Stingray aftermarket 2 band pre - Page 6

lunarpollen · #**101** 02-07-2010, 10:52 AM

All this soldering discussion is making me want to take a soldering class. My soldering ability is only marginally better than my cat's. The notion of soldering anything fills me with dread because I know how bad I am at it.

UncleFluffy · #**102** 02-07-2010, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Music Stuff

I go through those little Weller tips like water because they don't make them like they used to.

I put 'em in the end of a drill and resurface them with a needle file, then re-tin before the copper's had a chance to tarnish.

edit: Talking of tarnishing copper, if you're running with bare copper traces rather than solder mask it might be worth either pre-tinning the whole board or covering it in conformal coating before shipping. Personally, I'd go for tinning the whole board - there's not a lot of copper so the crystals will go a long way and it'll help the soldering look even better.

xaxxat · #**103** 02-07-2010, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lunarpollen

All this soldering discussion is making me want to take a soldering class. My soldering ability is only marginally better than my cat's. The notion of soldering anything fills me with dread because I know how bad I am at it.

All you need to know is the "2 second rule"...

You really don't need a class to learn how to solder. If there's a community college nearby that has an electronics program, they're most likely to have some soldering videos in the library. Watch them over till your learn the basics. Get a decent iron, some tips, solder, solder braid, solder sucker and flux. Find some boards to practice on. I've seen people who couldn't solder a lick quickly become decent with correct instruction and a short practice period.

( I'm talking through-hole soldering here. SMT is a bit trickier ).

xaxxat · #**104** 02-07-2010, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncleFluffy

Talking of tarnishing copper, if you're running with bare copper traces rather than solder mask it might be worth either pre-tinning the whole board or covering it in conformal coating before shipping. Personally, I'd go for tinning the whole board - there's not a lot of copper so the crystals will go a long way and it'll help the soldering look even better.

+1

I just recently repaired on old Randall Commander bass amp where I did just that. It should be good for another 30 years...

BassLife77 · #**105** 02-07-2010, 08:29 PM

soldering wires and pots is easy. sandpaper and alcohol swap to the back of a pot to make solder stick for the ground. I can't deal with PC boards, that requires skill. All I do is burn up traces and lift pads.

UncleFluffy · #**106** 02-07-2010, 08:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassLife77

All I do is burn up traces and lift pads.

What wattage is your iron? Sounds like you're operating too hot and/or too long.

BassLife77 · #**107** 02-07-2010, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UncleFluffy

What wattage is your iron? Sounds like you're operating too hot and/or too long.

my hands are just too damn big and I'm VERY heavy handed. I don't have the "touch". I slap basses so hard the frets start lifting. I also tear up car ignition switches, door handles, shower handles, etc. without even knowing

McHaven · #**108** 02-08-2010, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Music Stuff

The gentlemen who builds these wanted to respond to this

"This is 100% correct. I use a wide Weller tip and Kester "44" premium solder. I do this because I mostly build amplifiers and pro audio equipment where thin tips do not apply enough distributed surface area heat to the get a good weld on larger point to point and PCB traces. Constantly changing out tips is a pain and I go through those little Weller tips like water because they don't make them like they used to. A smaller tip and thinner solder would indeed make a nicer looking solder joint on these tiny traces."

Thank you for your support over the years guys!

So...he's admitting he won't take the time to ensure he solders to a higher quality? Sounds lazy. Sure the preamp is 39 bucks...well, bump it up 5 bucks and have him solder it to his best ability, with appropriate solder.

Angus · #**109** 02-08-2010, 07:55 PM

No excuse, though. I can solder a PCB without much trouble with a large 90-watt iron and regular sized solder without any trouble. There is no excuse for stuff to look like that.

I doubt he's very proficient building pro audio equipment. Even on point to point stuff you can't leave stuff looking like that.

Bassmingo · #**110** 02-09-2010, 04:37 AM

i'm wondering of anyone can answer my questions posed earlier in the thread and also are they still for sale?

i_got_a_mohawk · #**111** 02-09-2010, 06:38 AM

Can't tell you if it'll make your bass sound better or not, tone is subjective.

The bass and treble frequencies in the 2 band EB preamp are different to the bass and treble frequencies in the 3 band EQ, so when tweaked, it'll sound different than your 'ray.

I never really use the EQ on my ray so I don't know how it will affect you. Why are you assuming the preamp is the problem in your levin bass tho?

Bassmingo · #**112** 02-09-2010, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

Why are you assuming the preamp is the problem in your levin bass tho?

just in comparison to my stingray 4. the levin plays well, and the pickup while it may not be as good as the EBMM wouldnt be a million miles away, so that just leaves the pre, right? it just doesnt have the brightness, balls and aggression the ray is known for, and i should know, i used to also own a ray 5. i dont want to drop a lot of cash on it, as its a cheap enough bass already, and like i said if this aftermarket pre is an improvement (ie if its almost the same as a standard EBMM 2eq pre) then i dont mind making the levin a 2eq if it brings the balls!!

p.s. i may also put one in a p-bass type project i'm working on. think that would work well?

xaxxat · #**113** 02-09-2010, 09:12 AM

Reading up on the MM preamp, it seems it's a bass boost, treble cut & boost circuit. I can't find which frequencies it works on. Anybody know?

