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Double Bass Passac Acoustic Equalizer/Preamp

Roger Mouton

Roger Mouton

Supporting Member
Aug 19, 2003
333
78
Southern California
www.smartcatshield.com
#1
I've searched the forum for this and can't find a thread. Does anyone remember the Passac Acoustic Equalizer/Preamp? I bought one from Jon Peterson in the late 80's. We never agreed on what it really did technically and I didn't know enough to be able to ask better questions at the time.

I was playing a carved German factory bass with an Underwood p/u straight into a 15" Polytone Mini-Brute III. The Passac unit "smoothed" everything out considerably and the sound became warmer overall. Somewhere along the line I acquired a Fishman BP-100 and the preamp that goes with it (B-1 maybe?). The Passac was destined to be used on a guitar and got put away. It had applicability for a wide range of acoustic instruments, thus the numerous settings but it's still set for upright bass.

I can't find operating instructions. I didn't make copies and the instructions I had were in a music case that was stolen. Passac was apparently out of business by the mid-90's. My recollection is that Passac was an Australian company.

I'm betting that Francis Deck knows about Passac. Maybe other TBers as well. No, I haven't checked it out with a fresh battery yet. I haven't even opened it up but I recall it has 2 9v batteries. I'm trying to get motivated to check it out..........just for grins. I currently use a Headway EDB-1/AI amp head and it's hard to imagine anything such as this simple, old preamp that could improve on what I have now.

Passac.JPG Passac 2.JPG

If anyone's interested I'll report results.
 
#2
It appears to be a model EC-1. Maybe these links will help:
  • Invalid Link Removed
    Contains a photo and the model number.
  • Invalid Link Removed
    The designer (in Australia) posted on it back in 2008. I tried to go to his web site for a copy of the manual, but the link is dead. You still might be able to contact him.
  • Invalid Link Removed
    Has a suggestion for setting the DIP switches.
 
#4
Michael Eisenman said:
It appears to be a model EC-1. Maybe these links will help:
  • Invalid Link Removed
    Contains a photo and the model number.
  • Invalid Link Removed
    The designer (in Australia) posted on it back in 2008. I tried to go to his web site for a copy of the manual, but the link is dead. You still might be able to contact him.
  • Invalid Link Removed
    Has a suggestion for setting the DIP switches.
Click to expand...

Michael - Can't thank you enough. Got to try it out now after all these years. If I get my hands on a manual I might even be dangerous. Interesting that the designer of the EC-1 responded to one of the forum posts in the links you provided. It's been years but maybe he's still accessible. Thanks again.
 
#5
Roger Mouton said:
Michael - Can't thank you enough. Got to try it out now after all these years. If I get my hands on a manual I might even be dangerous. Interesting that the designer of the EC-1 responded to one of the forum posts in the links you provided. It's been years but maybe he's still accessible. Thanks again.
Click to expand...

Roger, this is good little pre amp bought originally to use with my martin with an insider pick up i still use with my alvarez yairi - can set for multiple instruments eats batteries if you leave plugged in i have the original manual and can scan a copy for you i am new to this forum need to see how i can attach once scanned the manual says it is a filter system that simulates the soundhole resonance of an acoustic instrument. setting recomended for bass octave inside on L Resonance on front set highE Balance on front set at 5 play with it and if you want to sell let me know ah i see here i can upload a file when i get a chance to scan will post a pdf file for you

r
 
#6
rodmcc - Thank You for the feedback. I haven't plugged mine in yet. I remember the "filter" description now and also that it's ON and drawing power from the batteries if an instrument cable is plugged in. My EC-1 came from World of Strings in Long Beach. Years ago. If you know Jon Peterson you know he's not into gimmicks so for him to sell this thing (when his Long Beach shop was open for business) says a lot. The other posts in this thread brought some responses from an acoustic instrument forum, not bass related, and even a link to the designer of the EC-1. I have no idea what happened to Passac.
 
#7
The PASSAC never caught on for a few good reasons. It did "something" which nobody could ever explain clearly. It ate up batteries. Often this was interpreted as the unit being broken. Didn't matter, because most folks didn't have a sound system or amp which could showcase whatever it was that it was designed to do. It was the unit that folks who didn't go for gimmicks fell for. Much superior in those days with more headroom and a matching transducer was the FRAP preamp..and even more expensive, even more hungry for batteries (4 x 9v = 36v). Just my take.
 
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#10
I might have a manual around here too. From memory I can say that the Passac was on the noisy side as well. Probably the best feature is that it had a piezo friendly input, and was a good buffer. Other than that, it seemed like smoke and mirrors.
 

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