I know it's G&L sacrilege, but I'm thinking of replacing the preamp in my L2500 Tribute? I find that I leave my L2500 Trib in passive most of the time and don't really like the tone of the preamp in active or active w/treble boost.

I've got parts on the way to change the wiring scheme to have a volume/volume stack and seperate series/single coil/parallel switches for each pickup. I'm debating replacing the current preamp with an Aguilar OBP3.

I've worked out the wiring to install one and to have the following controls:
vol/vol
bass/treble
mid w/ active/passive push pot
seperate series/single coil/parallel switches for each pup
mid frequency selector switch.

Any thoughts?

Tell us how it will work out with the Vol/Vol and coil splitters....
I want to do it too :)

For the Tribby L2K I used to own, I liked the sound of it in passive mode, running through my Aguilar DB924:bassist: :D

For the Tribby L2K I used to own, I liked the sound of it in passive mode, running through my Aguilar DB924:bassist: :D
I think I'm going to do it. I've written Nino Valenti about it because he installs Aguilar preamps in the basses he makes. I'm pretty sure that when the EQ is set flat Aguilar preamps are pretty darn transparent. The OBP3 is supposed to let you take good pickups and add active tone controls without coloring the sound too much.

It dawned on me that the bass/treble controls on the L2500 are cut only, so they don't add to the sound or the tone. I like the sound best in passive mode, so with the bass/treble maxed on my L2500 I'm pretty much getting the pure sound of these pickups - there's nothing adding to, coloring, or taking away from the sound. As long as I've got the series/single coil/parallel switches I still have what I liked about the original L2500 sound. The Aggie pre will add mid control, and I can add more bass and treble. Rolling off bass and treble should be similar in sound to the original L2500 bass/treble controls.

Talk about versatile!! A seperate series/single coil/parallel switch for each pickup, vol/vol stack, and the Aguiar OBP3 preamp? Should be amazing!

At this point I'm about 75% sure I'm going to do this. The thing I didn't like about the active basses I've owned in the past is the pickups needed the preamp to sound good. I've owned a Lakland 55-01 and an Ibanez BTB555 - both have Bartolini MK-1 pickups and an active preamp. The lakland sounded pretty good when the EQ was set flat and even better when the EQ was engaged. In passive mode, though, the pickups lacked character and were really flat sounding. The same MK-1 pickups sounded awful to me with the Ibanez preamp set flat.

I really like the pure passive sound of the MFD pickups in my L2500 Trib, and with the Aguilar's EQ set flat I should get a very similar sound. I'll also be able to add more thickness without reducing treble (unlike the series setting), and I'll have midrange control.

It sounds like all positives with no negatives. We'll see when Nino Valenti writes me back with his take on the Aguilar OBP3.

You know, it just dawned on me. I play through a Line 6 Bass PODxt which has a six band EQ with selectable frequencies. I might just leave well enough alone! Cheaper and easier to use what I've got!

Are you still doing the individual PU split thing?

Are you still doing the individual PU split thing?

Oh, yeah! The parts will be here Tuesday or Wednesday. I'll let you know how things go, how it sounds, and take pictures along the way.