I need a preamp that....

[BigBear77]

Change the pickup

 

[Kro]

Change the pickup

To my eye, it looks significantly closer to the bridge than your average single pickup Ray pup placement. That may have more to do with the tone than the pickup itself, but who knows.

 

[Bassist30]

I had the M81. I didn't think it was that subtle. But a good eq would be Empress Paraeq. Much control and quiet. Another would be the sadowsky. Simple but very easy and effective.

 

[Thundar]

"Won't Drive Me Crazy"

sorry...had to...It was killing me...been in my head all day
There, Im better now...carry on

 

[Waltsdog]

Source audio has a nice programmable EQ [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

....the EQ frequency ranges are wider and the boost/cut are more "extreme" than the MXR M81.

In other words, the M81 is too "subtle" for what I want to do.

On my bass, I have a a dual coil pickup at the bridge. It has a single/series/parallel switch with it. It compliments the P bass pickup at the neck very well and gives me three very distinct PJ tones.

But it's too thin by itself.

In order to beef it up I picked up an M81 to use as a stomp box to fatten up that pickup and get it closer to Stingray territory.

The M81 is a great preamp, but the bass and low mids simply don't boost enough to get me there. It sounds amazing when I use it to dial in a second tone with my P bass pickup (already pretty beefy). But just can't get me where I want to be with the bridge solo.

So, whataya think? I need my bridge pickup to sound less Jaco and more Stingray. It will not be an always-on box. It will be more of a stomp box for when a Ray-ish growl suits me better than a P-ish growl. Or when I want Jaco clarity with Pino Stingray era warmth.

The bass is all passive with just a volume and tone, selector for bridge/both/neck amd selector for series/single/parallel on the bridge pickup.

Power supply is a COIKS AC10 and this would take the last spot on that.

Thanks!


The aforementioned bass and pickups...
View attachment 3066339 View attachment 3066340

The TC Electronic one kicks fat anus. It has a little of everything. Every knotch on the dial makes a very noticeable change, and it sounds amazing. Oh, and the spectra comp is, by far, the best compressor I've ever used. At subtle or high levels.

 

[InhumanResource]

....the EQ frequency ranges are wider and the boost/cut are more "extreme" than the MXR M81.

In other words, the M81 is too "subtle" for what I want to do.

On my bass, I have a a dual coil pickup at the bridge. It has a single/series/parallel switch with it. It compliments the P bass pickup at the neck very well and gives me three very distinct PJ tones.

But it's too thin by itself.

In order to beef it up I picked up an M81 to use as a stomp box to fatten up that pickup and get it closer to Stingray territory.

The M81 is a great preamp, but the bass and low mids simply don't boost enough to get me there. It sounds amazing when I use it to dial in a second tone with my P bass pickup (already pretty beefy). But just can't get me where I want to be with the bridge solo.

So, whataya think? I need my bridge pickup to sound less Jaco and more Stingray. It will not be an always-on box. It will be more of a stomp box for when a Ray-ish growl suits me better than a P-ish growl. Or when I want Jaco clarity with Pino Stingray era warmth.

The bass is all passive with just a volume and tone, selector for bridge/both/neck amd selector for series/single/parallel on the bridge pickup.

Power supply is a COIKS AC10 and this would take the last spot on that.

Thanks!


The aforementioned bass and pickups...
View attachment 3066339 View attachment 3066340

For the bridge pickup I really think it is the position. You'll never get a real stingray sound out of that thing with the position it is in, but if you want to get closer you can probably work with a parametric EQ and approximate it. I do it with with an East UK model with sweepable mids. In a live context that gets me as close as I need to get to a stingray (using a jazz).

 

[MaxSpinrun]

TC Electronics Spectra Drive Pre. Amazing amount of gain and EQ Boost

+1. That is the pedal I am considering. Gray for silent practicing. Plenty of I/O flexibility as well.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

That pickup is really hot. So I had to jack it down a bit. When I did that it got thin tone wise. It complements the P pickup really well but by itself it is even more burpy than solo Jaco tone.

