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ACG onboard preamp (ACG/John East design)

#82
It sounds cool.
--I wonder, if it works with active pickups too?
--i did read it does'nt have a passive option ,but it offers anyway passive tone.
that confuses me a bit ,
By reading the Pdf at the homepage
i was thinking that passive tone involves automatically a passive option
Or Is it in fact just "passive style" treble-cut offered?
In that case ,In which terms then is worth having passive style added to the configuration ?(Not a compliant or a sarcasm ,true curiosity).

(on bbgear description , it looks wired "true passive":"passive tone pot and two capacitors are connected directly to the pickups in order to create a passive roll-off via direct interaction with with the pickups")
 
#83
Just spoke with Brian at bestbassgear.com - great guy.
Pulled the trigger on this bad boy.

I'm going to start by mounting it in a box and get to know the controls (and verify that I like them) before I put the extra hole I'd need install it into my GWB1.
If I like it, in it goes.

I'm in the middle of a recording project, so I should be able to post some samples in a few weeks.
 
#84
alexlotta said:
It sounds cool.
--I wonder, if it works with active pickups too?
--i did read it does'nt have a passive option ,but it offers anyway passive tone.
that confuses me a bit ,
By reading the Pdf at the homepage
i was thinking that passive tone involves automatically a passive option
Or Is it in fact just "passive style" treble-cut offered?
In that case ,In which terms then is worth having passive style added to the configuration ?(Not a compliant or a sarcasm ,true curiosity).

(on bbgear description , it looks wired "true passive":"passive tone pot and two capacitors are connected directly to the pickups in order to create a passive roll-off via direct interaction with with the pickups")
Click to expand...

Hi
It works with active pickups.

The passive tone is hooked up into the pickup inputs before the signal goes into the active stages of the pre-amp so it's operation is passive.

At some point in the future the main board will be redesigned to include a passive bypass.


Cheers
Alan
 
#85
kesslari said:
Just spoke with Brian at bestbassgear.com - great guy.
Pulled the trigger on this bad boy.

I'm going to start by mounting it in a box and get to know the controls (and verify that I like them) before I put the extra hole I'd need install it into my GWB1.
If I like it, in it goes.

I'm in the middle of a recording project, so I should be able to post some samples in a few weeks.
Click to expand...

All sound clips gratefully received.:)
 
#86
First impression - WOW.

Well, actually, first impression was "oops" 'cos I had a loose wire... :D

I just mounted the pre an a radioshack kit box so I could try it out before drilling any holes in my bass.
Honestly, the longest part of the mounting was drilling holes in the box.

It took me about 3 minutes (granted, they seemed like long minutes) to get the tone I was looking for.
But - that was starting cold, no idea how to run the thing.
And the tone I got was much sweeter than what I was getting from that bass previously.
I spent about 10 minutes just playing with and enjoying that tone, and trying little tweaks to see if I could get it even sweeter. Some few did, some didn't.
The overall resultant tone is KILLER.

Time for some chores and dinner now. I don't have time to play more and search for other tones until later. But I will definitely be doing that over the weekend, and will report back soon.

I am very pleased.
 
#88
I'm beginning to think this ACG preamp may be the solution I've been looking for to revive my Modulus. I've got EMG J's and an EMG BTC tone control/preamp in that instrument, and I've been getting more and more dissatisfied with the sound as I get older (probably in part because my tastes in bass sounds have evolved since I ordered this bass 20 years ago). I find I'm almost maxing out the active bass control (clockwise) and rolling off the active treble control...I'm bassically trying to get a lot more bass out of the instrument and much less clank/tinkle/sparkle/treble.

I already own an Alembic SF-2 so I'm used to the paradigm of a "filter-based tone control/preamp" and I can get much closer to an ideal sound from my Modulus when I use the SF-2, but it would be really nice to be able to get that sound straight from the bass. ACG looks like it really could be the ticket.

