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Need advice on replacing Euro Spector Preamp

brett7276

brett7276

Jan 14, 2009
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Knoxville, TN
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#1
I recently aquired a Euro Spector which has one of the most faboulous necks I have ever ever played..but I HATE the tone pump pre amp..I have several USA NS-2 with the EMG HAZ lab set up, and have considered buying a HAZ board or the reverse enginered mighty mite version, but I was curious if any one had tried Bartolinis and a 3 band EQ (XTC?)..as I kind of have in mind a spector with a different flavor than my per usual ripin NS-2 Haz/EMG Setup...Not into the EMG preamps...have those in my NS-2J RI and I'm not digging that... the NS-2J as well...bolt on Spectors just aren't my thing...so your thoughts on a mod would be appreciated
 
#2
Depends on what type of music you play. You can retro any manufacture of preamp in there and get as many tonal differences. Or you can go passive and let the amp do the rest. The tone pumps horsepower can be a bit much and I dont know why they put them in there to beginwith. I only use my Euro when I have to play loud in bigger rooms, other than that I leave it home.
 
#3
I have a Spector I upgraded with the 18V HAZ pre. I love that tone. But since you already have that in your arsenal, have you tried the Aguilar OBP-3? They used to come with the Euro's before they went to the TonePump, and I've heard they're a pretty good match for the stock EMG's, plus you get a mid control.
 
#4
Thanks for the suggestions guys I really appreciate it...to clarify a bit more... I use a mesa 400+ and am pretty much a rock guy though we do have one or two songs that require the "ala mark king" type of thing... How does the Aggie sound w/ EMG's? has anyone ever tried a Bart ( or other) pickup/preamp...I was curious as to if it would give the Spector a totally differnt spin..and what that would sound like if anyone had done it...I love the EMG/Haz sound...just not sure I am prepared to drop $400 on a Haz Board from Spector....but I do like a preamp on the bass before it hits the mesa.. I do remember playing an old plexi type bass that had Dimarzios and Haz ( like the old Spectors) and thought that was a neat twist as well..
 
#5
do you have a pic of your hazlab preamp? my 1997 euro has a preamp which looks identical to the mighty mite pre but i have not been able to find out who made the preamp in my bass. the spector website seems to imply that its an emg.
 
#7
MightyMiteMM114preamp4.jpg

I just bought two Mighty Mite MM114 preamps for my two Euro 4LX basses.
They sell for $50-$60.
I've compared them closely and I'm pretty convinced the MM114 is the old NS2 Haz Lab circuit. There's variation in a couple components (manufacturer, not value) like the balance pot but you see that in the Haz Lab circuit over the years too. Every pot, resistor, capacitor, terminal, the diode, the op-amp, the battery clip - everything is in the same spot. I'm pretty certain the Mighty Mite MM114 is the Spector Haz Lab.
You can see photos of the old Haz Lab here:
http://www.sfcj.net/en/e_data_Preamps.html
I installed one into one of my Euro 4LX and the improvement over the Tone Pump is significant. It's much clearer - it sounds like classic Spector of early Alice In Chains, Queensryche, etc.
I didn't like the Tone Pump. It clouded the Spector/EMG sound and always seemed somewhat distorted no matter how much I turned down the pickup volumes.


jbrew73 said:
do you have a pic of your hazlab preamp? my 1997 euro has a preamp which looks identical to the mighty mite pre but i have not been able to find out who made the preamp in my bass. the spector website seems to imply that its an emg.
Click to expand...
 

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