Fender Urge?

[Count Bassie]

I never seemed to have issues with batteries on my Urge I basses. I tended to leave them in the passive mode.

Funny remark! Kind of like saying, "I never had problems getting water in my ears- I generally stayed on the dock."

Maybe I'm not hip enough to active basses- maybe they still 'juice' in passive mode?

The Artec pre in my Hamer tends to last about 6 gigs, if I don't leave it plugged in.

 

[Count Bassie]

Here's some Invalid Link Removed on my little red booger...

 

[spade2you]

Funny remark! Kind of like saying, "I never had problems getting water in my ears- I generally stayed on the dock."

Maybe I'm not hip enough to active basses- maybe they still 'juice' in passive mode?

The Artec pre in my Hamer tends to last about 6 gigs, if I don't leave it plugged in.

I like active basses, but wasn't too big on the tone I got from the Fender era Kubicki style preamps. Didn't like the mid-cut setting and the boosted setting was a bit hard to tame.

 

[FC Bass]

Here's some Invalid Link Removed on my little red booger...

I think N3 is 1993?
My Prodigy has N1000487 and I'm pretty sure it's from 1991 (I got it early 1992)

brotherdave has the "Urge Standard" and the "Urge" mixed up, the Urge (I) is the American JPJ model.
The Urge II is the second (slightly modified) version of the American Urge.

 

[Count Bassie]

I like active basses, but wasn't too big on the tone I got from the Fender era Kubicki style preamps. Didn't like the mid-cut setting and the boosted setting was a bit hard to tame.

I hear you. It sounds like there's something meaningful missing from that tone. It's a little annoying. I can almost get it through my SWR SM-400s, but... meh.

FC, ok. That sounds sensible enough... and it sounds consistent that the Mexi would be called a "Standard". It's what they now call their other Mexi basses.

 

[Count Bassie]

Can you compare the preamp with the one I posted?
I've always wondered if they used the same in these basses (Urge Standard and Prodigy)

The Prodigy also has a Poplar body and some say it was actually (partially) made in Mexico (though the headstock says Made in USA)

Took out the preamp tonight- I'll get a picture tomorrow. Looks a lot like yours... I'm not sure how to wire directly to the output jack though. I may have to bring it to a friend who sort of owes me a favor...

Oh yeah- mine says "Made in Mexico"...

 

[Count Bassie]

That's the Urge Standard

I think the preamp is the same as the one they used in the Prodigy active bass...

Edit: Prodigy preamp:

Link Removed

Finally got a poor photo here of the one that I took out of my Urge Standard:

Looks pretty similar.

 

[db35m]

Finally got a poor photo here of the one that I took out of my Urge Standard:

Looks pretty similar.

Hello sorry to bother you i have afavor to ask can you please show me how this pre is wired. I aquired a prodigy bass and pre wiring is botched. Battery runs out over night not having a plug connected. Also there seems to be problem with grounding. Thank you in advance. Oh by the way your post is the only one i found on the net.

 

[philvanv]

I recently picked up a Sig Urge and like it alot. The owner liked my Gamma Alpha so we traded. In my bass playing career, 1982 to current, I've only played a Hondo Explorer, then stepped up to a Kramer something or other, then the Guild Pilot for 20 years until one day I stupidly lost it. Looked and looked for another Pilot but no luck. Tryed the Gamma Alpha and loved it. Now back to the Urge, this thing is comfortable lots of room to play with different tones, volume, etc and in my opinion a solid piece of equipment. so one of the reasons I wanted to try the Urge was because the neck is so similar to the Pilot. But after playing the Gamma with the thicker neck, its going to take time to readjust. If you like the first Gen Pilots this is a very similar feel but with more bells and whistles. Excellent bass. I think the Gamma will be my number 1, but this Urge is a clpse 2nd.

 

[Les Fret]

Sorry to resurrect this thread. I have an Urge 1 MIA Bass. I like it it. But is it normal that the passive mode is really soft compared to the two active modes? The active modes are almost twice as loud as the passive mode. I have had active/passive basses before and there always is a boost when switching from passive to active, but it seems exaggerated on the Urge 1. Also the middle (P) pickup seems to be louder than the other two pickups, even when you set it lower. Is that also normal? is that middle pickup just a bit hotter? Just want to make sure if this is normal and that there's nothing wrong with my bass. So maybe some Urge 1 users can check that for me? Thanks in advance....

 

[Les Fret]

No Urge 1 owners in da house?