Anyone using ACG's on a Modulus? or on an EMG-equipped instrument?

(I know, I know, I should read all 5 pages of this thread before asking...)
 
#90
One thing I'm interested in is replacing the EMG 3-band on my Curbow 6 with the ACG/East preamp. I probably would have gone ahead and done it a while ago if things weren't complicated by the fact that the Curbow also has RMC piezos and an RMC buffer/blend preamp with a passive treble roll-off control installed.

Any idea how involved it would be to combine the ACG with a piezo buffer/blend preamp, or could I get custom version that includes a piezo buffer/blend?

Mike
 
#92
Here's a pic of the final installation - had to drill a 3rd hole (the bass was originally 2 knobs) but it came out looking good to me!

acg_knobs.jpg
 
#93
Just installed the pre in my custom J style bass. I have been using conventional 3 band pre's forever, like 25 years. At first I didn't like it, but that was because I didn't really understand how to use it. After fiddling with it a few hours (I'm kinda slow) I am convinced- it's MUCH more powerful than a 3 band, and it sounds INCREDIBLE. It has replaced my beloved U-retro, which I never thought was possible. The U-retro is very, very nice but this is in a different league- just unbelievable. I cannot overstate how clear, warm, and punchy my bass sounds now. And I can go from a really growly finger tone to a nice clean slap tone with one knob twist-awesome. Love it, just love it. Did I mention that it sounds INCREDIBLE?
 
#94
dmusic148 said:
Just installed the pre in my custom J style bass. I have been using conventional 3 band pre's forever, like 25 years. At first I didn't like it, but that was because I didn't really understand how to use it. After fiddling with it a few hours (I'm kinda slow) I am convinced- it's MUCH more powerful than a 3 band, and it sounds INCREDIBLE. It has replaced my beloved U-retro, which I never thought was possible. The U-retro is very, very nice but this is in a different league- just unbelievable. I cannot overstate how clear, warm, and punchy my bass sounds now. And I can go from a really growly finger tone to a nice clean slap tone with one knob twist-awesome. Love it, just love it. Did I mention that it sounds INCREDIBLE?
Click to expand...

I'm so glad to see that others are learning about this great preamp. It's become irreplaceable to me.
 
#95
It does take a change in thinking to get the best from the pre-amp if you have only used cut/boost pre-amps but with a little time you can get some excellent tones from it. From customer feedback after the initial learning curve people seem to find what they are looking for plus several other tones they did not know they needed.
Cheers
Alan
 
#96
people seem to find what they are looking for plus several other tones they did not know they needed.
Click to expand...

I'm livin' proof of that... :D

Man, I am loving my fretless with the ACG preamp. Just sounds KILLER. Several kinds of killer, in fact.
 
#97
Skelf said:
It does take a change in thinking to get the best from the pre-amp if you have only used cut/boost pre-amps but with a little time you can get some excellent tones from it. From customer feedback after the initial learning curve people seem to find what they are looking for plus several other tones they did not know they needed.
Cheers
Alan
Click to expand...

Ok, so if I'm reading this right it would be a pretty straight-forward swap to put this into a bass with EMG actives? I like the EMG DCs in my Schecter, but the on-board EMG 3-band EQ doesn't do much for me so it sits neutral almost 100% of the time...

It would be nice to have some very cool tonal variety, and this seems like it might do the trick.

-Mark
 
#99
Hey - quick and easy question about your preamp. I've thought about it for some time, I have a Fender P Bass that I want to mod with set of dual/mirrored Nordstrand P bass pickups, and I'm sure your preamp would work just fine with that configuration. But I was wondering something about the treble filter stack. The description explains that it "is there to address the top end of the spectrum as the filters cut off below the very highest frequencies you can get from roundwound strings. Here we're talking about the high end 'sizzle'."

I tend to enjoy the 'clack' you get from stainless steel roundwounds and was wondering if the fret noise inherent in using those strings can still be maintained by this preamp?
 
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