Reverse engineering vintage Haz Labs pre

[AgingEngineer]

Anyone got recordings of their non Spector basses with the LHZ?

This is a great question! By far, most of the LHZ clients are Spector users. They've been installed in a lot of different models of basses, and the clients report back with very positive comments. Yet, so far no-one has posted a sound sample that I remember.

I was just experimenting with the HAZard LAMPS pedal the other weekend, and was pleasantly surprised with how it made my Fender Jazz come alive. I actually recorded some video and audio comparing the built-in preamp vs the LHZ, but haven't had time to compile or post it yet.

 

[wolfkeller]

This is a great question! By far, most of the LHZ clients are Spector users. They've been installed in a lot of different models of basses, and the clients report back with very positive comments. Yet, so far no-one has posted a sound sample that I remember.

I was just experimenting with the HAZard LAMPS pedal the other weekend, and was pleasantly surprised with how it made my Fender Jazz come alive. I actually recorded some video and audio comparing the built-in preamp vs the LHZ, but haven't had time to compile or post it yet.

Speaking of, when is that pedal going to ship?

 

[AgingEngineer]

The first units will be going out next week! I'll only have 2 or 3 on Monday to offer to folks on the wait list (which is pretty long at this point) because the first lot was a stock order from Bass Direct, but the following week I'll have 10 or so ready to go. My goal is to have everyone on the wait list have an opportunity to buy before 4/19.

After 4/19 (ish) they'll be in the the LHZ store also available from Bass Direct for folks in UK and European Union.

 

[wolfkeller]

The first units will be going out next week! I'll only have 2 or 3 on Monday to offer to folks on the wait list (which is pretty long at this point) because the first lot was a stock order from Bass Direct, but the following week I'll have 10 or so ready to go. My goal is to have everyone on the wait list have an opportunity to buy before 4/19.

After 4/19 (ish) they'll be in the the LHZ store also available from Bass Direct for folks in UK and European Union.

Sweet, I'm on the list.

 

[zanzibar jorge]

This is a great question! By far, most of the LHZ clients are Spector users. They've been installed in a lot of different models of basses, and the clients report back with very positive comments. Yet, so far no-one has posted a sound sample that I remember.

I was just experimenting with the HAZard LAMPS pedal the other weekend, and was pleasantly surprised with how it made my Fender Jazz come alive. I actually recorded some video and audio comparing the built-in preamp vs the LHZ, but haven't had time to compile or post it yet.

I’d love to hear that when you get the chance! It’ll give a good indication of how it sounds in something different.

 

[ThisBass]

It’ll give a good indication of how it sounds in something different.

As usual, it depends.
In general speaking for passive instruments the sound may differ regarding its "fashion" of electronics implementation. Once the electronic was loaded into a stomp box the sound may differ at some content (preferred at high mids bandwidth) vers an electronics "on board" implementation.

 

[Jim C]

As usual, it depends.
In general speaking for passive instruments the sound may differ regarding its "fashion" of electronics implementation. Once the electronic was loaded into a stomp box the sound may differ at some content (preferred at high mids bandwidth) vers an electronics "on board" implementation.

Are you saying that the additional 10'-20' of cable capacitance could make things sound different than virtually no cable?
I was just thinking I wonder what this pre would sound like in a stock Fender P with passive pickups mounted in the standard position.

 

[Ellery]

The first units will be going out next week! I'll only have 2 or 3 on Monday to offer to folks on the wait list (which is pretty long at this point) because the first lot was a stock order from Bass Direct, but the following week I'll have 10 or so ready to go. My goal is to have everyone on the wait list have an opportunity to buy before 4/19.

After 4/19 (ish) they'll be in the the LHZ store also available from Bass Direct for folks in UK and European Union.

I am considering getting an LHZ for my Spector Legend 5, which has the stock EMG-HZ passive pickups. Will that work with the HZ's or am I better off getting active EMG's?

 

[AgingEngineer]

I am considering getting an LHZ for my Spector Legend 5, which has the stock EMG-HZ passive pickups. Will that work with the HZ's or am I better off getting active EMG's?

The LHZ will work with any pickup, and it really doesn't change the "voice" of the pickup. So a humbucker will sound like a humbucker, and PJ set will sound like a PJ set. It will add harmonic overtones and accentuate the articulation of your performance, particularly when playing aggressively.

The choice of HZ's vs other pickups really depends on the tone you are going for. We've got a lot of people using the LHZ on basses with HZ pickups as the humbuckers have their own distinctive sound that works very well for certain genres. A lot of folks going for that "classic" Spector tone (eg. Alice in Chains or early Queensryche) tend to go with a PJ set, whereas players going for a more metal tone tend to lean toward humbuckers. That's not a hard and fast rule, though!