 

[wvbass]

Sorry to resurrect this thread. I have an Urge 1 MIA Bass. I like it it. But is it normal that the passive mode is really soft compared to the two active modes? The active modes are almost twice as loud as the passive mode. I have had active/passive basses before and there always is a boost when switching from passive to active, but it seems exaggerated on the Urge 1. Also the middle (P) pickup seems to be louder than the other two pickups, even when you set it lower. Is that also normal? is that middle pickup just a bit hotter? Just want to make sure if this is normal and that there's nothing wrong with my bass. So maybe some Urge 1 users can check that for me? Thanks in advance....

As far as I know, nothing is wrong. I've been through multiples of these, and IME you pretty much have to commit to active or passive for a show, because the levels are dramatically different.

The P pickup can be overpowering. I have found that pickup height is critical on these. If you want a good balance between the pickups, set the heights on the J pickups so that they are comfortable, and then adjust the height on the P so that it balances with the J's. I end up with the J pickups much closer to the strings and the P pickup farther away. You can balance them, but you will end up with the J's higher and the P lower than you might expect. It works, but it has to be set up right.

 

[FC Bass]

For those who want to see, here's the picture of the Preamp that was in my Prodigy back up

 

[Les Fret]

As far as I know, nothing is wrong. I've been through multiples of these, and IME you pretty much have to commit to active or passive for a show, because the levels are dramatically different.

The P pickup can be overpowering. I have found that pickup height is critical on these. If you want a good balance between the pickups, set the heights on the J pickups so that they are comfortable, and then adjust the height on the P so that it balances with the J's. I end up with the J pickups much closer to the strings and the P pickup farther away. You can balance them, but you will end up with the J's higher and the P lower than you might expect. It works, but it has to be set up right.

Ok, thanks for your answer. Good to hear that you experience the same things and nothing is wrong. The active modes are very loud. Also in active mode it is more noisy. Not noiseless as I was expecting because of the noiseless (?) pickups. In fact it makes more noise than my passive basses.

Yes, I already have set the P pickup lower than the other pickups. I even have set it much lower on the G and D string side than on the A en E side. Especially on the treble strings side the P pickup is louder. I have bought this bass especially for tenor bass tuning and it works great for that because of the medium scale. There aren't so much basses (besides Alembic) with 32" scale and 24 frets as far as I know(?).

It is not easy to balance out all the pickups and string volumes on this bass but once you have set it up it is ok. Personally I don't need that many pickups but it was the only affordable 32" scale I could find.

That brings me to another question: what are your prefered pickup positions and tone control setting for the Urge 1 (MIA)? I think the bridge pickup soloed and the bridge pickup soloed have the best sound. Not a big fan of the neck pickup or all three pickups together. I mostly play active mid mode with the bass control all way up (the bass is not overwhelming on this bass like on other active basses) and treble on 50% or less (treble can get a bit harsh on these basses). Curious about your experiences!!

 

[wvbass]

That brings me to another question: what are your prefered pickup positions and tone control setting for the Urge 1 (MIA)? I think the bridge pickup soloed and the bridge pickup soloed have the best sound. Not a big fan of the neck pickup or all three pickups together. I mostly play passive mid mode with the bass control all way up (the bass is not overwhelming on this bass like on other active basses) and treble on 50% or less (treble can get a bit harsh on these basses). Curious about your experiences!!

A little background...in 1993 I passed on the first Urge that I ever saw in favor of a Kubicki Ex-Factor. That go me used to the concept of these electronics and the fact that passive mode is a lot quieter. A few years later, I bought an Urge I. It had a pickup problem and was damaged by the repair shop. They replaced it with another one they had locally. This bass had some shop wear that I was unhappy with, so I returned it and they replaced it with a new one ordered from Fender. I had some neck issues with that (not Fender's fault), and after I replaced the neck, I traded it. Several years later, I got my hands on another Urge bass, and it may be the second, shop-worn one I had previously. So, I have spent some time with several of these, and an Urge was my main bass for several years.

As far as the preamp goes, I believe there is a flat/mid boost setting, a mid scooped setting, passive mode and mute. I use the flat/mid-boost setting almost exclusively, just as I did with the Kubicki. When I was playing it as my main bass, I used all three pickups on at once most of the time. This gave a very punchy, mid-forward tone which matched nicely with the SWR equipment I was using. New, when I use this bass, I use it more like I use my Jazz bass - I blend forward toward the neck pickup and ignore the presence of the P pickup. I like the sound of the bridge pickup when practicing, but for most of what I do with my bands, I need the low end of the neck pickup a whole lot more than I need that burpy, thinner sound of the Jazz bridge pickup. On those instances where I feature the bridge pickup, I boost the bass to get some low end back.

