Burns Marquee

[seed01uk]

Hi,
Im new to this site and i've joined for a specific reason. I was wondering if somebody could help me. I need to know if an Aguilar OBP-3 will fit inside a Burns Marquee Bass control cavity, with batterys and everything.
Any help anyone can give me would be received gratefully,
Thanks,
RH

[luknfur]

FWIW:

I'm guessing you have a Burns Marquee. If so, take a piece of pool chalk and a couple 9v's and if they fit you should be good to go - unless you plan on punching a bunch of holes for more pots/whatever.

[seed01uk]

I dont have a Burns Marquee. I need to know how big the cavity is before I buy one!

[luknfur]

FWIW:

then Burns should be able to tell you. But if it's not an active bass already, probably not. You could always route the bass for a battery box. Or you could go with an outboard box. I rigged an OBP-3 outboard so I can use it with any bass - and get it out of the bass.

[seed01uk]

I've e-mailed Burns Guitars twice over the last month and they havn't e-mailed me back, its like they dont want to sell their guitars! If i use an outboard box what does this involve? Do you clip it to your strap or something?

[luknfur]

Originally Posted by seed01uk

I've e-mailed Burns Guitars twice over the last month and they havn't e-mailed me back, its like they dont want to sell their guitars! If i use an outboard box what does this involve? Do you clip it to your strap or something?

FWIW:

Yep, some company's are that way - and it tells you something about the company. It may be they don't do emails and you need to call them. Or they just may not have much customer service beyond taking their money. Never dealt with them. Status seems like good people.

The box I made is just the pre in an outboard box - sort of like a DI only without the pedal aspect. Plug the bass in the input jack and the pre/amp in the output jack with controls on the top of the box like the face of the bass.

Aguilar may put the OBP-3 in an outbaord DI, never checked. I know they do the OBP-1 - it's called the DB924 I think.

[A9X]

I've got a Marquee and it probably won't fit.

Why are you wanting to do this before you get the bass? It's quite alright passive.

Otherwise luknfur's suggestion of putting it in an external box is a good one. You can get a small plastic or (better) aluminium discast case from many electronics parts suppliers like Newark and Mouser in the US.

[luknfur]

Originally Posted by seed01uk

I've e-mailed Burns Guitars twice over the last month and they havn't e-mailed me back, its like they dont want to sell their guitars! If i use an outboard box what does this involve? Do you clip it to your strap or something?

FWIW:

another manufacturer approach just occurred to me. Bartolini is basically untouchable over here so I just suggest TBr's contact one of Barts distributors. My guess is Bill is quite responsive to his distributors and that his distributors are pretty responsive to their patrons - especially Bestbassgear who advertises on TB.

Also as A9X stated, I wouldn't jump to a conclusion about the original pups yet but it would be prudent to verify the dimensions for something in particular you have in mind just in case. Oops. Too much going at once. Don't know where I got pups from. Time to go play some bass.

[A9X]

Originally Posted by luknfur

FAlso as A9X stated, I wouldn't jump to a conclusion about the original pups yet but it would be prudent to verify the dimensions for something in particular you have in mind just in case.

I'm pretty sure they're single coil guitar sized, so my old recommendations of the EMG FT/FTC, Dimarzio Fast track1, Protrack, Chopper, Cruiser etc will work as will the SD Coolrails. I seriously doubt it's worth the effort or expense of routing a Marquee for a pre+batteries or changing the pickups. Not that the bass is bad, just not sure you'll make a huge difference sonically with either.
At least putiing the OBP3 in an external box means you can use it with other pssive basses.

[seed01uk]

The reason i want a pre-amp for the Burns is because I've assumed that a lot of passive basses sound very similar and to justify buying another bass it would have to have a different sound. Another problem I might have, although I havn't looked into it properly, is that all the wiring diagrams provided by Aguilar show only two pick-ups.

[A9X]

Originally Posted by seed01uk

The reason i want a pre-amp for the Burns is because I've assumed that a lot of passive basses sound very similar and to justify buying another bass it would have to have a different sound. Another problem I might have, although I havn't looked into it properly, is that all the wiring diagrams provided by Aguilar show only two pick-ups.

