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Brian Bromberg Carvin Model Part 2

So, an interesting and surprising, yet final conclusion to the whole B25P Preamp saga. From last week's episode:

- I bought a B25P from the Carvin Store in Hollywood.
- It had an active/passive switch.
-On further research, it turns out I had a different preamp in it.
- Carvin support jumped all over it and sent me a new pre.
- I installed it, but it didn't sound right, so they said to send it to them through the Hollywood store and they'd take a look.

Well, it turns out that, unbeknowst to me or the former employees of the Carvin Hollywood Store (not former because of me. They moved on before this happened.), this bass has humbuckers in it.

The 'Bromberg Electronics' apparently only ship with single coils. When you get a B25 with humbuckers, you get the Icon series preamp, whch has the active/passive option. So now they are re-installing the original preamp back into the bass and I'll have it back on Thursday (probably).

So what have we learned, good and less-than-good?

Less-than-good:
- The Hollywood Store should have known what they had on the wall.
- It should be noted clearly when ordering or in the specs that Humbuckers are not compatible with the B25 Bromberg Electronics, and that the Icon module is used in that case.
- Unless the above is simply not the case. But I'd prefer not to think that.

Good:
- Carvin service (especially Albert) is a world-class organization that stands behind their products.
- The B25 is still arguably the most comfortable bass I've ever played.
- The humbuckers sound frikkin' great!
 
I find this interesting....does not make much sense to me. A preamp that only works with single coil pickups?

The pre they sent me (to replace the original active/passive one) had a notched volume knob. When I got it installed, everything worked as expected, including the piezo, blending, tone controls, etc..., but it sounded compressed and generally not-correct. That's the whole reason I asked them to take a look. When they did, the tech said that other than the volume knob, everyting was wired up correctly. A day or so later told me about the Single/Humbucker thing.

Beyond that, Mongo just pawn.

mongo.jpg
 
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How cool is it that Brian posts in here.

Brian, loved your clinic at Adam Nitti's place. Really enjoyed the piccolo bass.

I'm loving bass on the broadband.

If you're heading to Nashville for NAMM, I'll be sure to say "hey".
 
Hey Grateful, how are you? So what's up with the bass, did they get it right yet? Please let me know and you know I will make it right for you if it's not right!

Brian - thanks for chiming in. It appears as if they have made it right, but it was technically never wrong, if indeed there is a different preamp for humbuckers than singles.

I think the miscommunication happened when I bought the bass, as the folks at the H'wood store did not seem to be aware that the bass had humbuckers and that the humbucker basses have a different preamp. Anyone with a B25 w/humbuckers should be able to check by pulling the volume knob. If it pulls up into passive mode, then it's the humbucker module. If not, it's the single coil. Either way, it's still an amazing bass!

BTW, I'm loving "Compared to That' (everyone go buy it!). I'm just getting a chance to start listening to it on my commute and it sounds great! I'm playing in a Bossa group right now and am really looking forward to 'The Spirit of Jobim', for many obvious reasons!

How cool is it that Brian posts in here.

+1,000!
 
Is Ed in sales or where? My info came from Albert, who is, I beleive, the Head Guitar Tech. Clearly there is a miscommunication somewhere.

You are absolutely correct. I called back and spoke with a few people, including the techs, and the hum-bucker pickups do come with the Icon pre-amp.

Now...I'm not exactly thrilled with this since one of the draws to the bass was the Bromberg pre-amp. Additionally, this is not advertised or stated ANYWHERE in the Carvin product manuals, on line information, and was not discussed with me during when I ordered the basses.

So, I now have to decide if I want to keep the hum-bucker/Icon system in my to-be-finished fretless or call them back and switch to the single coil/Bromberg system.

Any input from owners, especially from Mr. Bromberg, would be greatly appreciated.