Want to upgrade my Streamer STD preamp, can i do this?

C5DEMON · #1 06-24-2011, 01:47 AM

Hey, I've got a german warwick streamer standard. It has the strange looking passive soapbar pickups and a passive preamp. I love my active basses because of the tone shaping available from the preamp (bass,mids,treb) but this streamer has 2 vol's and a tone (no tone shaping.. lame). The pickups are a unique shape (google, you'll see) and I doubt I'd be able to find better replacements without cutting into the body and even then they may not fit. I don't know too much about this stuff so i'd appreciate your knowledge on this. Can i just put a better preamp in or do i have to change the pickups too? Ultimately i'd like a vol, bal, bass, mid, and treb. and any way to boost the signal to the amp would be good. I've seen guys wire a 9v to their passive pu's in 8-string guitars to get higher output, is this possible? Thank you in advance, and feel free to ask me any questions if i was unclear.

azzyrazzy · #2 06-24-2011, 07:13 AM

Yep, that's how most basses are, passive pickups with a battery driven preamp

SGD Lutherie · #3 06-24-2011, 07:55 AM

There's no such thing as a "passive preamp", so I'm assuming the bass is passive and has no preamp?

So, yes, you can install a preamp into that bass. Preamps can give a slight volume boost, but mostly they shape the tone of the pickups.

You can't wire a 9V battery to a passive pickup and have it do anything except ruin the pickup. Pickups are passive, so the battery wont do anything.

C5DEMON · #4 06-24-2011, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SGD Lutherie

There's no such thing as a "passive preamp", so I'm assuming the bass is passive and has no preamp?

So, yes, you can install a preamp into that bass. Preamps can give a slight volume boost, but mostly they shape the tone of the pickups.

You can't wire a 9V battery to a passive pickup and have it do anything except ruin the pickup. Pickups are passive, so the battery wont do anything.

So then what do you call the knobs section of a bass without an "active" preamp? I know that i call it a preamp, and it's not active, so...it's a passive preamp. It still has a "tone" knob and that is "pre" amp.

As far as wiring the 9v to pass pickups, Why does it work for guitar then?

C5DEMON · #5 06-24-2011, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by azzyrazzy

Yep, that's how most basses are, passive pickups with a battery driven preamp

Cool thanks, and so simply put

SGD Lutherie · #6 06-24-2011, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by C5DEMON

So then what do you call the knobs section of a bass without an "active" preamp? I know that i call it a preamp, and it's not active, so...it's a passive preamp. It still has a "tone" knob and that is "pre" amp.

As far as wiring the 9v to pass pickups, Why does it work for guitar then?

You call them control knobs. Preamp means "pre amplifier", or an amplifier before your big amplifier with the loud speakers. Anything that amplifies needs to be active and needs power, either from a battery or from the AC mains.

The volume and tone controls are passive, and can only cut and not boost. They remove signal before it is amplified by your amp. Passive tone controls only remove high frequencies. Active tone controls can boost as well as cut.