Pre-amp: worth the extra money?

[tylerwylie]

Thanks all for your input; didn't mean to hijack the thread, but it seems that the discussion of "preamp or no preamp" would be useful to the OP as well.

Following up on Bongolation’s "opinion", I tried bypassing the preamp on my SR1306, and found that things got immediately cleaner. So for recording, this is perfect; I just need to add a bypass switch – no $300 preamp needed.

I also appreciate the recommendations for less expensive preamps. For stage use, I've been hooked on active electronics since they first came out, if for no other reason than the way a volume pot rolls off the high-end at low settings – the exact opposite of what you usually want. Definitely worth $150, IMO.

It almost seems that the designers of this Ibanez intended for a bypass switch – the electronics are separate from the volume and balance knobs, which function the same as on a passive guitar. Not sure if this is a common design, but in this case a bypass switch will be easy to add.

And then I'll probably try rebuilding the preamp with modern components. I'm guessing they designed the preamp to flatter the sound of the pickups, and for probably $30 I can upgrade it with some "boutique" components. At which point it should be fine for stage use, and maybe for recording as well…

Best thing in that price range would probably be a Bartolini system. Nordstrand and Aguilar make good products too though can be a bit more expensive.

 

[Troph]

Other than knob accessibility, the only thing you lose with an outboard is having a buffered signal coming straight out of the bass (before the instrument cable). Probably not a big deal for most people.

Actually you're forgetting another one. Many onboard preamps also give you better control of pickup blending, since the "mixing" stage isolates and buffers each pickup signal separately before combining them. This gives you better "blended fidelity" of each pickup's individual character.

You could do the same with an outboard preamp, but you'd have to run separate signal cables into a 2-channel preamp (one for each pickup), rather than the passively blended signal. I'm not aware of many who re-wire the bass with a TRS or XLR jack to do this, but I have seen it done.

 

[Lloux]

Wow, I've been offline for a while. This thread really picked up. Lots of good advice, thanks guys. I think I'm leaning towards the Aguilar p/j setup for now. I might add an OBP down the road. All of my current basses are active. It's been years since I've run a passive set up. Might be time to go back to the basics for a bit.

 

[IronSpatula]

Actually you're forgetting another one. Many onboard preamps also give you better control of pickup blending, since the "mixing" stage isolates and buffers each pickup signal separately before combining them. This gives you better "blended fidelity" of each pickup's individual character.

Ah true, but some people like the sound of two pickups loading each other in a passive circuit. I personally enjoy it on my Fender. Plus IIRC there is usually not a passive mode available on preamps with individually buffered pickups.

But now that you've mentioned it... In active basses I've played, I have typically preferred preamps that buffered the pickups before blending versus those that haven't. Interesting point.

 

[Troph]

Ah true, but some people like the sound of two pickups loading each other in a passive circuit. I personally enjoy it on my Fender. Plus IIRC there is usually not a passive mode available on preamps with individually buffered pickups.

But now that you've mentioned it... In active basses I've played, I have typically preferred preamps that buffered the pickups before blending versus those that haven't. Interesting point.

Totally agree... passive two-pickup blending is definitely responsible for many of those "classic" recorded tones everyone loves. So active blending is not necessarily superior, just different.

Some people seem to prefer active blending on P/J configurations in particular because that combination isn't quite as balanced when done passively due to the huge impedance mismatch (e.g., 8 kOhm+4 henries for the J vs. 11 kOhm+6.5 henries for the P).

It's just one of the few things that onboard pre's can offer that's not commonly available in outboard rigs. None of this stuff is truly essential to getting good tone, if we're completely honest.

 

[petrus61]

If you are willing to spend that kind of money, then IMO you would be better off investing the money in high quality pickups, and skipping the preamp.

Whatever you do, make sure you have a hum-cancelling J to go with your P, and make sure it is strong enough to keep up with the P's output.

Yep. The best preamp in the world is worthless without a good foundation. I suppose the better question can sometimes be which pickups to use. I can understand looking for a certain 'flavor', such as is equipped on Musicman or Wal or whatever...but a lot of that is still in the pickups. I've played lots of active Jazz and MM style basses I liked and some standalone EMG or Bart soapbars, but I've never once played a P or P/J that I thought could improve upon the simple passive version...maybe Alembic, but I think their soapbars are superior.

 

[IronSpatula]

None of this stuff is truly essential to getting good tone, if we're completely honest.

Hahaha! SO true!