 

[Ellery]

The LHZ will work with any pickup, and it really doesn't change the "voice" of the pickup. So a humbucker will sound like a humbucker, and PJ set will sound like a PJ set. It will add harmonic overtones and accentuate the articulation of your performance, particularly when playing aggressively.

The choice of HZ's vs other pickups really depends on the tone you are going for. We've got a lot of people using the LHZ on basses with HZ pickups as the humbuckers have their own distinctive sound that works very well for certain genres. A lot of folks going for that "classic" Spector tone (eg. Alice in Chains or early Queensryche) tend to go with a PJ set, whereas players going for a more metal tone tend to lean toward humbuckers. That's not a hard and fast rule, though!

Thank you! I had a different bass with HZ's, and I had to change it to active EMG's before I was happy with the sound. This Legend however has so much character the HZ pickups sound great. It is a bolt-on with a solid maple body, the snap and growl is really outstanding. Sounds like an LHZ would take it over the top!

 

[AgingEngineer]

COUNTERFEIT LF442CN CHIPS
Yesterday afternoon I discovered that the last lot of LF442CN opamps that were shipped to me are, in fact, counterfeits. For the last year and a half I’d been calling every authorized distributor of LF442CN chips and buying whatever remaining stock they had. A the end of 2023 there was no distributor stock left anywhere, so I embarked on two parallel paths:

1. Start evaluating new opamps to find a suitable replacement that was 100% faithful to the audio artifacts that the LF442CN imparted, and
2. Examine stock from established resellers who have LF442CN inventory. This would require a lot of testing to make sure I had authentic parts, but would buy time as I transitioned to a new opamp.

I found a reseller, reserved an order for 1,000 pcs, and had a small qty shipped for testing. The test samples were perfect in every way, and passed all testing. Sigh of relief: I authorized the lot for shipment and was relieved to know I had 9 months of stock to carry me through as I prepared for a transition to new opamps.

That plan was dashed yesterday.

The remainder of the 1,000 pcs are labelled as LF442CN, but test and respond like TL072 chips. To say I am upset is an understatement. I am working with the vendor as there is a very real possibility that they have been duped as well, so I am not going to broadcast their name as we try to resolve this.

Regardless, the damage has been done. Last week's orders (already built) and a few of this coming week's orders will use the remaining LF442CN chips I have in stock.

GOOD NEWS
The good news is that I've identified 3 excellent opamps that deliver every bit of the same sound as the LF442CN. One of these is the SAME opamp that HazLabs is currently shipping in their preamps. (Haz actually stopped using the LF442CN around 2021 and moved to new chips.)

THE WORRY
There's a lot of LF442CN fans out there (myself included), so I know there'll be some concern or questions that the new opamp chips will not have the same distinctive tone. In the next couple days I will post a "blind A/B" comparison video with a link to the uncompressed audio, and I'd like to get feedback from this community to see if we can collectively tell the difference.

THE ASK
If anyone would like to contribute sample audio (Spector bass, P/J pickups, flat EQ, recorded direct to board, showing a few different playing techniques from soft to aggressive), I would greatly appreciate it! I'll run those samples through the LHZ-03 with an LF442CN and one with the new opamp so we can compare the identical performance between both chips. If you're interested in helping, drop me a DM and I'll share my email address so we can coordinate.

TRANSITION PLANS
Since I've not had time to make a graceful transition, I will be doing the following

• Update all listings to clearly indicate we are shipping with new opamps.
• Personally contact every buyer to make sure they are aware of the change.
• I will still honor the same guarantee I always have: If you don't like what you hear, I will offer a full refund.

That's be best I can think of right now. If you have any insight on what I can do to make this transition easier from a customer perspective, please let me know!

RANTING DONE
Lastly, thank you for letting me vent... As many of you know I can be a bit of a perfectionist, and it really, REALLY bothers me to pivot at the 11th hour like this.

 

[VeryTallBassist]

COUNTERFEIT LF442CN CHIPS
Yesterday afternoon I discovered that the last lot of LF442CN opamps that were shipped to me are, in fact, counterfeits. For the last year and a half I’d been calling every authorized distributor of LF442CN chips and buying whatever remaining stock they had. A the end of 2023 there was no distributor stock left anywhere, so I embarked on two parallel paths:

1. Start evaluating new opamps to find a suitable replacement that was 100% faithful to the audio artifacts that the LF442CN imparted, and
2. Examine stock from established resellers who have LF442CN inventory. This would require a lot of testing to make sure I had authentic parts, but would buy time as I transitioned to a new opamp.

