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OBP woes-Replace?

New OBP for Z5. Which?

  • Bartolini - NTMB

    Votes: 1 10.0%

  • Aguilar - OBP3

    Votes: 7 70.0%

  • John East - U Retro 5 Knob Pre

    Votes: 1 10.0%

  • Other?

    Votes: 2 20.0%
  • Total voters
    10
  • Poll closed .
Stumpy

Stumpy

Apr 11, 2004
1,100
2
Greater Sacramento CA area
www.crashthemachine.com
#1
Hello All,

I was playing my Z5, during a rehearsal, a couple of days before the CD Release Party. We had to max everything on the board and it was a little low. So I switched from the Active bass and went to the passive Heir5 bass (both MTD). The passive bass was way louder.

So I take the Z5 (active) to the local repair guru at Skip's Music. He gets to fiddling with it and says that the On Board Preamp was funky (in a bad way). That I would have to replace it.

What do you think? Which pre is the best for what I am doing? Here are the links for what WE sound like. http://www.crashthemachine.com & Link Removed

One suggestion was getting the Bartolini and another was getting the Aguilar. Are there others out there that really do a great job?

The Pre needs to be quiet and have a very aggressive modern rock type of sound to it.

I use the MTD Z5 Active with MTD 135x's on it.

Thanks in advance for your help.
 
#3
I currently have a Carvin with all Bart electronics. While Bart pickups are amazing their pres are not. Even with the 3 position mid frequency switch it's just not versitile enough
I've never used one but from what I know and have heard/ read from others I would think that Aguilar would be the way to go.
 
#4
Hi

I Ripped out the Bart in my Modulus Flea and installed an OBP3...... different Bass.... WHAT A DIFFERENCE !! Awesome pre-amp, loads more flexibility but even all flat it just bites tons more live..... that bart was so soft sounding, which was pleasing in the house solo, the OBP3 makes the lane poor sound very harsh in the living room, but in the band with a little bit of bottom added and some boost at 800hz it totally kills, cuts through and sounds massive !

it's the only onboard pre i'll use from now on....
 
#9
Ok. So far people are in agreement on the OBP3 by Aguilar.

Which one?

Aguilar OBP-3SK/PP - 3-band EQ with 18dB of boost/cut at 40Hz, 400 or 800Hz (selectable by push/pull pot), and 6.5kHz, which can be installed as 9- or 18-volt circuit.

Aguilar OBP-3TK/PP - 3-band EQ with 18dB of boost/cut at 40Hz, 400 or 800Hz (selectable by push/pull pot), and 6.5kHz can be installed as 9 or 18 volt circuit.

Aguilar OBP-3TK - the OBP-3 offers you tons of headroom and sonic flexibility. With 3 bands of boost or cut plus selectable...

I am a little confused.
 
#11
Ok...I went to Aguilar and this is what those codes mean...

OBP-3TK: Includes separate Treble, Mid, and Bass pots,
and black mini-toggle switch for Midrange frequency selection.

OBP-3TK/PP: Includes separate Treble, Mid, and Bass pots.
Mid pot is push/pull for Midrange frequency selection.

OBP-3SK: Includes stacked Treble/Bass pot, Mid pot, and black
mini-toggle switch for Midrange frequency selection.

OBP-3SK/PP: Includes stacked Treble/Bass pot and separate
Mid pot. Mid pot is push/pull for Midrange frequency selection.

So, for my Z5 MTD...which one? I am thinking the 3TK.
 
#13
Not that I'm an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I'd go with the 3TK, replacing the toggle with a 500K linear taper pot for continuously variable mid selection. Check out the very bottom of the wiring diagram on Aguilar's site for details.
 

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