpy monitors of headphones.  
 
http://www.joemeek.com/threeq.html

Another good bass pre-amp is the MXR M80. It can run from batteries but is better using 48v phantom power which gives it much more headroom. No compressor built in though.

If you want an 'in the box' option the Amplitube Ampeg models aren't bad, but personally I prefer the MXR or a Sansamp. The Amplitube compressors and envelope filter on the other hand, not so good. The compressor plugins that come with Sonar do a better job.

Another option is to DI the bass without a dedicated bass pre-amo and use compression, e.q. and something like the Softube saturation knob to process the raw bass. Lots of excellent bass recordings have been made that way.

Hey all, thanks for your input. I've opted for the sansamp tech 21 rack mount, will be interesting to see how it compares with my existing method.

I guess that's kinda like the method I've been using for a while which roughly speaking is to copy the bass part to another track, use a low pass to keep low/low mids end on one track and use high pass on the other and add some distortion then blend the two. I've no idea if this is a good idea but seems to work ok.
Is it best to use xlr from sansamp to s card and just keep the octa capture preamp set to zero?

Thanks bats brew, appreciate you taking the time to respond. I'm really looking forward to trying this out. Is it worth using with my fender tele too?

DeeringAmps
I use the UA LA-610, but it is NOT a "budget" item.

 
Tom

This ^^^^^ and.... I use my dbx 266xs compressor as I like it better than the LA-610 compressor for my bazz.