I found a reseller, reserved an order for 1,000 pcs, and had a small qty shipped for testing. The test samples were perfect in every way, and passed all testing. Sigh of relief: I authorized the lot for shipment and was relieved to know I had 9 months of stock to carry me through as I prepared for a transition to new opamps.

That plan was dashed yesterday.

The remainder of the 1,000 pcs are labelled as LF442CN, but test and respond like TL072 chips. To say I am upset is an understatement. I am working with the vendor as there is a very real possibility that they have been duped as well, so I am not going to broadcast their name as we try to resolve this.

Regardless, the damage has been done. Last week's orders (already built) and a few of this coming week's orders will use the remaining LF442CN chips I have in stock.

GOOD NEWS
The good news is that I've identified 3 excellent opamps that deliver every bit of the same sound as the LF442CN. One of these is the SAME opamp that HazLabs is currently shipping in their preamps. (Haz actually stopped using the LF442CN around 2021 and moved to new chips.)

THE WORRY
There's a lot of LF442CN fans out there (myself included), so I know there'll be some concern or questions that the new opamp chips will not have the same distinctive tone. In the next couple days I will post a "blind A/B" comparison video with a link to the uncompressed audio, and I'd like to get feedback from this community to see if we can collectively tell the difference.

THE ASK
If anyone would like to contribute sample audio (Spector bass, P/J pickups, flat EQ, recorded direct to board, showing a few different playing techniques from soft to aggressive), I would greatly appreciate it! I'll run those samples through the LHZ-03 with an LF442CN and one with the new opamp so we can compare the identical performance between both chips. If you're interested in helping, drop me a DM and I'll share my email address so we can coordinate.

TRANSITION PLANS
Since I've not had time to make a graceful transition, I will be doing the following

• Update all listings to clearly indicate we are shipping with new opamps.
• Personally contact every buyer to make sure they are aware of the change.
• I will still honor the same guarantee I always have: If you don't like what you hear, I will offer a full refund.

That's be best I can think of right now. If you have any insight on what I can do to make this transition easier from a customer perspective, please let me know!

RANTING DONE
Lastly, thank you for letting me vent... As many of you know I can be a bit of a perfectionist, and it really, REALLY bothers me to pivot at the 11th hour like this.

Lonnie, I'm so sorry to hear this. I know how much of your heart and soul you put into making these preamps and this is a really crappy hand to be dealt. Having personally heard the contenders for the replacement chip, I am 1000% confident that you've got a winner on your hands. You've got a few choices that are so close as to be virtually indistinguishable from the LF442CN. I hope you're able to recover your investment in those chips but I also know that you've got an excellent Plan B already prepared even if you're timeline was accelerated a bit.

Folks, I was one of the beta testers for the three chips and I can honestly say there was no perceivable impact to the tone of the LHZ.

 

[Uziel]

Good thing you already had found the replacement opamp

Have you compared the schematics for the 18v Spector/HAZ (the one with stacked bass/treeble) against the 9v ?

 

[r_bnks]

THE ASK
If anyone would like to contribute sample audio (Spector bass, P/J pickups, flat EQ, recorded direct to board, showing a few different playing techniques from soft to aggressive), I would greatly appreciate it! I'll run those samples through the LHZ-03 with an LF442CN and one with the new opamp so we can compare the identical performance between both chips. If you're interested in helping, drop me a DM and I'll share my email address so we can coordinate.

Fortunately I just restrung my '87 NS-2 with fresh rounds. I can do that.

 

[fibz]

Bummer, sorry to hear about the fake opamps.
as you know I‘ll be happy to assist you as well. Besides @VeryTallBassist I also had the chance to test the alternative opamps and can confirm his results.

 

[AgingEngineer]

Just wanted to put a quick shoutout to @VeryTallBassist who turned around an excellent set of samples to use for a blind A/B comparison. I will try to get this compiled and posted tomorrow night as I think it'll help settle a lot of questions about the impact of an opamp change in a very controlled fashion.

Thank you, my man!

 

[AgingEngineer]

Good thing you already had found the replacement opamp

Have you compared the schematics for the 18v Spector/HAZ (the one with stacked bass/treeble) against the 9v ?

I haven't yet compared it yet. I've got a Ken Smith HAZ on the bench still waiting on me to dig into it, but so far have been so busy with orders that I'd not had much other time for that yet. Soon, I hope!

 

[AgingEngineer]

Alrighty... Think you've to the right ears to tell which one of the three opamps is the LF442CN? Put on your headphones and give me your best guess:

Shoutout to @VeryTallBassist for the excellent raw Spector clips he created to use in this comparison video! You rock!

 

[BassikBrad]

They are pretty damn close, not sure which is the LF442CN

 

[VeryTallBassist]

I *think* I know after beta testing them, but even I'm not sure.