Mike Pope Flex Core 2.2stk preamp in Sadowsky UV70

Munjibunga · #1 03-22-2012, 12:58 AM

OK, I went and done it. I picked up my Flex Core preamp at Bass San Diego today, and installed it in my new Sadowsky Metro UV70. The installation is fairly simple, BUT ... you have to drill out three of the holes in the Sadowsky's control plate - they're too small for the threaded shafts on Mike's pots. Without that setback, I'd say it's about an hour and a half from soup to nuts.

There's really no serious soldering required for the installation - everything is connected by color-coded prefab jumpers. There is a terminal pad where the pickup leads and shield ground are attached and held in place by tiny screws. I tinned the ends of the wires where they enter the terminal. Other than that, the only soldering was to connect a ground wire to the shield ground stub inside the cavity.

There are a lot of wires running around here and there, but it's all very straight forward if you pay attention. It is a tight fit in some places, and you have to be careful to orient the little circuit boards so they don't make contact with the grounding paint in the cavity.

The model I got (the 2.2stk) has:

Volume pot with push-pull active/passive switch
Pickup blend pot
Treble/bass stacked pot
High mid/low mid stacked pot

On this model, there is no passive tone control, which is OK because I would only use passive mode if the battery went dead, and then I would control the tone with the pickup blend and, of course, my hands (where it all resides). I didn't want to add any switches, but there is an option to have a separate passive/active switch and a stacked master volume/passive tone control.

On a side note, it seems this thing really wants 18 volts. I remember reading somewhere that, "if you mmbllmmbff the frddlggnd, you must use 18 volts. I tried it with 9 volts, and all I got was kkkrrrtch kkrtch.

OK, so much for the installation. It's aliiiiiiiive! And it KILLS!

How does it sound? It sounds bitchen. Even set flat, it sounds more like how I think a jazz bass should sound. Real rich in the mids with plenty of bottom, but not muddy at all. Kick in a touch more bottom and your choice of high or low mid, and it barks like a coon hound. I was thrilled that the danged thing worked perfectly after I put it on 18 volts.

This is the kind of versatility I like in a bass. I hope Roger's not angry that I put the Pope preamp in one of his basses. Since I drilled out the plate, there's no going back, so I'm thinking I may sell the Sadowsky preamp with VTC. No, not yet, but maybe. At any rate, I won't be swapping out the preamps in my two NYC Modern 5-24s. They sound great as-is.

maurilio · #2 03-22-2012, 01:08 AM

Cool!
Mike is doing some good stuff, no doubt.

I don't see why you could not reinstall Roger's pre. Even though the pots are a little smaller, they would still fit… been there, done that

M

Munjibunga · #3 03-22-2012, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maurilio

Cool!
Mike is doing some good stuff, no doubt.

I don't see why you could not reinstall Roger's pre. Even though the pots are a little smaller, they would still fit… been there, done that

M

I suppose you're right but, based on my first impression, this is a marriage made in heaven. I don't think I'll be going back. That is not to say Roger's preamp doesn't sound great - it does. I just like 3-band EQ, and 4-band ain't bad, either.

maurilio · #4 03-22-2012, 01:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

I suppose you're right but, based on my first impression, this is a marriage made in heaven. I don't think I'll be going back. That is not to say Roger's preamp doesn't sound great - it does. I just like 3-band EQ, and 4-band ain't bad, either.

+1

**smperry** · #5 03-22-2012, 08:53 AM

Thanks for posting! I've grown to really like my Audere 4 band pre, so this configuration of the Mike Pope pre is appealing. It needs 18volts though? hmm.

Just out of curiosity, are the pickups on your Sad single coil or humbuckers?

Munjibunga · #6 03-22-2012, 09:03 AM

The package says it works on either 9 or 18 volts. I'll take out one of the batteries again and see if it flies on 9. I believe the pickups are humbuckers.

jumbodbassman · #7 03-22-2012, 09:05 AM

how does this preamp comare to the one they are putting into foderas??

**smperry** · #8 03-22-2012, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

The package says it works on either 9 or 18 volts. I'll take out one of the batteries again and see if it flies on 9. I believe the pickups are humbuckers.

Thanks in advance.

Munjibunga · #9 03-22-2012, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jumbodbassman

how does this preamp comare to the one they are putting into foderas??

It's hard to say. My Fodera has a walnut/maple body, and the Sadowsky is ash. They're very different basses. The Fodera sounds a little more subdued and/or compressed, while the Sadowsky/Pope is a little richer in the mids (set "flat"). The preamp changed the tone of the Sadowsky noticeably in a good way. Bottom line, the Sadowsky does not sound like a Fodera - well, at least not like my Fodera.

Munjibunga · #10 03-22-2012, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smperry

Thanks for posting! I've grown to really like my Audere 4 band pre, so this configuration of the Mike Pope pre is appealing. It needs 18volts though? hmm.

Just out of curiosity, are the pickups on your Sad single coil or humbuckers?

