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Reverse engineering vintage Haz Labs pre

#401
Here’s a pic of the bass in progress where I’m going to use my HAZ clone with EMG35P and EMG35TW.
 

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#403
@_dave_: I'm glad you are digging it! My first Spector was a Rebop, and I got at at a time when they were viewed as the "cheap" models. They looked great, felt great, but just didn't have that sound. For a while I was convinced that I'd just need to pony up for a US model to get that tone I was after.

It's amazing what a difference there is when you drop in the same pickups and preamp as the US models! Turns it into a completely different beast.
 
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#404
AgingEngineer said:
@_dave_: I'm glad you are digging it! My first Spector was a Rebop, and I got at at a time when they were viewed as the "cheap" models. They looked great, felt great, but just didn't have that sound. For a while I was convinced that I'd just need to pony up for a US model to get that tone I was after.

It's amazing what a difference there is when you drop in the same pickups and preamp as the US models! Turns it into a completely different beast.
Click to expand...
I played thurs and fri at church and wow without really adjusting anything, what a great tone. Everything full up and just a hair to the bridge. It’s What I’ve been after for years after I first tried a guild NS-2 way back when. I couldn’t believe the sound from ‘active’ pickups. Now i spent most of today setting up my legend and dialing in the settings on my Helix. Wow. excellent. So much versatility. All the sounds are great. I adjusted the string & pickup heights to balance the sound and lowered my action to Spector specs, and now it’s a completely new instrument.
@AgingEngineer thanks for putting this project into reality.
 
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#406
Hey @zanzibar jorge, thank you so much for the kind words and I am glad you are enjoying it!

This is the forum were the LHZ was born out of a bunch of questions, and this is the spot where I'll make new announcements and find users who like to experiment with new stuff to be beta testers.

I'd not been online in the last couple months as I've been working to get a couple new projects fully baked. These projects seem to be about 50% science (circuit design and simulation) and 50% voodoo (tweaking components and design) to get to something worth testing. But I'm getting close now! Stay tuned....
 
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#409
I've got an Eart paddle bass with EMG HB pickups, and I'm interested in the Haz preamp to give me full Steinberger glory. The routing is similar to a Steinberger Spirit or Telecaster, and I wonder if it'll fit in such a small cavity?
 
#410
Iristone said:
I've got an Eart paddle bass with EMG HB pickups, and I'm interested in the Haz preamp to give me full Steinberger glory. The routing is similar to a Steinberger Spirit or Telecaster, and I wonder if it'll fit in such a small cavity?
Click to expand...
That might be a tight fit. I'm not familiar with that particular bass, but am familiar with the Telecaster routing. We've got clients putting the LHZ into Steinbergers and Fender Jazz basses, so it might be possible. The board is 1-7/8" L X 1-1/8" W,

The board is 1/4" thick, however there needs to be some clearance for connections.

An easy test would be to cut up a little carboard into a small box with these dimensions: 2" X 1-1/8" X 1/4"
If it fits with an extra 1/4" on the long end, and there is at least 1/2" open from the TOP of board at one end, the LHZ should fit.

If you do decide to give it at try and find it doesn't fit, you can return the LHZ for a full refund as well.
 
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#411
We're are headed back from vacation and I've re-opened the LHZ preamp stores!

I'm happy to offer TalkBass forum users a limited time 10% discount code for all purchases from the LHZ Shop: TALKBASS10PCT
This code is only valid through 9/27 and on purchases via the LHZ Shop on our website. (Not valid in eBay or Reverb stores.)
 
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#412
I just ordered your preamp and I've gotta say I appreciate the work you've done. I have a 2005 USA NS-2J that came with the tonepump preamp. I love its aggressive tone, but this is pre-trimpot era, so 10% volume will distort on just about any bass amp. It's insane. I like to dabble with electronics and pedal designs, so I started my search for a schematic. Now here I am waiting on your product, lol. I'm hesitant to work on my favorite instrument I've ever been fortunate enough to touch, but I'm looking forward to the results. I'm still tempted to incorporate that circuit into something like an overdrive pedal.
 
