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Bass Mods Preamps... Anyone use them?

#21
Robear22 said:
Installed the 18V preamp in the Kingston Heir 5 and I played it today in church. This pre sounds really good. The passive tone control works in active and passive. Adds a lot of tonal variety. I will post a vid of that one also.
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Thanks for the Demo. Do you have stock pickups in your MTD Heir. I'm really looking forward to hearing what improvements the pre-amp brings to the MTD. Keep me posted.
 
#23
Robear22 said:
Yes I do but I want to pick up some Barts for it. The bass is really agressive and I like my tone to be a little more smoother and hi-fi. I will post the vid as soon as I do it.
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I have a MTD Heir exactly like yours. Cherry w/Maple. I really like the way it plays and I'm really curious about what a Bart upgrade would do for it. It takes about a $200.00 investment to find out and I have been thinking about this move for a while. Did the new preamp change the tone of the MTD much?
 
#25
Gtrslngr said:
I have a MTD Heir exactly like yours. Cherry w/Maple. I really like the way it plays and I'm really curious about what a Bart upgrade would do for it. It takes about a $200.00 investment to find out and I have been thinking about this move for a while. Did the new preamp change the tone of the MTD much?
Click to expand...

What this preamp does is enhance what is already there. The MTD does sound better because I have more versatilty with this preamp. I can get instant old school thump with a turn of the tone knob but if I want the highs to shine just turn it the other way. And the lows are powerful with this pre. A little goes a long way.
 
#27
Hey Robear,

Good video of the Jazz Plate I might have to buy one now for my VM Jazz.

As I posted earlier the BEQ-12 dramatically improved my Spector Rebop 5. However, I really, really dislike the sound of the EMG-HZ pickups. I want something warmer not thin and nasally. Any suggestions?

I was considering Barts because I really like the tones that I get out of my BTB555. I was thinking a pair of Bart M44CBC's might get me where I want to be tone wise. Any comments anyone? I really like the way my Spector plays... nice low action and all, but that EMG tone has gotta go.
 
#28
Hey Robear, great video! Thanks for posting it for us. Sounds great. I've been following this thread, and I'm wondering if anyone else who posted here ended up getting one. How do they sound on different basses?

I have a Fender Deluxe V, and the preamp is OK, but kind of blah. I'm wondering if this will sound better than what I already have. Anyone have any experience with them?
 
#29
i saw the Bassmods BEQ-12 3 band jazz plate pre on ebay and really like the sound samples included there. planning to eventually order one for my Squier Jazz Affinity V. a little concerned about getting the input jack on the side of the bass, but i will have help.

i would like to have a passive tone knob, too, but the treble cut setting in active mode sounds like it does the trick, and for this price i think it's not a deal breaker...

just adding my comment b/c the sound sample really sounds great and not much written about these preamps elsewhere...
 
#31
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#32
thinking out loud: wouldn't it be nice to modify a bassmods 3 band preamp to have 2 concentric stack knobs, so you could have master volume, then a blend and mid control stack, and a bass and treble stack... then no need to move your input jack to the side on a J bass... provided you can squeeze all that in the cavity....

anyone who owns this preamp see any reason that couldn't be done? i wouldn't be opposed to routing the control cavity a little deeper or wider if need be, as long as the regular jazz control plate still covered the cavity...
 
#33
Invalid Link Removed (very bottom of page) is the only manufacturer that I've ever seen that makes the combination volume/blend pot, unless you were looking at a custom route, which I have priced through various potentiometer companies at $75+ per.

And at 50 Euros, I'd just opt to drill a quick hole. I can see no benefit to a front-loading jack.

EDIT: That pot also contains a push-pull feature, which would eliminate the need for a separate switch for active/passive operation.
 
#34
thanks, FunkMetalBass, but are we thinking of the same thing? i'm wondering about a concentric knob w/ a blend pot and mid control (boost/cut so center detent required on both shafts) on the same pot.

i'm wondering if the same kind of pot as is used for the bass/treble concentric pot would work.. surely the mid boost/cut would function just as the bass/treble do on an identical pot, just wondering if the blend function would work out on that kind of pot, since it would have center detent for both shafts it seems plausible...

anyone know, does the bassmods preamp use 250k pots for all its pots? i found a couple sources on line that do have 250/250 concentric w/ center detents and they look like the pots used for the bass/treble control on the bass mods preamp...
 
