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Audere 4 Band Classic Preamp

laklandplayer

laklandplayer

Jul 10, 2001
1,286
1,995
USA - Memphis, TN
#1
I have an Ibanez Cerro single cut 5 and I just love the instrument. I replaced the stock MK-1's with Nordstrand Big Splits and it was an immediate improvement. But, after a while I'm thinking, these Big Splits just aren't sounding as good as I hoped they would. I've always liked the stock Ibanez preamps and I've had experience with Bart and Demeter preamps but I wanted to try something new in this bass.
Enter the Audere 4 Band Classic. I ordered it with the battery status led and had it in 3 days. Audere's customer service is beyond outstanding too, they answer the phone and are a wealth of information and assistance.
The preamp was a breeze to install and all I can say is WOW, the bass sounds like someone took a blanket off of the speaker cabinet. The pickups just exploded with frequency range and clarity. The preamp is dead quiet and the 4 EQ pots are Low (180), Low Mid (250), High Mid (750), and Treble (3.2K). The Audere Classic has really opened this bass up. I used the Cerro in the pit of "Newsies" over the weekend (I'd been using my stock BTB33) and the drummer told me how great it sounded and that the definition was incredible. (this drummer has great ears and I trust him) There is always a struggle playing in the pit where the Keyboard 1 book is written to double a lot of the bass parts. The challenge is making the bass guitar EQ not fight with the piano and bass drum for the low end space. It can get muddy and sound terrible really fast.
With the Audere, I was able to dial it in perfectly. I reduced the 250Hz Low Mid and boosted the 750 Hi Mid to give it some point and the sound just popped. I actually had to roll off some high end. The Audere is a very well made and well thought out musical sounding preamp. It works great with Nordstrand pickups and I couldn't be happier.
I was so impressed that yesterday, I ordered their 3 band classic preamp with the (250, 500, 750) mid frequency switch for my BTB33. This preamp is voiced differently than the 4 band and it will be interesting to see how it works with the stock Ibanez "bartolini" BH2 pickups. I'll do a follow up after I get it installed.
 
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#4
PawleeP said:
can these audere preamps be run in passive mode?
Click to expand...
No, they aren't equipped to do so, and FYI nor is the Demeter BEQ-1.
Here is a basic general explanation based on my limited knowledge..
On typical preamp with bypass, the pickups go to a passive blend knob first, then to the volume knob and then into the preamp module input, out of the module to the output jack. With this arrangement, you have a good bit of impedance load on the pickups, from the pots, before they go into the preamp circuit itself. That load adds resistance (like a capacitor) and colors the pickups' sound before they hit the preamp circuit. The bypass solution is usually a pull switch on the volume control that takes the signal to the output jack directly and bypasses the preamp.
The Audere and Demeter preamps wire the pickups into the preamp circuit directly and the knobs control the vol, blend and eq, all of it on the circuit. You are not controlling the pickups directly with the volume and blend pots, the preamp circuit does this and you are actually controlling the circuit. That's just one of the reason these preamps sound so good. Demeter told me on his pre that it converts the pickup load to low impedance and that's why they sound better and more open with better range. I asked Demeter about a bypass switch and he told me that he's never had a preamp fail and to keep a spare battery on hand...he can be a smart a** LOL.
I've never had a preamp fail of any brand that I've used and I test my bass batteries with one of these:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
These are a great thing to have on hand.
 
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#7
laklandplayer said:
No, they aren't equipped to do so, and FYI nor is the Demeter BEQ-1.
Here is a basic general explanation based on my limited knowledge..
On typical preamp with bypass, the pickups go to a passive blend knob first, then to the volume knob and then into the preamp module input, out of the module to the output jack. With this arrangement, you have a good bit of impedance load on the pickups, from the pots, before they go into the preamp circuit itself. That load adds resistance (like a capacitor) and colors the pickups' sound before they hit the preamp circuit. The bypass solution is usually a pull switch on the volume control that takes the signal to the output jack directly and bypasses the preamp.
The Audere and Demeter preamps wire the pickups into the preamp circuit directly and the knobs control the vol, blend and eq, all of it on the circuit. You are not controlling the pickups directly with the volume and blend pots, the preamp circuit does this and you are actually controlling the circuit. That's just one of the reason these preamps sound so good. Demeter told me on his pre that it converts the pickup load to low impedance and that's why they sound better and more open with better range. I asked Demeter about a bypass switch and he told me that he's never had a preamp fail and to keep a spare battery on hand...he can be a smart a** LOL.
I've never had a preamp fail of any brand that I've used and I test my bass batteries with one of these:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
These are a great thing to have on hand.
Click to expand...
So pre-amps may be better without passive mode option?
Would the G&L L-2000 or Ibanez Premium be in that catagory as well (going first into passive blend knob first)?
Still learning here. Very interesting! Thanx; L player, p
 
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#8
PawleeP said:
So pre-amps may be better without passive mode option?
Would the G&L L-2000 or Ibanez Premium be in that catagory as well (going first into passive blend knob first)?
Still learning here. Very interesting! Thanx; L player, p
Click to expand...

