Schlertler PRE-A II

[robobass]

I bought one recently and haven’t seen it reviewed here. I’ve used it 3 times. I have the original Schertler PU (the two cork thingies that fit into the bridge) and run it into a Hartke head. I was happy with the old preamp, but it started cutting out sometimes. I can't figure out why. Anyway:

+ The tone is much improved over the original preamp. More natural and full.

- External power supply. I hate wall warts, and this one is single voltage, so international travel will be an issue. I made up a little battery box, but that’s one more part to worry about.

+ Dry and wet balanced XLR outputs. One less DI box for the soundman to unpack.

- Only balanced XLR out. Come on! Now I have to remember not only the power supply, but a balanced cable and adapter? I’m a simple guy who plays a lot of simple bar gigs. What percentage of amps out there have XLR inputs? My amp works fine and sounds good, so please don’t tell me I should go out and drop ten nights’ pay to replace something that isn’t broken.

- Tone and Resonance controls. Perhaps these work well with other instruments/PU’S/amps/mixers, but with my setup they are not very useful. I get a bit too much midrange, which I can only deal with at the amp/board. The resonance control is described as a 180hz attenuator for feedback control. The center frequencies of bass and treble are not described. This unit seems to be for all instruments, so the particular needs of bassists seem to have been compromised. Perhaps a frequency adjuster for the resonance control would be helpful. I would rather have the dip at around 300hz.

Overall I’m glad I got it. It does sound noticeably better through the amp, and I bet for recording it will be especially appreciated. I understand that it is now discontinued and replaced by the PRE-A III. That was sort of why I bought it (I was able to negotiate a good discount), and the described improvements of the newer model seemed not so important for my applications. I don’t like the inconveniences I outlined above, but I like the PU itself very much, and am quite pleased with the sound I am now getting. I give it a “B”

Robobass