4-Band Preamp Options?

[R. Laevinus]

Looking for a 4-band onboard pre for my newest axe. 4 discrete bands of boost/cut is preferred, but a sweepable mid would also work.

I'm aware of the Audere and the John East stuff, but I want to be able to wire up my own passive volume, tone, and pickup selection controls before the preamp hits the signal, so that I can run in a full-featured passive mode as well.

Is there anything else out there to take a look at? Or does anybody know if the John East modules can be user-modified to handle an all-passive front end?

Thanks in advance!

[knuckle_head]

EMG VMC

Electric Guitar Pickups & Accessories - EMG Pickups | VMC

[Rickett Customs]

What are you asking.... If you can just use a separate volume and tone, aside for the controls?

[Rickett Customs]

3 band's (variable mids) with an active/passive, with passive tone? Sure, they're out there.....

Nordstrand, 3b-4a, 3b-4b and 3b-5b

East- U Retro deluxe

Delano- Sonar 3MS (manual wiring, for the passive tone)

Some pre's can have a passive tone added (bartolini, aguliar, etc...depending on the tech's skill level)

[R. Laevinus]

Knucklehead, thanks for the heads-up, but I think I'd like to stay away from EMG for this project. My ESP has EMG electronics, and they're great, but I think a different flavour is needed here.

Rickett, as per the John Easts, yes, I'm asking if I can replace the blend/volume/passive tone built into the U-Retro modules with my own, so that the passive controls would be V/Tone, V/Tone, then into the preamp for B/T, M/Msweep.

Is such a thing possible, do you know?

Thanks!

[Rickett Customs]

The vol/tone+vol/tone, might get tricky to find, as most pres are single vol and a balance........(not all of course).

You would need to find an experienced tech, that may or may not make this possible for you, for you will not find a pre, made in that particular configuration.... There are a few folks here that could tell you if it's possible and how much work is involved.......

First person that comes to mind is Line6man.

Be aware though, with the East products, there is a screw down terminal on the circuit board that may complicate things.....

Originally Posted by R. Laevinus

Rickett, as per the John Easts, yes, I'm asking if I can replace the blend/volume/passive tone built into the U-Retro modules with my own, so that the passive controls would be V/Tone, V/Tone, then into the preamp for B/T, M/Msweep.

Is such a thing possible, do you know?

Thanks!

[mikezimmerman]

You can wire the Aguilar OBP-3 to have sweepable frequencies on the mid control (http://www.aguilaramp.com/pdf/support_wiring_obp3.pdf). Almost any pre that doesn't have an active buffered blend could be wired up to do a complete passive bypass, I expect. That's actually where the East is problematic, since it does have an active blend, and the built-in "passive" mode is just a fail-safe that loses blend control.

Mike

[R. Laevinus]

I can build the V/T V/T part myself, it's no trouble. My problem is finding a suitable preamp and EQ to wire it into.

I really would like to have 4 bands of EQ, but if that's not in the cards, then a 3-band with a potentiometer-controlled sweepable mid would also do. I really want all the controls to fit onto four concentric pots for a clean look, y'see.

EDIT: Mike, that would be almost ideal, except that the mid sweep control requires a double (not concentric) pot; I'm thinking that finding a concentric pot with a 50K upper and a dual 50K lower will be difficult.

Unless you would happen to know where to source such a beast, in which case I'd buy you a case of beer!

[mikezimmerman]

Originally Posted by R. Laevinus

I can build the V/T V/T part myself, it's no trouble. My problem is finding a suitable preamp and EQ to wire it into.

I really would like to have 4 bands of EQ, but if that's not in the cards, then a 3-band with a potentiometer-controlled sweepable mid would also do. I really want all the controls to fit onto four concentric pots for a clean look, y'see.

EDIT: Mike, that would be almost ideal, except that the mid sweep control requires a double (not concentric) pot; I'm thinking that finding a concentric pot with a 50K upper and a dual 50K lower will be difficult.

Unless you would happen to know where to source such a beast, in which case I'd buy you a case of beer!