If its a high quality preamp, when flat, the pickups will have the same sound quality as if they were in a passive mode. I'm sure the Ibanez uses the blend / volume pots first as does the wiring I've seen for Bartolini and Aguilar. I haven't looked into an L-2000 but with all of their switching options, I would imagine they hit the pots and switches before the circuit. Regarding the 3 Ibanez preamps that I've replaced; moving to the Audere Classic 4 Band in my Single Cut 805, Audere Classic 3 Band in my BTB33, and in my other Single Cut 805 a Demeter BEQ-1. ALL of these made giant improvements in the sound quality of the basses and made the pickups sound much better. Ibanez preamps aren't necessarily terrible but face it, they are mass produced from cheap components to hit an internal manufacturing price point. They are probably fine for 90% of their customers but the difference is Audere and Demeter use premium grade audio components and are found in a lot of boutique instruments. I think serious players who really care about tone should consider premium quality preamps.
I think that Ibanez basses, as instruments, are awesome but in some cases the electronics leave a lot to be desired. To their credit, they do use some premium quality pickups in their high dollar basses. But in direct comparison to most stock preamps, ANY high quality preamp (active or using blend/volume first) will give you major upgrade in tone.
 
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#9
RadioactiveGuy4 said:
I think one of these preamps is going to be my next purchase. I'm interested in hearing your follow up.
Click to expand...

I put the Audere Classic 3 band w/ mid freq selector switch (250-500-750) and their battery status LED in the BTB33. The mail ran really late, I got the preamp at 5:30, had it installed by 6:00 and was out the door to the gig with the bass in hand at 6:30. The preamp sounds great in the BTB33 and has made me not dislike the stock BH2 pickups anymore. It really opened up the sound of the pickups, I'm hearing stuff I was missing with the stock Ibanez preamp. The Audere is very effective and its EQ points are excellent. Oddly enough, I didn't have to use a lot of EQ to get the tone that I desired as I did with the stock Ibanez preamp. With the Audere, the pots are very precise and it doesn't take drastic settings to get great tone. The EQ knobs have a lot of range and are musical sounding. The EQ points overlap perfectly and it gives you a solid, unified tone. The EQ Freq Switch is great! I was able to increase the Mids, a bit at 500Hz and it gave my sound the amount of point it needed to cut through the bass drum and keyboard. A fellow bassist was in the audience and he owns a BTB33 too. After the show he said my bass sounded like it was in the studio. He commented on the wide range, especially the clarity and how well it sounded in the mix. Then he asked why my 33 sounds better than his. I lead him on a minute and then told him about the Audere. He is ordering his today and I'm going to install it for him. For $129.00, Audere is the best bang for the buck if you want to improve your sound. Extreme high quality, a breeze to install and made in the USA.
 
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#10
laklandplayer said:
I put the Audere Classic 3 band w/ mid freq selector switch (250-500-750) and their battery status LED in the BTB33. The mail ran really late, I got the preamp at 5:30, had it installed by 6:00 and was out the door to the gig with the bass in hand at 6:30. The preamp sounds great in the BTB33 and has made me not dislike the stock BH2 pickups anymore. It really opened up the sound of the pickups, I'm hearing stuff I was missing with the stock Ibanez preamp. The Audere is very effective and its EQ points are excellent. Oddly enough, I didn't have to use a lot of EQ to get the tone that I desired as I did with the stock Ibanez preamp. With the Audere, the pots are very precise and it doesn't take drastic settings to get great tone. The EQ knobs have a lot of range and are musical sounding. The EQ points overlap perfectly and it gives you a solid, unified tone. The EQ Freq Switch is great! I was able to increase the Mids, a bit at 500Hz and it gave my sound the amount of point it needed to cut through the bass drum and keyboard. A fellow bassist was in the audience and he owns a BTB33 too. After the show he said my bass sounded like it was in the studio. He commented on the wide range, especially the clarity and how well it sounded in the mix. Then he asked why my 33 sounds better than his. I lead him on a minute and then told him about the Audere. He is ordering his today and I'm going to install it for him. For $129.00, Audere is the best bang for the buck if you want to improve your sound. Extreme high quality, a breeze to install and made in the USA.
Click to expand...
Do they make a 2 or 3 band that will fit a P or a PJ? Thanx. p
 
#13
PawleeP said:
cool, i suppose they make one that is volume volume volume bass, treble with a low battery indicator?
Click to expand...