I wonder if it is any better than this one on Ebay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-Band-EQ-Preamp...ht_1152wt_1161

The Ebay one is a cut & boost job. It includes pots and jacks.

Bass: +/-12 db 40Hz
Treble: +/- 12 db 4KHz

bongomania · #**114** 02-09-2010, 09:41 AM

The 1M RA pot for mine should arrive any day now, so I'll be able to answer "how does it sound" questions fairly soon. Unfortunately, I have never played any EBMM bass, new or old, so I can't make comparisons between them.

Since the one in that Hong Kong ebay listing is just a black box, it's hard to know "what it is" relative to this Ray repro. Some potential differences could be:
--the Ray repro has a couple of mylar caps in the audio path, which might sound a wee bit better than the SMT caps that are probably in the HK one.
--the Ray repro is supposedly designed after a coveted "known" preamp, while the HK is a total unknown.

Both of those are a stretch though, I'll admit.

Jerry J · #**115** 02-09-2010, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

The 1M RA pot for mine should arrive any day now, so I'll be able to answer "how does it sound" questions fairly soon. Unfortunately, I have never played any EBMM bass, new or old, so I can't make comparisons between them.

Since the one in that Hong Kong ebay listing is just a black box, it's hard to know "what it is" relative to this Ray repro. Some potential differences could be:
--the Ray repro has a couple of mylar caps in the audio path, which might sound a wee bit better than the SMT caps that are probably in the HK one.
--the Ray repro is supposedly designed after a coveted "known" preamp, while the HK is a total unknown.

Both of those are a stretch though, I'll admit.

This is what I would suspect too so I agree here with Bongo. I've never been crazy about black box design. I much prefer the discrete component setup. That way I can tinker at will.

We should get together, I have a PreEBMM 2-band EQ Ray and '95 EBMM 3-band Ray.

i_got_a_mohawk · #**116** 02-09-2010, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassmingo

just in comparison to my stingray 4. the levin plays well, and the pickup while it may not be as good as the EBMM wouldnt be a million miles away, so that just leaves the pre, right? it just doesnt have the brightness, balls and aggression the ray is known for, and i should know, i used to also own a ray 5. i dont want to drop a lot of cash on it, as its a cheap enough bass already, and like i said if this aftermarket pre is an improvement (ie if its almost the same as a standard EBMM 2eq pre) then i dont mind making the levin a 2eq if it brings the balls!!

p.s. i may also put one in a p-bass type project i'm working on. think that would work well?

I was just meaning it could be something like the pickup or strings.

This pre (as far as I'm aware) is a clone of the original (pre-EB) MM Stingray preamp. If you have any soldering skills, the schematic is on the net, and it would probably cost under $10 to put together.

Don't see why it wouldn't work fine in a p-bass project!

moobass · #**117** 02-09-2010, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bongomania

The 1M RA pot for mine should arrive any day now, so I'll be able to answer "how does it sound" questions fairly soon. Unfortunately, I have never played any EBMM bass, new or old, so I can't make comparisons between them.

They are a 2 band stingray preamp clone. If you like a 2 band stingray this is for you. I don't know what year model the guy cloned it off of but running an a,b test against my friends late 80's stingray it was right on the money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

Can't tell you if it'll make your bass sound better or not, tone is subjective.

The bass and treble frequencies in the 2 band EB preamp are different to the bass and treble frequencies in the 3 band EQ, so when tweaked, it'll sound different than your 'ray.

They sound nothing like a 3 band stingray and or me that was good I never got along with mine.

Bassmingo · #**118** 02-09-2010, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moobass

They are a 2 band stingray preamp clone. If you like a 2 band stingray this is for you. I don't know what year model the guy cloned it off of but running an a,b test against my friends late 80's stingray it was right on the money.

thats good enough for me, before i got my 3eq some friends had a 2eq, which i loved. i opted for the 3eq thinking it would be just as good with the added bonus of a mid pot. WRONG! I love my 3eq, and after 10yrs am used to it, but every 2eq ray i've ever played has smoked it.

2eq/3eq i dont mind, as long as it sounds like a ray, i'm in.

moobass · #**119** 02-09-2010, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bassmingo

thats good enough for me, before i got my 3eq some friends had a 2eq, which i loved. i opted for the 3eq thinking it would be just as good with the added bonus of a mid pot. WRONG! I love my 3eq, and after 10yrs am used to it, but every 2eq ray i've ever played has smoked it.

+1 I don't know why I ever bought a 3 band stingray I think it was the mid pot like you. I thought it was to smooth sounding not that great for rock like a 2 band. Even for funk the 2 band smokes the 3 band.

Jerry J · #**120** 02-09-2010, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassLife77

I'm using 25k audio for Vol., 100k audio for bass, and 1M reverse audio for treble. I got all the pots at Mouser for only $1.50 each. The wiring diagram says to use 25k linear but I don't think it matters, I always leave the volume at 10.

Would you happen to have the Mouser part numbers for these that you can post, please? Mouser almost has too much stuff which makes their site a pain sometimes.