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#413
panterica8 said:
I just ordered your preamp and I've gotta say I appreciate the work you've done. I have a 2005 USA NS-2J that came with the tonepump preamp. I love its aggressive tone, but this is pre-trimpot era, so 10% volume will distort on just about any bass amp. It's insane. I like to dabble with electronics and pedal designs, so I started my search for a schematic. Now here I am waiting on your product, lol. I'm hesitant to work on my favorite instrument I've ever been fortunate enough to touch, but I'm looking forward to the results. I'm still tempted to incorporate that circuit into something like an overdrive pedal.
Click to expand...
Got the order in the queue and it'll be shipping out tomorrow morning. Thank you!

When I was working on the HL-1 pedal (which is just a LHZ in a pedal form factor) my first thought was "hmmm.... I wonder how this sounds on guitar?"
So I dropped in into the guitar rig to see what would happen. On it's own it's just an EQ, and in a high-gain guitar environment, it's a bit hissy.

I was a bit bummed as I had a different idea in my head what the result would be.

But thinking about it, it isn't surprising: the circuit boosts the treble about 14db before the EQ stage. I didn't capture run the numbers, but it feels like basses run a LOT louder and hit that critical voltage level pretty easily whereas guitars just don't hit that level. So, I'd say it would need a very clean boost stage to get the guitar signal voltage up to that level where it's really going to drive the circuit.

If we get it to start to crack into non-linear when the guitar is played about about 50% full volume, that would bring the noise down to a decent level and should yield and interesting overdrive signature.
 
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#415
I just had one of my EMG’s go out on me and since it was still in the return window, I am just sending them back to guitar center. Due to the fact I am on rotation at church this weekend, I had to exchange them for pjx pickups instead. Apparently the regular ones were on back order. I currently have the bass wired with an abc and the lhz. Will it hurt anything to continue to roll with that setup on x series? From what I’ve read it seems the abcx was made for the active tone control. Really just trying to avoid running 2 volumes if I can.
 
#416
zanzibar jorge said:
I just had one of my EMG’s go out on me and since it was still in the return window, I am just sending them back to guitar center. Due to the fact I am on rotation at church this weekend, I had to exchange them for pjx pickups instead. Apparently the regular ones were on back order. I currently have the bass wired with an abc and the lhz. Will it hurt anything to continue to roll with that setup on x series? From what I’ve read it seems the abcx was made for the active tone control. Really just trying to avoid running 2 volumes if I can.
Click to expand...

You are good; the ABC will work just fine!

The ABC is designed with an buffer BEFORE the blend pot whereas the ABCX has the buffer AFTER the blend pot. The ABC is a unique blend in that it'll work with both Active (classic or X series) and passive pickups. It'll also allow you to mix both an active and passive together.

Bottom line is that if the ABC was working fine with the classic pickups, it'll work just as well with the PJX set.
 
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#417
AgingEngineer said:
You are good; the ABC will work just fine!

The ABC is designed with an buffer BEFORE the blend pot whereas the ABCX has the buffer AFTER the blend pot. The ABC is a unique blend in that it'll work with both Active (classic or X series) and passive pickups. It'll also allow you to mix both an active and passive together.

Bottom line is that if the ABC was working fine with the classic pickups, it'll work just as well with the PJX set.
Click to expand...
Awesome. Thank you for confirming!
 
#418
Hurricane update for anyone trying to reach me. We are based in Greenville SC, and you might have heard this area has been hit pretty hard by the hurricane. While we are fine, we are one of the million + people in the state with no power, internet, or text service.

I'll try to answer everyone as quickly as I can, but as of today I need to drive a few miles to get a good cell signal.

Will update as things change!
 
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#419
AgingEngineer said:
While we are fine, we are one of the million + people in the state with no power, internet, or text service.
Click to expand...
UPDATE: We just got power back on, so I was back in the shop again last night! If you had a 10/3 shipping date on your order, I have good news: your builds are complete and being dropped off to USPS this morning!
 
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#420
@AgingEngineer , glad to hear you are back up!

On-topic question: would it be weird to have a passive tone before the LHZ? I just acquired a Charvel San Dimas P/J - great bass, mediocre 3-band pre. I've got five holes to work with. I'm thinking:

Existing pickup blend > add a passive tone > existing active/passive switch > LHZ > existing master volume

Any problems foreseen?
 

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