Audere Preamps
You can configure one any way that you see fit to meet your needs and requirements. The are also very helpful if you call them, great customer service.
I prefer a Volume and Blend over 2 separate volume controls. They can do concentric pots so you could stack Vol/Blend, Bass/Treble and Lo Mid/Hi Mid, you could mount the LED in the pick-guard or if you don't have a pick-guard the back cover plate like I did on my BTB33. You can configure it depending on the number of holes that are in your bass so you don't have to drill on it if you don't want to. I found some little plastic plugs that fit 1/4 and 3/8" holes and i used one to plug a hole that once had a mini switch. You can't even tell it's there.
 
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#16
tom-g said:
It just means in that position the pickups sound the same as going passive.
Click to expand...
PawleeP said:
Whats this z mode all about?
Their website mentions "passive" for one of z modes..
I didn't think Audere's could do passive? thanx p
Click to expand...

The Z Mode is really cool, it's just has more functionality than I need for what I do.
The Classic model suits my needs but if I had just one or two basses I'd definitely go with the Z Mode.
I may experiment with one someday whe I have more time.
The passive is referring to the fact that they sound passive, like they are unaffected by the preamp.
 
#17
laklandplayer said:
I have an Ibanez Cerro single cut 5 and I just love the instrument. I replaced the stock MK-1's with Nordstrand Big Splits and it was an immediate improvement. But, after a while I'm thinking, these Big Splits just aren't sounding as good as I hoped they would. I've always liked the stock Ibanez preamps and I've had experience with Bart and Demeter preamps but I wanted to try something new in this bass.
Enter the Audere 4 Band Classic. I ordered it with the battery status led and had it in 3 days. Audere's customer service is beyond outstanding too, they answer the phone and are a wealth of information and assistance.
The preamp was a breeze to install and all I can say is WOW, the bass sounds like someone took a blanket off of the speaker cabinet. The pickups just exploded with frequency range and clarity. The preamp is dead quiet and the 4 EQ pots are Low (180), Low Mid (250), High Mid (750), and Treble (3.2K). The Audere Classic has really opened this bass up. I used the Cerro in the pit of "Newsies" over the weekend (I'd been using my stock BTB33) and the drummer told me how great it sounded and that the definition was incredible. (this drummer has great ears and I trust him) There is always a struggle playing in the pit where the Keyboard 1 book is written to double a lot of the bass parts. The challenge is making the bass guitar EQ not fight with the piano and bass drum for the low end space. It can get muddy and sound terrible really fast.
With the Audere, I was able to dial it in perfectly. I reduced the 250Hz Low Mid and boosted the 750 Hi Mid to give it some point and the sound just popped. I actually had to roll off some high end. The Audere is a very well made and well thought out musical sounding preamp. It works great with Nordstrand pickups and I couldn't be happier.
I was so impressed that yesterday, I ordered their 3 band classic preamp with the (250, 500, 750) mid frequency switch for my BTB33. This preamp is voiced differently than the 4 band and it will be interesting to see how it works with the stock Ibanez "bartolini" BH2 pickups. I'll do a follow up after I get it installed.
Click to expand...
I just installed an Audere 4 band Jazz plate type preamp in a Squier Jaguar,with stock Pups. Before the preamp the bass sounded okay,after the preamp I was blown away!!!! No need to change the Pups as well.Tone, and all the power I need to cut thru the mix! I'll def. reccommend this pre to anyone!
 
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#19
I talked with Dave at Audere and I mentioned how great the pickup blend control works. He told me since the blend is controlled by the circuit, there is no interaction, phasing, or impedance loading between the pickups. So, each one is acting independently but still together... if that makes sense. The same theory applies if you go Vol/Vol with their preamp too. It's amazing the thought, care and quality they've put into the design of their preamps. The battery status LED is now available for the Classic Preamp and it really works, a nice convenience feature.
 
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