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ACG? Audere? Passive

ZombiCrow

ZombiCrow

Jun 15, 2006
695
297
Davenport, IA
gentleedwardrecords.bandcamp.com
#1
In the luthier's thread I started asking about pickups and pres, and realized it should be here. So, here goes...

In this, the first bass I've ever designed by hand, I've decided to go both Hi-Fi (Q-Tuner) and New Old-School (Dark Star). My initial idea was to install the ACG Preamp, with filtering EQ, active pickup balance, etc. Then I heard about and read up on the Audere preamp, and it seems quite awesome as well. There are a bunch of other options, too, but those two stand out for me.

My intention with this bass is to create something that can tonally stack up against a guitar, since the band I'm currently in is a bass/drums duo. I'm looking for clarity and growl, but with the idea that at some point, both pickups will also go through a distortion of some kind, probably a Mammoth or Bassdrive or Creamy Dreamer. I still need a unique, powerful clean tone, however.

My question to you, the electronics-section surfing TalkBassers, is this: Should I go hi-tech with the pre for the Dark Star and Q-Tuner, or should I start off small and passive and let them speak for themselves? If active, ACG Pre or Audere? If Passive, what controls have you found to be most useful?

Thanks, and apologies for the late-night rambling message!

Devin Alexander / myspace.com/thepostmortems
 
#4
I think I know what you mean. I've looked at and thought of the Dark Star as a New Old-school style pickup, but only in the most positive of meanings, and for my purposes I'd put it in the P-position. The Q_Tuner will go in the bridge, for clarity and transparent reproduction of the highest of high ends and harmonics. Not that the Dark Star doesn't do that, but I want my cake and my pie, and I wish to be able to eat both with the Preamp I choose, does that make sense? :)
 
#6
ZombiCrow said:
My intention with this bass is to create something that can tonally stack up against a guitar, since the band I'm currently in is a bass/drums duo.
Click to expand...

I'm not quite sure what you mean by this... and I suspect clarifying it will help others figure out what to recommend to you.

Do you just mean a brighter-than-average or more-cutting-than-average tone? Anything that any aggressive pickup near the bridge, with some treble boost, couldn't accomplish?

Re: distortion, you'll find that there is no obvious connection between how your bass sounds clean and how it will sound through a dirt box. To a certain extent, it's always a surprise, and then again to a certain extent all basses sound the same through certain dirt boxes. The Mammoth is a funny bird- you'll want to read about it in the Effects forum before committing yourself to either it or a preamp.

The Audere has a hi-fi sound, not a cutting or growly sound. If someone comes around and says that their Audere growls, I will argue that their bass growls without it. :)
 
#7
bongomania said:
The Audere has a hi-fi sound, not a cutting or growly sound. If someone comes around and says that their Audere growls, I will argue that their bass growls without it. :)
Click to expand...


Yes - mine growls wih the Audere engaged - andin passive where both pickups (it's a PJ) go straight to the jack. That's the beauty of the Audere - it still sounds like your bass.
 
#8
I've already got the Mammoth, and love it. When I say stacks up against a guitar, I mean has good frequency response, not necessarily sharpness or trebley high end. I'm not sure how to put it, but in general I've read the Dark Star has a great frequency response, and the Q-Tuner does by experience, so the real question is, ACG, or passive? When used with fuzz, passive electronics definitely sound better. Perhaps, ACG with a passive switch?
 
#9
IME active electronics don't mix well with effects. And the pickups you have chosen to use have a lot of output without the active eq anyway. And IME/IMO active electronics sound better with low impedence/output pickups, where as high output pickups are better suited for passive electronics.

I guess what im getting at is if you decide to go active, get a passive switch. You'l get more tonal varitiy and you will be able to run more effects.

You can't go wrong with either pre - Audere or ACG. Just keep in mind the ACG will probably cost almost double.


;) this is just one mans opinion..take it with a grain of salt
 
#10
I'd just like to give you my Darkstar experience and, hopefully, this can aid you in your decision.

First, the Dark Stars are very unique sounding. They have this weird (in a very good way) thing going on where they are both thick and meaty, yet well defined at the same time. I have never experienced this with any other pickup- but there are lots of pickups that I have never played.

I have a custom CB bass with two Dark stars in it. One close to the bridge, the other right next to it - somewhere between where a P and MM would be. I use the bridge p/u almost exclusively...sometimes both, and the neck soloed almost never.

Because the Dark Stars are so thick, I think that they are great bridge p/u candidates - when compared to my J-bass, they can get that great cutting-bridge p/u sound, but still have plenty of bottom and presence so they a) don't get lost in a mix (NEVER) and b) don't need any eq'ing to add some low end back in.

One thing that Darks stars do not have (and I think is a good thing for reasons that I will explain in a moment) is a shrill high end that can be associated with typical single coil J-bass p/us. With dark stars, I don't get all the harsh finger noise that I can get with a J or even a P-bass. The down side of this is if you want that very cutting high-end (a la Justin Chancellor of Tool), it's not there.

I thought about adding a pre-amp, but decided against it.
 
#12
Thank you very much, Metropolis. I was concerned about the low-end of the DS, and thought that the Q-Tuner in the bridge would help to even out that feeling of low end v. high end that you're talking about.

I was also reading up on the effects of active pre's with fuzz pedals, particularly the Mammoth, which I am very fond of, and really decided that if I'm going with two pickups of such high fidelity, there's no reason (yet!) to try out the ACG, though I probably will end up trying it in any case :P

I LOVE the idea of unique controls and pickup configurations on my basses. Sometimes, more is MORE, and I've always enjoyed the idea that if someone else were to try and play the instrument, they'd be pretty unable to, haha.

But for now, I'm going to try stacked vol/tone for each pup, and leave it at that. The debate that you've now got me arguing with myself over is the DS in the P-position, or the bridge... I've already got the Q-Tuner, for the bridge position, in some Frankenstein Squire I've "updated." So, bridge or P-position, gentlemen and ladies?
 

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