I may have incorrectly applied the 9 volts. I didn't realize you have to short the wires on the extra battery clip.

**smperry** · #11 03-22-2012, 09:37 AM

Don't worry about it; I can always ask MP about it.

thepontif · #12 03-22-2012, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

The package says it works on either 9 or 18 volts. I'll take out one of the batteries again and see if it flies on 9. I believe the pickups are humbuckers.

Aha. Here is the catch. The batteries are in series. So if you take one out, you need to tie the terminals of the second battery clip together to complete the circuit.

You can do this by cutting the battery terminal off, stripping the wires and twisting them together, or you can simply remove the crimp terminals from the terminal housing and move the first black wire to the end opposite the end where the red wire is now. For testing purposes, you can probably just fashion some sort of connection between the terminals of the extra battery clip.
I can also send you a properly assembled battery clip for 9V to make it really easy.

Do you think I should include both kinds of battery clip, or maybe just put a YouTube video up of how to change the existing one to 9V? When you see it done, it's actually SUPER easy and requires no soldering.

**smperry** · #13 03-22-2012, 11:12 AM

Ok, so I take that ^ to mean 9 volts are cool. Is there a difference in headroom with going to 18 volts, or is it more of a battery life issue? Thanks.

sprocket123 · #14 03-22-2012, 11:19 AM

Yep , these Mike Pope Pres must be the thing to have right , would you match them to Aero Instrument PUs ! Keep up the good work @ Pope preamps

Munjibunga · #15 03-22-2012, 12:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thepontif

Aha. Here is the catch. The batteries are in series. So if you take one out, you need to tie the terminals of the second battery clip together to complete the circuit.

You can do this by cutting the battery terminal off, stripping the wires and twisting them together, or you can simply remove the crimp terminals from the terminal housing and move the first black wire to the end opposite the end where the red wire is now. For testing purposes, you can probably just fashion some sort of connection between the terminals of the extra battery clip.
I can also send you a properly assembled battery clip for 9V to make it really easy.

Do you think I should include both kinds of battery clip, or maybe just put a YouTube video up of how to change the existing one to 9V? When you see it done, it's actually SUPER easy and requires no soldering.

Mike -

Thanks. I figured it out after reading the instructions. Duhhhhh. I should've known, too. I used to teach electronics. I was thinking it would be cool if you had a dummy battery jumper that just snaps onto the extra battery clip and shorts the leads for 9V. For now, I'm just going to leave it at 18V. I found the whole installation to be very simple. The soldering is no issue to me - I do it all the time.

Anyway, I just played it again, and I really love the tone with everything at noon. With the 4-band EQ, it is the most versatile of all my basses, tone-wise. It really changed the character of the bass. I'm kind of a left-brain guy, and the way everything goes together just hits the spot for me. Great innovation.

Mike

Munjibunga · #16 03-25-2012, 09:26 PM

Well, I just spent some more time playing the bass, and it just seems better every time. This is the only significant modification I've ever made to a bass, and it was completely worth it. It's kind of like having the Eden EQ stack built into the bass (no offense Mike - I mean it in a loving way). The two mid bands are distinct from each other, and you can mix and match to get a huge variety of tones. Even rolling to the neck pickup (something I don't normally do) gives nice, thick P-type tones with lots of variety that you couldn't get from a P bass.

Now I'm thinking of putting one in my 55-94.

SGD Lutherie · #17 03-25-2012, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thepontif

For testing purposes, you can probably just fashion some sort of connection between the terminals of the extra battery clip.

What I do is take an extra battery clip and twist and solder the two wires together and tape them off. Then you clip that on to the second battery clip and you are running on 9v.

I used to carry one of those in my case, just in case.

Munjibunga · #18 03-25-2012, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGD Lutherie

What I do is take an extra battery clip and twist and solder the two wires together and tape them off. Then you clip that on to the second battery clip and you running on 9v.

I used to carry one of those in my case, just in case.

I thought of that as I was typing my last post. Thanks.

thepontif · #19 03-26-2012, 06:32 AM

Indeed. That works. In reality, you can relatively easily remove the crimp pins from the terminal housing and reposition them. That is a very neat way to do it.

thehess · #20 03-26-2012, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

Well, I just spent some more time playing the bass, and it just seems better every time. This is the only significant modification I've ever made to a bass, and it was completely worth it. It's kind of like having the Eden EQ stack built into the bass (no offense Mike - I mean it in a loving way). The two mid bands are distinct from each other, and you can mix and match to get a huge variety of tones. Even rolling to the neck pickup (something I don't normally do) gives nice, thick P-type tones with lots of variety that you couldn't get from a P bass.

Now I'm thinking of putting one in my 55-94.

Darn you, Munji. I have a FC in my 55-01, and I love it. I have two basses inbound - a Lakland DJ 5, and a Sadowsky RV5 p/j. The one that I thought was safe from FlexCore consideration was the Sadowsky! In reality, both are going to get much time in the hands before any mods..and I do have a 55-02 that could...maybe...hmm.