Pickup preamp with Lindy Fralin's ..help

[gkman1]

Hello, Over the last 7 months, I rounded up all of the parts I would need to build a bass. I got a Fender PJ body with Lindy Fralins PJ set. The neck was made by USA Custom Guitars.....all of the other parts are great quality. Last night was the first night that I played it through my Gk rig ( 1-15 RBH II and 2-10 RBH II) cabinets with a 800RB head. The sound was very muddy and it was very difficult to EQ in a good punchy tone. I have always used active pickups before to getthe sound I wanted. Can anyone recommend a pickup preamp that would work with this setup...I was thinking about going with an Aguilar preamp, but wasn't sure which one to get. I have 1 volume and two tone controls....any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Mike

[Nedmundo]

I play MIA Fenders loaded with Fralins, and they've always delivered a very punchy tone for me, so I suspect the muddiness was caused by room acoustics or something else. I'd give them more of a chance.

But if you want to go active, I'd probably start with Aguilar or Bartolini. Mike Lull uses these preamps with Fralins. I tried a V4 (Jazz) with the Bart, and thought it sounded fantastic. With all the EQ set flat, it was indistinguishable from the passive tone, which to me is a must. Apparently the Aguilar is a little more aggressive, so I'd probably go that route.

[Nick Ioannucci]

is it a jazz style body? if so you could always go with one of the jazz plate pres such as the j-retro or the audere jz3. theres also the sadowsky preamp.

[RHFusillo]

With a PJ combination, I would recommend either the East preamp (J-retro, U-retro, etc.) or the Audere. Both do a good job of mixing the dissimilar pickups.

P.S. I have direct experience with the J-retro and Fralin J pickkups, and it is a good combination.

[gkman1]

It is a P-bass body........would going with an outboard preamp do the same job..this way I won't have to rewire my bass??