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Audere preamp help

ianm76

ianm76

Sep 24, 2008
194
1
Los Angeles, CA
#1
I've decided to put an Audere preamp in my Geddy to get the full potential out of the bass with my new Nordy's (AWESOME pups, BTW..) :bassist:

Problem is, I haven't been able to decide which one to get. I've always had passive basses, so the whole onboard EQ concept is new to me. I'm pretty sure I won't have a lot of need to use the mid control, so I'm torn between the Vol, Bal, Tre/Bass model and the Vol, Vol, Tre/Bass model. I do have a habit of rolling back the volume on one pickup or the other to acheive different tones, but I don't get the difference between the two volume controls and the balance control. :confused:

If it helps, I prefer a sound with plenty of bass and clarity throughout, don't really use a lot of highs, but the option is nice to have.

Any advice is very appreciated! :help:
 
#3
Just to clarify before you go spending money, what is it that you hope to get by adding the Audere that you can't get out of the bass now? "The full potiential" doesn't really mean anything...

To answer your other question, though--if you're comfortable with two volume controls for setting pickup levels, and don't very often find yourself wanting to turn down the overall volume on both pickups at once, I'd just go with the Volume/Volume setup rather than the Volume/Blend.

Mike
 
#4
I've been a passive J guy for most of the last several years of playing. I vastly prefer having a buffered blend and on-board mid.

The active blend addresses the volume drop issues of a passive J, making subtle adjustments more useful. The blend and the mid are the two most important tone controls on the Audere to me.

The voicing of the Audere's mid is great, just rock it down and move your picking hand forward for a bit of scoop without a gain increase. Grab the stacked B&T and rock them forwad to get a scoop with gain increase.

Hi z-mode brings out the sparkle.

Rock the blend back a little and move your picking hand towards the bridge for a bit of the Jaco burpy thing that J's do so well.

I currently have 2 basses wired that way and really like that setup a lot. I believe that is Dave's top seller in J plates and there is a reason for it. It just works.

My two J's went back to passive and I'm using the 3ZB module preamps for on board in a MIA Deluxe P and a Tribute L2500 - same layout. I like all 4 of those basses the way they are for various reasons. If I didn't have the Deluxe P though, one of those J's would be Audere'd. In my stable it just works out for me better this way.
 
#6
I'm very happy with my Vol/Vol/Bass/Treb/Tone Audere. I experimented with the 3-Band, and the 3-Band + tone .. the two band + tone is perfect for me. Most of the time i either need beef in the lows or highs so it just works out. I retain the passive sounding tone for imitating the P-bass if needed. Actually, most of the time my tone is rolled of a bit.
 
#8
I'm with Joel on this one. The two-band Audere's are my favorite. If you go to their website and look at the EQ curves, the bass/treble controls on the two band are MUCH different than they are on the 3 band. The bass control on the two band is a beautiful thing in that it makes the bottom get fat and thick even as you turn it way up, unlike the three band which gets more boomy as you boost it. The treble is also nice in that it adds more grind and attack to the notes, rather than high-end zing as in the 3 band.

It all depends on what you want. If you like the Marcus Miller tone and want to get lots of crisp, high end glass in your tone, then the three band might be better. If you are really a passive, vintage sound type of guy, the two band is definitely the best option IMO. And the passive tone control is killer.

As for vol/vol verus blended, it's really up to you. If you are used to vol/vol and don't want to change, then go for it. I prefer a blend. Either way it'll be a smooth transition.
 
#9
I like the Audere 4 band classic preamp. But for the Geddy Lee jazz bass the j-retro preamp may be a better choice.

I really realy really dislike 2 band preamps ... they are all boomy and high end treble and no way to boost mids at all ... no growl ...

The j-retro has the sweepable mids function and the audere 4 band has high mids and low mids ... with either one you can boost low mids and get a nice low mid growl to your jazz bass.
 
#11
ianm76 said:
So, is there any functional difference between vol/vol and blend or is it just the different controls? :confused:
Click to expand...
Yes, there is some difference, but the buffer compensates for a lot of it. In a vol/vol, you can run one pickup at 50% and the other at 75% for example. Can't do that with a blend, where one pickup is always at 100%. (NB: I believe that is how Dave's design works). Does that produce a significant tone difference? I don't know that it would be much different.

Dave is EASY to talk to about this kind of stuff. He is always happy to help out. I suggest you get his number of the website and give him a call. Or shoot an email if you prefer.
 
#12
Eublet said:
Yes, there is some difference, but the buffer compensates for a lot of it. In a vol/vol, you can run one pickup at 50% and the other at 75% for example. Can't do that with a blend, where one pickup is always at 100%. (NB: I believe that is how Dave's design works). Does that produce a significant tone difference? I don't know that it would be much different.

Dave is EASY to talk to about this kind of stuff. He is always happy to help out. I suggest you get his number of the website and give him a call. Or shoot an email if you prefer.
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks. It seems that vol/vol makes more sense for me, but I'll do some more digging on the website.
 
#16
Well, I got my preamp in on Friday, and WOW, this thing kicks some serious A$$!!!! :bassist:

Both the frequency response and just pure gain increase with the Bass/Tre controls continues to amaze me.. A couple of issues I'm hoping to get some guidance on, though:

1. When I first plug it in and the LED is showing that it's in the battery test mode, there's a high pitched whine from the amp.. Is this normal?

2. I'm not 100% sure on this, but when the Zmode switch is in the middle position (this is the stock passive mode as I understand it), it seems the volume is a little lower than it was before the preamp.. So, should the gain control on the high and low switch be turned down to match?

If it matters, this is a Geddy Lee Jazz with Nordy NJ4SV's and an Audere JZ3....
 
#17
Glad youre digging the pre:

1) Yes, the high pitched tone is normal. Plug it in with your head muted until the battery test is complete.

2) The volume might be a little lower than before. You'll get more gain on the low and hi z modes. Nature of the beast, but I wouldn't sweat it. Chances are you won't be switching between the two much, and it just takes a bit of getting used to to know how to set your volume to compensate for the differences.
 
#18
Eublet said:
Glad youre digging the pre:

1) Yes, the high pitched tone is normal. Plug it in with your head muted until the battery test is complete.

2) The volume might be a little lower than before. You'll get more gain on the low and hi z modes. Nature of the beast, but I wouldn't sweat it. Chances are you won't be switching between the two much, and it just takes a bit of getting used to to know how to set your volume to compensate for the differences.
Click to expand...

Cool. Thanks again for the info!
 
#19
And just to clarify, the mid-z mode is not passive. It's still active, but it's the setting that is most identical to what your bass sounds like when passive. The load placed on the pickups is more typical of what a passive bass might see when plugged into an outboard preamp with an average length chord. In my experience, the mid-z setting has been spot on for this.

Did you have problems dropping it into your bass? What about shielding? I can't stress how important it is to shield the cavity if it's not already. It makes a huge difference. You can order some Dimzarzio copper shielding tape for very cheap and put it inside the cavity. It'll make the bass much quieter and eliminate most (if not all) of any outside noise. You can take it a step farther by pulling out the pups and shielding them as well. Very quick and easy.
 
#20
Eublet said:
And just to clarify, the mid-z mode is not passive. It's still active, but it's the setting that is most identical to what your bass sounds like when passive.
Click to expand...

When considering using Audere preamps with my Q-Tuners because of their design advantages for such a pickup, I got the impression that the medium z-mode was more in the value range that most onboard preamps use, like the typical preamp designs that place the volume and blend before the active section.
 

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