Kramer DMZ6000B missing it's preamp - any suggestions for replacement?

[grandpa]

Hello TB'rs, I'm hoping some of you Kramer experts (or electronics experts) can help me.

I recently picked up a, seemingly excellent condition, DMZ6000B from a local store. It was on consignment and I played it 3x before finally purchasing. The pickups work and sounded excellent and the selector switch functioned, but the coil tap/series/paralell switches didn't seem to do anything. I thought it was a subtle effect or that there might be a short that I'd fix later. However upon finally opening up the back, to my surprise the non-functioning switches had no wires attached...and there was an empty space where the "DBL system" preamp should be.

Does anyone know where to source the DBL-2 preamp or something similar? And if not, are there any known swaps people have done for these circuits? I've looked around here and the only thread I could find talked about a DBL-2 system failing, but that thread didn't have info about swaps or replacements.

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

Red X's indicate missing components/wires.

 

[grandpa]

I also read here that the "DBL system" was not made by either Kramer or DiMarzo but by a 3rd party company that's long gone. At the very least I'd like to get the switches working for series/parallel. If anyone's had the DBL preamp go bad and just removed it for instance, I'd be curious how that went. Thanks again.

 

[rogerbmiller]

I wonder if it was made by Stars Guitars. They were the preeminent builder of onboard preamps at the time. That’s what Roger Sadowsky put in Marcus Miller’s legendary J bass.

 

[grandpa]

Thanks Roger, I think the company that made the preamp was DBL systems or something like that. They are long gone like Stars Guitars. I wound up just re-connecting the series/parallel switches and am very happy. This bass is incredible. Thanks again!

 

[Lo-E]

Many years back I had a DMZ5000 which was passive and I can’t say I ever wanted for a preamp. Actually, I didn’t even know that they made a passive version of this bass.

If it sounds good with the switches reconnected and no preamp, I’d say just go with it. If you decide you want to restore it to active electronics down the road, preamps from that time period are nothing to write home about compared to what’s available today in terms of specs. Any comparable preamp from a current, reputable company is likely to outperform the original.

Congrats on your new bass. DMZ basses are like having a gym membership! You’re going to have a very strong back!

 

[grandpa]

Hah! thank you Lo-E. I do feel like i hit the lottery (which happens to include that gym membership you mentioned) and definitely plan to roll with this beauty as-is. I'm keen on my MC924's preamp but generally don't use them due to wanting simple setups and inherently good sounding basses. This one has incredible clarity, punch, and fullness somehow rolled all into one. Cheers