Reverse engineering vintage Haz Labs pre

[Hoyt]

Also sometimes I find it difficult to get the solder to "stick" to surfaces (mainly pot bodies).

Keep up the good work!

A trick I learned (here on TB if I remember correctly) is to scratch the surface of the pot with a little sandpaper, then clean it with alcohol before soldering to it. I’m a little hamfisted when it comes to soldering and that trick means I don’t have to heat up the pot as long, potentially damaging it. I also feel like my solder joint is potentially more secure adhering to the rougher surface. YMMV

 

[Hillie]

A tiny dot of flux where you want to solder also helps. Pre-tin the wire as well. And with soldering the saying "the bigger the blob, the better the job" typically doesn't really apply.

Make sure to try to avoid applying heat to the pot body too long, no need to bake the insides.

 

[AgingEngineer]

Really good vid, thank you Could I make a follow up request? How about how to unsolder things? It may seem obvious but actually sometimes it's quite difficult to get the old solder melted to take it off. I suppose when that happens it could be due to a more "industrial" type of solder that may need more heat to melt, or maybe I'm just bad at unsoldering things Also sometimes I find it difficult to get the solder to "stick" to surfaces (mainly pot bodies).

Keep up the good work!

OOoo... great idea! There absolutely is an art to desoldering connections, and it's very easy to permanently damage components by leaving the heat on too long. I'll add that to the list!!!

 

[Hoyt]

I got My Delano Bridge pickup in the mail today.
Wired it up (Delano’s hot wire is black, naked ground, sort of like Barts), and the volume was fantastic with both pickups soloed, but dropped drastically in the middle position with both pickups.
I flipped the connector around for the bridge pickup on the active blend and the volume dropped a bit, but now they both seem to be working together in harmony.
I imagine that they were out of phase, but it was an odd development with an easy fix.
Just figured that I’d share.

Pic of the cavity for attention

 

[AgingEngineer]

I got My Delano Bridge pickup in the mail today.
Wired it up (Delano’s hot wire is black, naked ground, sort of like Barts), and the volume was fantastic with both pickups soloed, but dropped drastically in the middle position with both pickups.
I flipped the connector around for the bridge pickup on the active blend and the volume dropped a bit, but now they both seem to be working together in harmony.
I imagine that they were out of phase, but it was an odd development with an easy fix.
Just figured that I’d share. View attachment 7439456
Pic of the cavity for attention

Repeating pic of the cavity for added "street cred." LOL

Saw that a lot on some basses with passive pickups wired to a Hazlabs board where the ground of one pickup was soldered to the HOT post. I understand having two pickups wired out of phase, but with the magnet flipped in one, will result in an in-phase signal but act like a humbucker. But it seems like difference companies do it differently so I can never tell if the "hot" wires need to be connected together or reversed.

Glad you got it solved!

 

[AgingEngineer]

It is done: The LHZ-05 3-BAND preamp is now available for sale on the LHZ Preamps store!
As always, since this is the birthplace of the LHZ, TalkBass users get the scoop first.

We never run sales, but the tradition has always been to offer a discount to TalkBass users for the first month when introducing a new product.
It's a way of celebrating a goal being accomplished, and also recognizing this amazing community of players who've been part of this journey from the very beginning.

The code is: TB0326
This will work for anything you buy from the LHZ site, and isn't limited to just the new LHZ preamp.

The code is only active for 1 month from today, however. After that, it turns back int a pumpkin again. lol

Seriously, thank you all for the help and inspiration along the way!

 

[AgingEngineer]

We've finally posted the Tone Capsule vs LHZ Preamp comparison video! Here's the link:

 

[makanudo]

We've finally posted the Tone Capsule vs LHZ Preamp comparison video! Here's the link:

Watched and enjoyed it! Thanks for the content.

I was the one who suggested analyzing the Warwick Thumb pre too, hehe.

 

[AgingEngineer]

Watched and enjoyed it! Thanks for the content.

I was the one who suggested analyzing the Warwick Thumb pre too, hehe.

If someone wants to loan me a Warwick Thumb preamp, I'd love to profile it!

 

[fibz]

I think profiling an EMG BTS would be also interesting.

 

[bottomzone]

I recently found Lonnie's amazing LHZ YouTube videos and ordered the LHZ-04 preamp and a wired output jack for my Euro 6LX. I am really looking forward to the improvement in the tone compared to the Tone Pump, which is really good to my ears!

 

[AgingEngineer]

I think profiling an EMG BTS would be also interesting.

I've actually got that one on deck for the next video! I have an Michalik BP-4 here that I just ran tests on, but it's the same as the TonePump, so I'm going to shelf that data for another day as I'd like to get to a few of these others first.

 

[AgingEngineer]

I recently found Lonnie's amazing LHZ YouTube videos and ordered the LHZ-04 preamp and a wired output jack for my Euro 6LX. I am really looking forward to the improvement in the tone compared to the Tone Pump, which is really good to my ears!