The Audere Classic is the only readily available 4-band that I know of off the top of my head. I suspect that you could wire up your V/T V/T harness, then take the output and run it into the Audere as if it were a single pickup installation (see the single-pick mod on the last page of the installation guide - http://www.audereaudio.com/Classic_Install.pdf ).

You could probably do something similar with the East, too--I assume there's a version configured for a single pickup.

[R. Laevinus]

By George, I think you've got it!

For some reason I hadn't seen the single-pickup mod on their page before (or maybe I just missed it - information overload?)

I think what I will do, then, is simply use an Audere Classic with my homebrew passive front-end, and I will experiment with the Audere's volume pot as well; I believe it's 'active', which I assume to mean it comes after the actual preamp stage, which may actually be very useful; maybe I'll hide it in the control cavity as a trimmer, to match active and passive volumes.

Thanks a whole bunch for this help, man!

[mikezimmerman]

Good luck! Let us know how it works out....

[GBassNorth]

If that doesn't work for you or if you're still looking for options give John East a call and discuss your design with him. He's built a couple of custom preamps for me to my spec and all have worked great. The exchange rate isn't good right now for US to UK purchases so that will drive the price up a bit.

One of the preamps I had him build me which worked fantastic for a Precision/Stingray pickup combo was a Vol/Vol stack with a dedicated Bass/Treb/Bright stack for each pickup and a 3 way selector switch to control it all as it runs thru a stereo output jack so I can run each pickup on a seperate amp/cab rig if wanted or hit the 3 way selector switch for a single wall of sound. I run the stingray pickup with effects into a thunderfunk amp and the precision pickup w/o effects into an SVT-VR each with their own Bergantino cabinet. Sounds fantastic and is ultra flexible. I do wish I had put a passive switch on the precision pickup though, just to add a little more flexibility.

[testing1two]

Mike Pope has a 4-band preamp: Michael Pope Design Flex Core

[R. Laevinus]

Gbass, I've sent him an email and am waiting on a response before I make my next move. I've heard he's a great guy to work with, and I look forward to hearing from him, whatever his answer might be.

Testing, the Flex Core looks interesting, but its design is not up my street; I'd vastly prefer concentric pots, and it doesn't look like the pots are easily interchangeable on that unit.


I sense myself swinging further in favour towards the Audere - they claim battery life in excess of 1000 hours when run in 18v (which I find a little tough to believe, but there it is) - and I really hate running out of juice, and my axe happens to already have a double battery compartment, so it would seem like it's all starting to fall into place.

Like I said though, I'm going to wait until I hear back from John before I make a move.

[thepontif]

Dude, the pots are TOTALLY interchangable. There are lots of different versions. You can get volume, balancer (or volume/volume), bass/treble, and lo mid/hi mid in 4 holes. And they are just plug and play. Easiest product on the market that I know of for this purpose.

[R. Laevinus]

Can you tell me where I can find more information on modules available? I can't seem to find a comprehensive list. The 2011 price list is giving me DNS errors.

Thanks!

EDIT: Oh, hey, it just clicked that the Audere wants the pickup return wire, or 'common' as they call it, NOT connected to ground; except that I'd be using Fender N3 pickups, which happen to not have a separate ground wire.

Would I then simply not ground the pickups? Seems like that would be asking for a big ol' pile o' hum. Anybody have any experience with this or a similar issue?

[thepontif]

Grounding issues rarely cause hum. Buzzy crap and wierd noise when you touch knobs and such. Hum is generally from open hot connections or single coil pups.

Send me your email address and I'll forward the info to you.

[andertone]

Noll in Germany (think Ritter basses) has a 4 band plus many options, I have their two band and love it with Dark Star's

[FunkMetalBass]

Originally Posted by andertone

Noll in Germany (think Ritter basses) has a 4 band plus many options, I have their two band and love it with Dark Star's

This. I've played one in a Ritter and I'm sold. My 8-string is getting one when I can afford the $300 price tag.

Alternatively, OP, you could buy a few variable mid controls and wire them up to make 4-bands.

[mhduffl]

Mike pope Flex core - Very flexible preamp up to 4 bands.
Good luck.