An OBP won't make enough of a difference (assuming controls flat) to justify the effort. It's one of the cleanest sounding pres out there and has no real discernible 'colour' to it. It also measures nicely.
The pickups are selected via a 5 way switch so you only need one VC and input to the OBP.

If you want something that sounds different from the trad maple/alder/rosewood passive bass sound, then get a Status or Modulus or a Cirrus.

[luknfur]

Originally Posted by seed01uk

The reason i want a pre-amp for the Burns is because I've assumed that a lot of passive basses sound very similar and to justify buying another bass it would have to have a different sound. Another problem I might have, although I havn't looked into it properly, is that all the wiring diagrams provided by Aguilar show only two pick-ups.

FWIW:

Seems it's always a good idea to find out what someones trying to accomplish rather than just respond to their question cause as A9X has stated, if that's the case I'd say you're bark'n up the wrong tree.

Most onboard pre's in my experience basically just give you boost/cut of whatever band frequency, they don't color tone. I did side-by-sides of the NTMB, OPB-3, and BQC and I really couldn't tell any difference tonewise in them. Something like the Alembic filter is a different animal.

Your best bet onboard is to go with a J bass pup shape cause you can swap pups out in them to alter tone till you drop.

Or forget the bass altogether and go with a Sans Di/whatever that heavily colors tone - unless you just want another bass for some reason.

But any bass with 3 pickups is going to sound different than one with two assuming they're evenly spaced out cause your reading different sections of the strings. Also different basses will have different acoustic properties even of the same make/model/materials so the probability of you getting two basses that sound just alike is a low probability shot. There's not a lutheir in the world I'm aware of who claims to be able to duplicate the acoustic properties of a bass they're handed by making just one bass.

[seed01uk]

I hear what you're saying, maybe the burns will sound different enough on its own. Its just that when i bought my most recent bass i read a load of reviews before i bought it and they all said "very versatile", "lots of tone options" etc. and I dont think you can get a great range of sounds out of it so may its me! Basically I want a sound like my bass tutors and he uses an Aguilar pre. He has a different bass every week, because he works in a studio, but he keeps his pre-amp the same and he gets this really good tone that i like. I think he uses EMG pickups. I just thought if i get the pre then i can get the tone, but maybe it doesn't work like that.

[hallo]

If you want a different sounding guitar why not go for the burns bison; they can give all or sorts of tones and I've found the tri-sonic pups to be pretty good.

[seed01uk]

Will the marquee not sound similar? What sort of price difference is there?

[luknfur]

Originally Posted by seed01uk

I hear what you're saying, maybe the burns will sound different enough on its own. Its just that when i bought my most recent bass i read a load of reviews before i bought it and they all said "very versatile", "lots of tone options" etc. and I dont think you can get a great range of sounds out of it so may its me! Basically I want a sound like my bass tutors and he uses an Aguilar pre. He has a different bass every week, because he works in a studio, but he keeps his pre-amp the same and he gets this really good tone that i like. I think he uses EMG pickups. I just thought if i get the pre then i can get the tone, but maybe it doesn't work like that.

FWIW:

Can you get the sound you want playing your tutor‘s gear and if so does it work to music?

There a lots of great solo sounds that are basically useless accompanied and it's possible you're shooting for a sound you don't even want - other than for solo.

Also sounds like your focusing in on one sound or is he playing a variety of sounds that appeal to you?

[A9X]

Originally Posted by seed01uk

Will the marquee not sound similar? What sort of price difference is there?

Yes, they're basically the same, except the B is 34" and the M 32".

[seed01uk]

I can get the tone out of his gear so it must be his stuff. It always seems the same sound regardless of the bass he plays, i've heard him play live in a band too and it sounds great still.

[luknfur]

Originally Posted by seed01uk

...Basically I want a sound like my bass tutors...

It always seems the same sound regardless of the bass he plays...

Well, there's your answer. Use what he uses. Sound is typically a combination of factors, not just an isolated part of the signal chain.

[GeoffByrne]

Tone is in the fingers.................Grasshopper!