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Need help finding a preamp

LowWay

LowWay

It’s got 4 strings ‘cause they’re bigger!
Supporting Member
Dec 16, 2009
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#1
I’m in the middle of a bass build with Cliff Bordwell and looking for advice on a preamp. This will be a semi-hollow fretless with bridge piezo and Nordstrand big rigs as well.

Anyone have any advice for preamps that will blend the piezo and the magnetic pickups? I’m thinking VVT for the magnetics. I’m not opposed to an active eq. I prefer a 3 band with a sweepable mid if I go active eq on this.

Thanks for helping me understand the world of piezo/magnetic options!
 
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#2
It sounds like you're looking for a buffer preamp to blend piezo and magnetic pickups.

My Martin Keith acoustic will have one, but I confess, I haven't talked with Martin about the circuit yet.

I've had good luck with John East preamps, though, and I see that he makes one that does exactly what you want:
PIEZO MAG MIXER

Not sure if it's currently available/in stock, though.

Bartolini also makes one:

Guitar Magnetic and Piezo Buffer - MPB1 - Bartolini Pickups & Electronics

Hmm, looks like Richter also makes one:

Richter MX2 Active Piezo and Magnetic Mixer - Best Bass Gear

LowWay said:
I’m in the middle of a bass build with Cliff Bordwell and looking for advice on a preamp. This will be a semi-hollow fretless with bridge piezo and Nordstrand big rigs as well.

Anyone have any advice for preamps that will blend the piezo and the magnetic pickups? I’m thinking VVT for the magnetics. I’m not opposed to an active eq. I prefer a 3 band with a sweepable mid if I go active eq on this.

Thanks for helping me understand the world of piezo/magnetic options!
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
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#4
Best bass gear carries all of these. They claim to have a bass tech specialist. I’m gonna give him a call. I also have an email in to Stew at Nordstrand since I’m going big rigs for the magnetics.

One thing I’m not yet clear on, and maybe someone here knows:

I’m building all my other basses passive. These buffers all seem to be by there nature to require a battery. Can I run my magnetics passive, use the buffer, but in the case of dead battery, bypass the buffer and get the magnetic passive output? I’ve grown fond of fewer knobs on the bass and fewer points of failure.
 
#5
The buffer is used to match the impedance and output levels between the piezos and the magnetic pickups, and yes, it will require a battery. You could definitely have a "bypass" switch wired up to go to mags only and bypass the buffer in the case of a battery failure. It might be possible to still have the volume and passive tone control still be operational--I'm not sure what pots are required for the V/T controls when they are used with the buffer.

LowWay said:
Best bass gear carries all of these. They claim to have a bass tech specialist. I’m gonna give him a call. I also have an email in to Stew at Nordstrand since I’m going big rigs for the magnetics.

One thing I’m not yet clear on, and maybe someone here knows:

I’m building all my other basses passive. These buffers all seem to be by there nature to require a battery. Can I run my magnetics passive, use the buffer, but in the case of dead battery, bypass the buffer and get the magnetic passive output? I’ve grown fond of fewer knobs on the bass and fewer points of failure.
Click to expand...
 
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#11
Who makes the various piezo pickups, and what's the difference? I'm well versed on magnetic pickups, but I'm not sure about differences in piezo.... I can find graphtech and fishman. Several are a single pickup as opposed to one per string. Thoughts from more experienced users?
 

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