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Preamps

paulerip

paulerip

Oct 16, 2008
87
15
Nashville, TN
paulrippee.com
Disclosures
Aguilar, Ernie Ball, Spector, Seymour Duncan
#1
I'm looking to replace the preamp in my American Fender Deluxe P Bass. I love the bass but the preamp just hasn't been cutting it for me. I'd like something that sounds a bit more passive (and it would be great if it had a bypass to actually be passive as well). I have a Sadowsky and I'm leaning towards putting one of those systems in the Fender but was curious if there were other cool options out there - thanks for any advice.
 
#5
ClassicJazz said:
I just put a Sadowsky in my Fender America Deluxe Jazz FMT....and man what a difference! The bass is night and day compared to the old preamp. Glad I did it.
Click to expand...
As an owner of the ADJ FMTV can you explain to me the difference the Sadowsky pre made in you bass? My bass is stock and sounds excellent regardless of what or who's amp I use. Also I notice your bass is an 02 bass with "noiseless" pups, Mine has SCN's in it. I notice the SCN's are more vintage sounding and less "cutting" than the "noiseless" pups. Is this why you changed the preamp?
 
#6
i agree on the sadowsky,ive been upgrading an 07 jazz and the bass sounds really good
unplugged and after the preamp install the bass just roared to life,its just an opinion but
it makes my bass sound excellent!
 
#8
it has more punch,real nice highs,the lows are punchy and full,the bass sounds round,punchy,thick,i also have a badass 3 on it,this has also given the bass more attack
i have a couple fenders that i would never do anything like this to,i love fenders they
are my favorite,on this particular bass the preamp just made a great sounding bass sound even better,thats my opinion,i have a 76 jazz that i would never do this to,always
wanted a fender i could do mods to,and when i picked this bass up from gc it was an 07
that never sold and i bought in 08 for 629.00 out the door with a case and its a mia
 
#9
Having used the Audere (in a CIJ Fender Jazz Bass) and having a Sadowsky preamp (in a Sadowsky bass), I've got to say that I think the Sadowsky preamp is much more versatile. It can be switched into passive mode with all controls (volumes and tone) still working and in active mode, the tone knob still works, in addition to the 2-band EQ. Also, it does seem that the Sadowksy preamp does a little longer with a battery, if that's an issue...
But, as others stated, you should take a look in the PU & Electronics subforum.
 
#10
pyrohr said:
As an owner of the ADJ FMTV can you explain to me the difference the Sadowsky pre made in you bass? My bass is stock and sounds excellent regardless of what or who's amp I use. Also I notice your bass is an 02 bass with "noiseless" pups, Mine has SCN's in it. I notice the SCN's are more vintage sounding and less "cutting" than the "noiseless" pups. Is this why you changed the preamp?
Click to expand...

The stock preamp was good, but now the bass really has some (pardon the term), balls to it. It has a much fuller sound, much deeper lows and cutting highs. The bass is way more punchier now with the Sadowsky preamp and cuts through the mix much better. This preamp also has the VTC (Vintage Tone Control) which is a passive treble roll off. Honestly, it sound more like, well a Sadowsky now then a Fender. Which makes it a great match with my other 2 Sadowsky basses. Also the Sadowsky preamp allows you to put the bass into passive mode.

And it only uses 1 9V battery compared to the 2 the stock Fender preamp uses. And even with just one 9v, this preamp has much more headroom.
 
#11
ClassicJazz said:
The stock preamp was good, but now the bass really has some (pardon the term), balls to it. It has a much fuller sound, much deeper lows and cutting highs. The bass is way more punchier now with the Sadowsky preamp and cuts through the mix much better. This preamp also has the VTC (Vintage Tone Control) which is a passive treble roll off. Honestly, it sound more like, well a Sadowsky now then a Fender. Which makes it a great match with my other 2 Sadowsky basses. Also the Sadowsky preamp allows you to put the bass into passive mode.

And it only uses 1 9V battery compared to the 2 the stock Fender preamp uses. And even with just one 9v, this preamp has much more headroom.
Click to expand...
I found that the SCN pups in my FMT V gave my bass more bottom than my Victor Bailey jazz with Noiseless had. I figured the bass would sound more like a Sadowsky because of the preamp. I personally would not want any of my Fenders to sound like a Sadowsky since I'm a Fender kinda guy but understand you being a sadowsky player you are more comfortable with the way the bass sounds now! The bypass is a very good deal imho and wish Fender would have done that!!! I also have a Custom Shop jazz with a 9v preamp that has more headroom than all my 18v preamped basses!
 
#12
I just dropped in the Sadowsky preamp with VTC and man, what a difference! It sounds great in active mode but to be honest, that in passive is the best the bass has ever sounded. It actually sounds like a P bass now which is something it couldn't nail with the old preamp. I find putting it into active mode with the highs and lows all the way down gives it just a little more presence but it tends to get a little much with any serious boost of either. Definitely worth a try if anyone else out there is thinking about upgrading a Fender active bass.
 

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