Oh, are you looking for a hardware preamp? I thought you meant a pre-pedal. Nordstrand all the way bro. Die hard Nordy pusher. But, that Spectra drive is the best pre pedal I've found...hands down. If you're looking for a new sound.

 

[two fingers]

Oh, are you looking for a hardware preamp? I thought you meant a pre-pedal. Nordstrand all the way bro. Die hard Nordy pusher. But, that Spectra drive is the best pre pedal I've found...hands down. If you're looking for a new sound.

Stomp box would he my preference.

That's probably half a dozen nods to the Spectra.....

 

[Riff Ranger]

I was wondering about the Spectra myself. Any thoughts the Xotic RC bass booster or BB preamp for what the OP is after?

 

[Rumbledore]

here's a fav of mine:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

• Bass Control: + 13dB Boost @ 40Hz
• Treble Control: + 13dB Boost @ 4kHz

...and they have one for $100 more that has an XLR DI out, and a tuner mute foot switch

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Stomp box would he my preference.

That's probably half a dozen nods to the Spectra.....

Alright, cool. Yeah, like I said man. It's the best I've found

 

[Spent]

I almost forgot about the GK Plex! I’ve been using one in my home studio for over a year now. Very flexible, plenty of tonal possibilities and makes a pretty good interface for recording to my computer (USB). Plays nice with all of my basses, passive and active. Headphone out if needed and makes a nice DI as well. I’ve had too many preamps to name (SansAmp pedal and RBI, Yamaha PB1, Demeter VTBP-201s just to give you an idea) and the one I use at rehearsal is the MXR M80, so I think we may have similar expectations. That being said, the Plex is my current favorite.

 

[Spent]

I just got this and it rawkz!
I was a unhappy mxr user. I chose this over the Avalon pre
And the reddi.

API TranZformer LX Bass Pedal

So I had to click on that link. Big mistake. I can feel another GAS attack coming on.

 

[Fender_Bender]

Some of the myriad of pedals mentioned might be an improvement but at the risk of stating the obvious; that pickup is closer to the bridge than a Ray pup and is a completely different design than a Ray pup. If you look around you might find someone (rio grande?, Nordstrand?) who offers that pup shape with big pole pieces or other techniques to get closer to the Ray tone.

 

[pbass2]

I'm a preamp freak and I have tried more than a few and here are my top three:

Verellen Meatsmoke
Fodera 2011
F-Bass Big F Boost

These are some of the others I have tried

3Leaf Audio The Enabler
Mountainking Electronics Behemoth II
Sadowsky outboard preamp
Mountainking Electronics Behemoth I
Swell B-Pro V3 Tube Pedal
Lights On the Way Out Tube Preamp
Frantone Thunderhead Bass Booster
Tube Works Blue Tube Enhancer 903
Eden WTDI Preamp
Tri-logic II Preamp
AMT Bass Crunch Preamp
Yamaha Nathan East NE-1

While I used the Sadowsky for ages--it does impart a signature sound. I agree on the Xotic Tri-Logic for sure, and it's really "transparent". You might even find that the Xotic Bass RC does it for you (I love mine, replaced my Tri with it). But, the Tri is more versatile. Crazy versatile actually....

 

[Dave W]

I'll throw out something different...
The Empress ParaEQ.

It's a very capable EQ, with adjustable Q (width) for each control, plus a built in boost.

 

[SirMjac28]

I'll throw out something different...
The Empress ParaEQ.

It's a very capable EQ, with adjustable Q (width) for each control, plus a built in boost.

That is a good one

 

[ihixulu]

A pickup in that position simply may not be putting out enough low end information for an eq to play with. Run the output through an audio analyzer and see what is there to work with.

FWIW, my P Elite II's bridge pickup was about that far back and no amount of fiddling with eq could beef up the tone when it was solo'd.