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Audere passive type tone use ?

Blues Bass 2

Blues Bass 2

Supporting Member
Oct 3, 2001
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Davenport Iowa
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#1
Has anyone had much experience using the passive type tone control on the Audere preamps ? Does it really work like a good passive tone control ? I know the preamp will be active no matter what and that's fine with me as long as the tone control works well . I'm thinking of changing the preamp on my Sire V3 to the 4 band classic with the tone control . The Sire preamp works great but the Audere 4 band seems much more intuitive for me . Not having to guess on the sweepable mid plus still have a passive type tone control is very appealing .

Any users have input on this ? I would keep the Sire preamp around , it's too good to get rid of .
 
#2
my 4 band Audere doesn't have a passive tone control or option

it has a "passive setting" - Z thing

from the website

In addition to active tone controls we offer a passive tone control option which is a traditional variable high frequency roll off control. This control is like a tone in the 3rd position of a passive jazz bass and players either love them or could care less about having this option.

In theory this type of control changes the frequency above which the frequency response is reduced, or starts to roll off. In practice, the frequency response curve is more complex (see the curves below). This style of tone control can only reduce the signal level.

i'm about to pull mine out of my fretless and go fully passive.
 
#3
It's not the Audere, but I have a Glockenklang where the high band is a passive tone control when cutting, and an active treble control when boosting. The benefit of a passive tone control, to me, is the resonant peak that occurs at the knee frequency of the roll-off. This allows you to simultaneously cut out all of the stuff up top that you don't want while providing a small boost via the resonant peak right at the top of the usable range of the bass. It's an incredibly useful tool for quickly dialing in a tone for a gig, and really speaks to why passive tone controls are still favored by some musicians over active tone controls where there is commonly not a resonant peak.
 
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#4
Blues Bass 2 said:
Has anyone had much experience using the passive type tone control on the Audere preamps ? Does it really work like a good passive tone control ? I know the preamp will be active no matter what and that's fine with me as long as the tone control works well . I'm thinking of changing the preamp on my Sire V3 to the 4 band classic with the tone control . The Sire preamp works great but the Audere 4 band seems much more intuitive for me . Not having to guess on the sweepable mid plus still have a passive type tone control is very appealing .

Any users have input on this ? I would keep the Sire preamp around , it's too good to get rid of .
Click to expand...
I have an Audere 4-band Jazz Plate preamp installed in my Squier VM Jaguar P/J bass. It is the 4-band with sidejack that has the passive treble rolloff control. It replaced the original passive two volumes/passive tone/active bass boost stock control array.

Full disclosure: I am an unabashed fan of my Audere preamp. It brought the lackluster stock pickups to life in my bass. The EQ now onboard is extremely useful for me. It is much like running each pickup into two separate channel strips of a high-quality mixer with the two channels sharing a common set of high/high mid/ low mid/low EQ controls.

My question is, what’s the problem? Either you like sweepable semi-parametric EQ (Sire), or you prefer preset frequency EQ with four bands. If you want to resemble passive settings, set the EQ to the center detent positions, and set volume and pickup balance to your liking. Then use the passive bass control to roll off treble to taste.

Your bass, your choice.
 
#5
No real big problem , the Sire pre is great . It's just that if I want an upper mid boost I have to search the eq sweep for what frequency I need and that leaves me no low mid control if I want some beef without using that bass eq . Having the eq points already set where I like them ,(I have had the Audere 4 band before), It makes it easier for me the got the tones I like on the fly . The passive tone is just something I like to knock off the high end sheen and get a more vintage tone .

I'm going to get one in a couple months .
 
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#6
No problem. What you’re describing is the same problem I have with semi-parametric EQ; best summarized as, “Too… many… choices… AAARRGGGHH!”

Or, more accurately, the wrong choice.

I like semi-parametric EQ on amps. I still own a 60 watt, 70 pound brick with a “shape” control that was the easiest amp to dial a room in with.
 
#9
With the Sire parametric preamp, you can choose the frequency to cut and boost, where with a standard 3- or 4- band, you have minimal choices.
The Audere 3-band mid control is 500k where the 4-band is 250k low and 750k high (iirc). What of you don’t like those choices…?
Me personally, I’m not to fond of the ~800k boost range. I much prefer the ~450k range so I’d probably go with a 3-band if I ever do, because if I don’t particularly like one of the frequencies of the controller, I wouldn’t touch it….

But in my rabbit-hole Jazz preamp experience, I’ve pretty much settled on the idea that a Sadowsky (or OBP-1) type boost-only tone-stack preamp sounds best in a Jazz bass…and I must have a standard passive tone control.

And regarding the tone controls of either the Sire or Audere preamps, the Sire uses a .022mF cap (as proven by @LowEndLobster ), which really sounds kind of boxy or nasally, but it just so happens to be the value that Fender used throughout the 70s.
Audere doesn’t specify, but I’d assume theirs is a .047mF…
 

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