• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Need to replace Fender MIA Dimension Bass electronics

stringthrough

stringthrough

Supporting Member
Nov 26, 2011
3,032
5,493
The great state of New York
#1
Love my new Fender MIA single PU Dimension bass - Playability, looks, weight, but hate the builtin pre-amp (not getting enough bottom and “richness” even after trying out different strings). I think this is partly due to the way I want to hear bass because I recall having the same issue a while back with a Fender MIA Deluxe Jazz Bass. Maybe I just don't like Fender pre-amps. Anyway . . . . .

Has anyone successfully replaced them with after-market pre-amps (Pope, Aguilar, Sadowsky, etc.)? If so what were the results and what if any “got’chas” were encountered by you or your tech?

Also, has anyone also added an active/ passive switch to this bass? And again, what were the results?

Thanks in adavance for any input you provide.
 
#2
I have one of the Squire versions of this bass. Mine was voiced WAY too bright for my tastes. Switched to flat wounds (Chromes)...better, but still too bright, even with the treble control run all the way down. I installed a .05 cap in series with a 120k 1/4 watt resistor right across where the pickup connects to the electronics input. Basically, this mimics the effect of a traditional, passive tone control. Now I have just the right amount of treble. It can still get plenty bright with the treble control turned up.

The pre-amp cavity is kinda tight. It is covered with a very conductive paint for shielding. This one comes from Indonesia. Not sure about the MIA or MIM versions.

Otherwise, I like the Squire version quite a lot. It needed a little neck and bridge adjustment when I brought it home from the store, but it plays nicely now. Mine is the translucent red, with the maple fret-board.

I'm still going to install an active/passive switch on it though...just in case the battery or the electronics dies at an inopportune time...like a gig, or a session. I may install that switch this week. I'll update this after I do with the results. Other than the 18v vs 9v power to the electronics, it sounds like these may be voiced similarly.

BTW, I have more than a dozen basses, and have been playing since the 60's. This Dimension, and a P-Bass Lyte that I have are my only active basses. I lean much more toward passive basses.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LoveThatBass and stringthrough
#3
Today I installed an active/passive switch on my Squire Dimension bass. There were a few surprises.

First surprise is, the level is actually slightly hotter coming off the pickup in passive mode. This is a very strong pickup!

Next surprise is, there is more deep fundamental below low A in passive mode. This is really only noticeable in my studio, through the big JBL monitors. Through my normal practice and stage bass rigs it's harder to tell. The tonal balance when switching between modes, with the tone controls set at the detents is amazingly close outside of that.

It is impossible (or at least nearly so) to keep volume or tone controls in the circuit in passive mode BTW...unless one wants to commit to passive all the time. The level presented to the volume pot is after some of the active stages...or at least one of them. When power is removed, there's no level at the volume pot at all. So, in passive mode, the bass is just running wide-open all the time. This really doesn't bother me. I installed the switch for two reasons...One being just to see what the bass sounds like passive...The other is to have a way to keep playing if I lose a battery, or something else fails in the electronics. The switch (as I did it) just switches the feed to the output jack between the preamp output, and the pick-up directly.

I'll be practicing with a band tomorrow night (large horn band...Chicago and BS&T tunes), and will see how the bass sounds in more of a live situation in both modes.

The loss of the fundamentals though the preamp below low A is disturbing, but probably only when recording. In a live environment, you wouldn't notice much of a difference. The switch is in there, so I'm not likely to remove it. If this were my only bass, having the passive/active option would be welcome, and more important when recording. The difference being relatively minor, I'm not sure I'd recommend it. I may feel differently after playing with the band however.

I did take a bunch of pics of the preamp circuit boards...before and after the mods. This includes the additional HF roll-off mod I did. If I figure out the upload process here, I'll upload those. The mod was quite simple...the only complication being the small amount of space available. As I said earlier, I'm not sure how similar the Squire is to the MIA and MIM Fender branded Dimension basses.

Dave O.
 
#4
daveobieone said:
Today I installed an active/passive switch on my Squire Dimension bass. There were a few surprises.

First surprise is, the level is actually slightly hotter coming off the pickup in passive mode. This is a very strong pickup!

Next surprise is, there is more deep fundamental below low A in passive mode. This is really only noticeable in my studio, through the big JBL monitors. Through my normal practice and stage bass rigs it's harder to tell. The tonal balance when switching between modes, with the tone controls set at the detents is amazingly close outside of that.

It is impossible (or at least nearly so) to keep volume or tone controls in the circuit in passive mode BTW...unless one wants to commit to passive all the time. The level presented to the volume pot is after some of the active stages...or at least one of them. When power is removed, there's no level at the volume pot at all. So, in passive mode, the bass is just running wide-open all the time. This really doesn't bother me. I installed the switch for two reasons...One being just to see what the bass sounds like passive...The other is to have a way to keep playing if I lose a battery, or something else fails in the electronics. The switch (as I did it) just switches the feed to the output jack between the preamp output, and the pick-up directly.

I'll be practicing with a band tomorrow night (large horn band...Chicago and BS&T tunes), and will see how the bass sounds in more of a live situation in both modes.

The loss of the fundamentals though the preamp below low A is disturbing, but probably only when recording. In a live environment, you wouldn't notice much of a difference. The switch is in there, so I'm not likely to remove it. If this were my only bass, having the passive/active option would be welcome, and more important when recording. The difference being relatively minor, I'm not sure I'd recommend it. I may feel differently after playing with the band however.