#35
Essentially, we are, although the MEC doesn't have a mid-detent.

The problem with blend knobs is that they are dual-gang, and finding a dual-gang concentric pot is nearly impossible. I've spoken with countless techs who wish that alpha or CTS had a high enough demand to produce them. MEC is the only company I know that has them readily available. Additionally, potentiometer.com and MEC can custom spec one for you, but you probably wont find the price tag at all justifiable.

That blend is the only source of issues. If you replaced the Vol/Blend for Vol/Vol, you could easily fit it in. Alpha makes some of the smallest (vertical) concentric pots I've ever used, and they're pretty cheap.

The bass/mid/treble pots are probably 50k linear pots.

dfp said:
thanks, FunkMetalBass, but are we thinking of the same thing? i'm wondering about a concentric knob w/ a blend pot and mid control (boost/cut so center detent required on both shafts) on the same pot.

i'm wondering if the same kind of pot as is used for the bass/treble concentric pot would work.. surely the mid boost/cut would function just as the bass/treble do on an identical pot, just wondering if the blend function would work out on that kind of pot, since it would have center detent for both shafts it seems plausible...

anyone know, does the bassmods preamp use 250k pots for all its pots? i found a couple sources on line that do have 250/250 concentric w/ center detents and they look like the pots used for the bass/treble control on the bass mods preamp...
Click to expand...
 
#36
ok, cool, very helpful info...

so, you could have your neck volume, then a stack w/ bridge volume and mid boost/cut, and a stack w/ bass/treble boost/cut? the volume/mid would need center detent on only one shaft, that seems like an obscure option...

or both volumes stacked on the same concentric pot seems more likely to accomplish, then mid control by itself, and bass/treble stacked. maybe?

in the end, maybe you're right just drill the hole, move the input jack... but i like trying to explore the possibilities...
 
#37
dfp said:
ok, cool, very helpful info...

so, you could have your neck volume, then a stack w/ bridge volume and mid boost/cut, and a stack w/ bass/treble boost/cut? the volume/mid would need center detent on only one shaft, that seems like an obscure option...

or both volumes stacked on the same concentric pot seems more likely to accomplish, then mid control by itself, and bass/treble stacked. maybe?

in the end, maybe you're right just drill the hole, move the input jack... but i like trying to explore the possibilities...
Click to expand...

This is exactly what I had envisioned and it's how my Spector is set up (except with an Aguilar OBP-3). If my Jazz had a neck pickup, it too would be set up just like this.

It's easy to do, the pots are certainly readily available, and with compact alpha-size pots, you will have no trouble fitting them in, although you may need to route the cavity a bit to get the preamp module to fit.
 
#38
doh! i just remembered, the Bassmods BEQ-12 has a push/pull active/passive master volume.. so that might preclude doing vol/vol on one concentric dual shaft pot... hmmmmm..... unless the push/pull active/passive could be assigned to the mid control knob (which needs to be center detent)... oh boy, shoulda studied electrical engineering! in the end, if it can't be done w/ pots that cost less than 10$ a piece, i'll drill the hole and move the input jack. probably. :D

thanks again, FunkMetalBass, i really appreciate your input!
 
#39
dfp said:
doh! i just remembered, the Bassmods BEQ-12 has a push/pull active/passive master volume.. so that might preclude doing vol/vol on one concentric dual shaft pot... hmmmmm..... unless the push/pull active/passive could be assigned to the mid control knob (which needs to be center detent)... oh boy, shoulda studied electrical engineering! in the end, if it can't be done w/ pots that cost less than 10$ a piece, i'll drill the hole and move the input jack. probably. :D

thanks again, FunkMetalBass, i really appreciate your input!
Click to expand...

I think you can find a push-pull pot with a center detent. If not, do you really need it?
 

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