Awesome! I'm looking forward to your thoughts after the install!

This is the forum Topic where the LHZ was born. It's kind of neat to rewind time back to the top of the thread where this was just a hobby project, and I was on the verge of selling my Rebop because I could never get the tone I wanted out of it. It was this community that inspired and drove me to go far beyond what I'd imagined that hobby project would be, and it's been that level of community that's been the model for how I do business today!

 

[AgingEngineer]

I had the opportunity to meet up with Fede Delfino as the Sebastian Bach tour came through town and he took some time to record a great rig rundown of the gear used on this tour.

Part 1: Touring Basses


Part 2: Amps and Signal Chain

 

[bottomzone]

I just got my Euro 6LX from my luthier friend, who replaced the Tone Pump pre with an LHZ-04 and said it's a much better-designed pre and sounds cleaner. My first impressions of playing my bass through a Focusrite 2i2 and Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro X headphones are WHOA!!!!! The sound of my bass is definitely cleaner with a tighter bottom end and clear but not harsh high end! I can't wait to play through my bass rig and gig with it next week!

 

[AgingEngineer]

I just got my Euro 6LX from my luthier friend, who replaced the Tone Pump pre with an LHZ-04 and said it's a much better-designed pre and sounds cleaner. My first impressions of playing my bass through a Focusrite 2i2 and Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro X headphones are WHOA!!!!! The sound of my bass is definitely cleaner with a tighter bottom end and clear but not harsh high end! I can't wait to play through my bass rig and gig with it next week!

I'm betting you'll get a real feel for the difference at the gig! When playing live we tend to dig in harder and that's when this preamp really sings!

 

[bottomzone]

You're right! This bass KILLS playing through my rig live!!!! This is one of the best, if not THE BEST, upgrades I've ever done!!!

 

[AgingEngineer]

You're right! This bass KILLS playing through my rig live!!!! This is one of the best, if not THE BEST, upgrades I've ever done!!!

When I created the very first prototype I had the same experience. After months of reverse engineering (I did not have an actual Haz on hand, so this was all done by analysis of photos) and testing I finally had the first prototype. Installed it in my bass, and plugged it into my practice rig in my office.

It sounded a lot better than the EMG preamp I had in there, but after it living in my head for years as a very specific sound was expecting it to me more pronounced. Then I took it to my first gig. Holy smokes! This thing was FIRE! It seemed like was tuned just for my own playing style so it was nice and polite for those laid back tunes, but when I dug in... out came the beast.

My bandmates noticed the difference, and I got a lot of folks coming up between sets asking me about my rig. Whether it was from the tone out front, or the fact that it just made this bass so much more fun to play, I don't know.

Over the years, I get this sort of feedback often from others. After the upgrade it's a "This sounds great" email. After the first show it's often a "THIS THING KILLS!!!" email. The fun factor is definitely very apparent when we're really digging into the instrument.

I'm stoked you are loving the LHZ, and thank you for the follow-up! Seriously, this never gets old and always makes my day!

 

[bottomzone]

I hope other bassists find out about your engineering prowess and upgrade their preamps with one of yours!!

 

[piitxu]

I hope other bassists find out about your engineering prowess and upgrade their preamps with one of yours!!

I have bought already 4 LHZs from Loonie. They have worked wonders on all the basses I have tried them: Spector NS Icon, Spector Pulse 5, LTD Surveyor 87... each one with its own personality even if sharing identical electronics at some point. The Icon is the classic NS sound, the Pulse is a more aggresive variant, and the LTD is a very ballsy sounding bass with the LHZ dimed due to it's almost 5kg and classic P arrangement.

Recently I started to experiment further. I have an LHZ 05 in a Harley Benton enhanced, the Sandberg California copy, with EMG P/MM pickups. It has a mix of qualities from the Pulse and LTD: heavy bass with swamp ash body. It's very bold and deep, but doesn't really have the same attack as the alder basses like the Icon or the LTD.

But the biggest surprise is my "rescue" Squier P special standard. It's a parts bass now: Squier P/J body, modified to reverse P, Fender high mass bridge and a Harley Benton P bass neck. And just for science, dropped a set of EMG P/Js and a LHZ 04 on it... and it's the best sounding bass I've ever had! it beats all of the above. It's deeper and bolder than the Spectors, while retaining all of the attack and transients. It has no business sounding this good... specially when playing with the band, it's permanent bass stank face.

There's more science to come, I ordered another Harley Benton Enhanced from Thomann but this time it's the alder body. Going to drop another P/MM with the LHZ05 into it.

Also I want to shoutout LHZpreamps improved shipping to the EU: at least when shipping to Spain, there's no duty/import taxes or paperwork anymore. Taxes are paid directly in the check out and you'll get your preamp in 72h at your doorstep. For comparison, I bought my second LHZ from Bassdirect.uk and it took 11 days and filling 3-4 forms to recieve it. If you guys are in the EU and have doubts about the import, check it again because now i't s a piece of cake.