 

[Tim1]

Ok, thanks for your answer. Good to hear that you experience the same things and nothing is wrong. The active modes are very loud. Also in active mode it is more noisy. Not noiseless as I was expecting because of the noiseless (?) pickups. In fact it makes more noise than my passive basses.

Yes, I already have set the P pickup lower than the other pickups. I even have set it much lower on the G and D string side than on the A en E side. Especially on the treble strings side the P pickup is louder. I have bought this bass especially for tenor bass tuning and it works great for that because of the medium scale. There aren't so much basses (besides Alembic) with 32" scale and 24 frets as far as I know(?).

It is not easy to balance out all the pickups and string volumes on this bass but once you have set it up it is ok. Personally I don't need that many pickups but it was the only affordable 32" scale I could find.

That brings me to another question: what are your prefered pickup positions and tone control setting for the Urge 1 (MIA)? I think the bridge pickup soloed and the bridge pickup soloed have the best sound. Not a big fan of the neck pickup or all three pickups together. I mostly play passive mid mode with the bass control all way up (the bass is not overwhelming on this bass like on other active basses) and treble on 50% or less (treble can get a bit harsh on these basses). Curious about your experiences!!

Apologies if you already know this, but are you aware that in passive mode the bass tone control acts as a traditional passive tone control (treble cut only)? The top treble control has no effect. Other than that, I agree with your observations - I have found it almost impossible to get the precision pickup low enough to balance with the Js. At times I have contemplated swapping in some hotter J pickups to alleviate this issue, but I can live with it most of the time. Mine is silent, and has no noise issues. Below is a link to the controls setup:
Invalid Link Removed

 

[Les Fret]

Thanks so much for your help guys! It is hard to find info on these MIA Urge 1 basses.

Apologies if you already know this, but are you aware that in passive mode the bass tone control acts as a traditional passive tone control (treble cut only)? The top treble control has no effect.

Yes I know. I made a mistake in my previous post. I said I was using passive mid mode. But I meant I was using active mid mode only (just like wvbass). What is a bit impractical is that they made the passive tone control on the same knob as the active bass control. Would have made more sense if it was on the active tone control instead of bass control.

Seems like I am not the only one having trouble balancing out the volumes of pickups. Also it took some time and drastic height changes to balance out the treble and bass strings volume, especially on the P pickup. I have set the P pickup much lower on the G and D string side as I said before.

Mine is silent, and has no noise issues

So you mean it is dead silent? also in active mode with the bass all the way up and tone 50% or so? I had a guitar tech check the electronics and he said they were fine. But still I have some noise. Especially evident when adding some drive. It is more noisy than my other active basses. Seems there is more noise in active mode than in passive mode. So I guess the preamp is adding noise (?).

 

[funkydario]

Hi everybody
Just score an URGE MIM medium scale.2 J's.
Bass isn't hier yet....postal services are taking care of him right now.
I do have a question for those who have the 3 pups version and my question is :
The P pup isn't at the classic P spot but closer to the bridge....so how will you describe the P sound compared to a classic P position ? What are the differences in terms of sound ?

 

[bassclef112]

I had an MIA Urge II for a while and what impressed me was Fender was very careful with their pickup designs for this bass,
so the P pickup solo'd sounded very much like a P, and ditto for the Jazz set. It sounded authentic enough.
The control layout allowed for any combination of the three pickups and that's where it was interesting, using the P with the J neck or bridge,
or all three at once. It was a really nice bass, but since I already had both P and J basses I didn't need another variant of them.

 

[Les Fret]

Hi everybody
Just score an URGE MIM medium scale.2 J's.
Bass isn't hier yet....postal services are taking care of him right now.
I do have a question for those who have the 3 pups version and my question is :
The P pup isn't at the classic P spot but closer to the bridge....so how will you describe the P sound compared to a classic P position ? What are the differences in terms of sound ?

To me it sounds very different from a real P bass. But I like the P pickup soloed on the Urge 1 bass. It has it's own sound. I don't like the neck pickup too much though because it doesn't have an outspoken character like the bridge and the P pickups have.

I don't get the MIM Urge basses. Never played one but for me it is not the real Urge bass in concept. But the medium scale is nice.