I did take a bunch of pics of the preamp circuit boards...before and after the mods. This includes the additional HF roll-off mod I did. If I figure out the upload process here, I'll upload those. The mod was quite simple...the only complication being the small amount of space available. As I said earlier, I'm not sure how similar the Squire is to the MIA and MIM Fender branded Dimension basses.

Dave O.
Click to expand...
Thanks Dave. I appreciate your followup and report. Please let me know your findings when playing in a band context. BTW, I think there is significant PU and electronic differences between the MIA and Squire versions. Just a strong hunch.
 
#5
Here are some pics of the Squire Dimension mods...
(I will try to explain if I can figure out how to caption these things)
This top pic just shows how the cables from the EQ boards plug into the main board.
Squire main board treb mid bass cables.jpg

This next pic shows the HF roll-off I added. If the bass seems to bright (and mine did) I recommend this. The two 0.1 caps in series add up to a 0.05 cap. The resistor is a 1/4 watt, 120k ohm. So, this approximates a passive tone control, set about half way.
Squire preamp HF roll-off mod 03.jpg

Top-side pic after the active/passive switch mod:
Squire switch mod topside.jpg

The under-side after the active/passive switch mod. Not much space in there!
Squire switch mod underside.jpg
 

Attachments

  • Squire cavity and all 4 boards.jpg
    Squire cavity and all 4 boards.jpg
    705.2 KB · Views: 394
Last edited:
#7
stringthrough said:
Thanks Dave. I appreciate your followup and report. Please let me know your findings when playing in a band context. BTW, I think there is significant PU and electronic differences between the MIA and Squire versions. Just a strong hunch.
Click to expand...

It would be great to see what the Fender branded preamp looks like. I was able to remove the pickguard, and get into the cavity without removing the strings...or even tuning them down. Very easy access, just not much room to do mods in there. Post a couple of pics if you get the chance.
Dave O.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Dueling Banjos
#8
Well, after installing the active/passive switch, and having some play time with it in both modes, I've decided to take the electronics out, and go fully passive. I'll post some more details under a different thread. Basically, the electronics lose too much of the fundamental below low A.
Obviously, this may not apply to your version of the Dimension bass, since we don't know much about the differences in the electronics.
Dave O.
 
#16
selowitch said:
Understood. Perhaps I’ll happen upon one someday soon.
Click to expand...
I have one now - a Squier Deluxe 4-string. I was considering making it all passive, then waffling on making any changes, then considering selling it, then waffling on that too.

I find the E string *really* meaty, despite the briteness:cool:. There seems to be a significant low-mid bump across all strings, making it punchy AF on the A-G strings and just *brutish* on the E string. I haven't played it with the band yet, but I bet it would sit really nicely in the mix. I just can't seem to sit well with all that brightness, I'm really not used to it and my technique doesn't play well with it. The Treble control doesn't get rid of it, as if it isn't so much an EQ thing as a - microphonic? - thing. It's like it picks up fingers-on-string noise because of the gnarly sensitivity of the electronics, not the EQ. It sounds really nasty (in a good way) with overdrive and distortion, squawky and rude, it should make a *great* metal or doom/stoner bass. At this point I just have fun with it, solo, but I am still tempted to do the passive triple-bucker mod, since it was the MIM Modern Player Dimension that first turned me on to these suckers. I'm trying to attune with my inner Buddha and just accept it the way it is, for what it is, versus modding it. I have a suspicion it offers something really useful that I am not giving a fair chance.
 
#17
stringthrough said:
Love my new Fender MIA single PU Dimension bass - Playability, looks, weight, but hate the builtin pre-amp (not getting enough bottom and “richness” even after trying out different strings). I think this is partly due to the way I want to hear bass because I recall having the same issue a while back with a Fender MIA Deluxe Jazz Bass. Maybe I just don't like Fender pre-amps. Anyway . . . . .

Has anyone successfully replaced them with after-market pre-amps (Pope, Aguilar, Sadowsky, etc.)? If so what were the results and what if any “got’chas” were encountered by you or your tech?

Also, has anyone also added an active/ passive switch to this bass? And again, what were the results?

Thanks in adavance for any input you provide.
Click to expand...
 
#18
i have a dimension american deluxe hh. i could not get this thing to sound good to my ears. been plying for 45 years ...so i have a good ear for bass guitar sounds. I thought the pickups were the issue but there are no replacements.. so I swapped out the Fender Pre for an Aguilar obp-3 i had.WOW.....totally different beast.the pickups are fine....its the factory pre amp which is poop.
 
#19
scoote3639 said:
i have a dimension american deluxe hh. i could not get this thing to sound good to my ears. been plying for 45 years ...so i have a good ear for bass guitar sounds. I thought the pickups were the issue but there are no replacements.. so I swapped out the Fender Pre for an Aguilar obp-3 i had.WOW.....totally different beast.the pickups are fine....its the factory pre amp which is poop.
Click to expand...
My first comment/reply since Ive joined. I just ran across a Dimension Squire Deluxe Version. I have a lot of highend basses, being a guitarist?? so when I bought it, I wanted it to sound like "IT". People wanted it to sound like something else? What's the point. I did 2 comparisons on facebook, since youtube has shut me down "again"? for copyrights strikes of me playing "MY" music in the background. So I share to the bass groups under Rodger Hollowman. I compared it to my StingRay5, "bridge PUP" and today...Fender PBASS Am Pro. I agree with a prior poster...Just use a MicroBass3 EBS, or a SansAmp VTBass...... Doing extensive upgrades to a bass you're probably gonna sell eventually and NOT get comped for your upgraded work? By the way, I had a Aquilar Tone Hammer, and sent it back to Sweetwater and grabbed a MicroBass3. Itr handles everything I need....I even run guitars through it!!!!!
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back