Fender American Elite Jazz Preamp

[BearCave]

Hey Everyone,

I have a 2010 Fender CS Custom Classic Jazz IV Special that I absolutely love. The one thing that bothers me about it is that the 18V active preamp that the Custom Shop included with the bass does not have the ability to go passive. The preamp is on all of the time. I see that the American Elite Jazz basses have essentially the same exact preamp except they have an active/passive switch. I was wondering if there was some kind of way that I could get my hands one of the new American Elite preamps and switch it out. I'd love to be able to add that flexibility of tone to my CS not to mention have a failsafe (switch to passive) in case the batteries crap out mid-show. Anyone have any ideas on how I could get my hands on just the preamp?

Thanks!

 

[Geri O]

The only thing you might run into is that part of the Elite preamp will extend to an area just below the neck pup (as you look down at the neck pup) covered by the pick-guard. It might have to be routed out a bit.

And if you find a used Elite preamp, make sure it comes with the tiny connectors that connect both pups and the batteries to the preamp. You’ll need to attach those connectors to the pups and the batteries (it’s an 18V preamp).

I wondef if a sharp guitar repair guy could replace your current volume pot with a push-pull for active/passive operation.

 

[FenderTuni]

Ask line6man about it, that guy is a guitar tech bible! I've learned so much reading his comments.

 

[Deepsouthshore]

Hey Everyone,

I have a 2010 Fender CS Custom Classic Jazz IV Special that I absolutely love. The one thing that bothers me about it is that the 18V active preamp that the Custom Shop included with the bass does not have the ability to go passive. The preamp is on all of the time. I see that the American Elite Jazz basses have essentially the same exact preamp except they have an active/passive switch. I was wondering if there was some kind of way that I could get my hands one of the new American Elite preamps and switch it out. I'd love to be able to add that flexibility of tone to my CS not to mention have a failsafe (switch to passive) in case the batteries crap out mid-show. Anyone have any ideas on how I could get my hands on just the preamp?

Thanks!

I was just about to list a Fender Elite Jazz V preamp PCB with leads and knobs if you are interested.

 

[lgrankin]

Assuming that the Elite pre-amp is the same/similar unit that Fender installed in the American Deluxe models, the tone only works in passive mode and not in active mode. I found this kind of limiting on my American Deluxe and eventually installed a Sadowsky pre-amp. The vintage tone on that Sad pre works in both active and passive mode.

The side benefit is that this gives me great balance between my Sad 5 string and my AmDx 4 string. It's also very nice to have the same control layout while on the gig.

Cheers!

 

[madjazzbass]

I was just about to list a Fender Elite Jazz V preamp PCB with leads and knobs if you are interested.

Any chance this preamp is still available? If so, how much?