Bartolini TCT info please

[gimmeagig]

I read that Marcus Miller plays through a Bartolini TCT preamp and also that there is a newer and an older version.I googled it but I could not come up with a source or any more info.
Is this preamp still made?I wand something simple Vol/Blend/Bass/Treble but it would be great if I could get it prewired.
Thanks

 

[luknfur]

I read that Marcus Miller plays through a Bartolini TCT preamp and also that there is a newer and an older version.I googled it but I could not come up with a source or any more info.
Is this preamp still made?I wand something simple Vol/Blend/Bass/Treble but it would be great if I could get it prewired.
Thanks

FWIW:

Not still made. To my knowledge there was only one version. There was a 2 band version of it called the TBIT I think. There was like the XTCT but it was a take off of the same pre. There are numerous wiring diagrams of it and info on the Bart site.

I had several of them (and the XTCT). In my opinion, it had nothing on the current NTMB. Some are still around used but preamps get old like people and suffer the same fate. I personally wouldn't extend myself to get one.

 

[gimmeagig]

Thanks for the info.
I just stumbled upon another preamp possibility for my new bass.A Noll B2003 preamp.Made in germany and not expensive at all.You probably know about these already.
As far as my KSD Proto J goes, it think my first step will be a set of humcancelling pickups.Probably Nordies.Then I'll know if the preamp is worth keeping.I've also found out that Ken Smith is working on a replacement preamp for the KSD.That might be worth waiting for.
Actually at this point i don't even know if the bass is worth keeping.I don't have it yet.UPS tracking tells me that it departed from Horsham PA at 3:00AM on the 19th.That is all the info i have at this point.For all I know the bass is still there.
When I get the bass i hope I won't be disappointed.

 

[luknfur]

Thanks for the info.
I just stumbled upon another preamp possibility for my new bass.A Noll B2003 preamp.Made in germany and not expensive at all.You probably know about these already.
As far as my KSD Proto J goes, it think my first step will be a set of humcancelling pickups.Probably Nordies.Then I'll know if the preamp is worth keeping.I've also found out that Ken Smith is working on a replacement preamp for the KSD.That might be worth waiting for.
Actually at this point i don't even know if the bass is worth keeping.I don't have it yet.UPS tracking tells me that it departed from Horsham PA at 3:00AM on the 19th.That is all the info i have at this point.For all I know the bass is still there.
When I get the bass i hope I won't be disappointed.

FWIW:

for second I thought there was some kind of KSD fad sweeping the country but I see same dude.

Yep no way to know. You can check out my take on selecting a bass for transplants in the following:

There’s a bass mod link in the first paragraph of this thread that may be useful


http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=276127

You can also wire the pups straight to the jack to get a good feel for what there made of. May help you determine which may need to go (pups or pre).

Not familiar with the Audere but the only way around soldering pups in to my knowledge is to have clips like on the Alembics - and those have to be soldered for installation as far as I know. But once done (which is how them come) it's a done deal. Of course you can't swap pups without cutting the clips either.

I've heard of the Noll but didn't know it was comparatively inexpensive.

 

[joelb79]

There are a few 2-band choices out there, notably Sadowsky, Aguilar OBP-1/2, and Bartolini come to mind.

GL in your searches.

 

[gimmeagig]

Hi Luknfur.
The tone is in the neck? Interesting.I have not thought about that but when I look back at all the instruments that I have modified I think you may be right.My KSD is as of today in Spokane so I should have it tomorrow.The other thing I'll be looking at is to attach the neck with inserts and machine screws.My Modulus Jazz is like that, and it is a really good connection.I still have the old bridge from my Moon bass which is probably nicer than the one that is on the KSD.It will be a fun project and hopefully it will end up being the 5 string version of my 74 Jazz.I just have been playing the 5 string bass for so long that i can't live without that low B.

 

[luknfur]

Hi Luknfur.
The tone is in the neck? Interesting.I have not thought about that but when I look back at all the instruments that I have modified I think you may be right.My KSD is as of today in Spokane so I should have it tomorrow.The other thing I'll be looking at is to attach the neck with inserts and machine screws.My Modulus Jazz is like that, and it is a really good connection.I still have the old bridge from my Moon bass which is probably nicer than the one that is on the KSD.It will be a fun project and hopefully it will end up being the 5 string version of my 74 Jazz.I just have been playing the 5 string bass for so long that i can't live without that low B.

That’s been my experience and conclusion so far - and I don’t foresee an opportunity for that to change. The experience was an accident to begin with. Hambone in the luthier forum does neck inserts and likes them. Seems he does something with tuners too. He’s also given the best price on wood pup covers I’ve ever heard. He’s supposed to be sending me some custom pickgaurds, also good price. Neck inserts make sense and seems they’d be standard on more expensive basses. I’m guessing they’d increase sustain.

Sound is tricky stuff though. In my preamp experiment there’s a clip I ran across from an FEQ analysis on a Fender P slapped/popped/whatever open E. Mentions something about how small variations in higher order harmonics influence the whole tone so that even an apparent negligible frequency actually changes the whole ballgame. Assuming that’s so, even if a body only accounts for say 5% of the acoustic property of a bass it may affect the overall tone in a critical way. And it does flow in my experience with pups, speakers, effects, etc. Little differences can make a BIG difference in how a tone sets in the mix.

But it’s interesting that if you go to the Alembic site you see LOTS of pictures of pretty woods but the only mention of the acoustic properties of them I saw was a link to the National Forestry Service. You’d kind of think it’d be the other way around if they thought much of the affect on tone. Then again the only Alembic pups/pre I’ve had sound clearly like themselves no matter what bass I’ve stuck them in. No complaints, it’s different.