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Spector 5-string Euro LX (EMG?) preamp replacement and possible pup(s) replacement...

DinnerWithAGypsy

DinnerWithAGypsy

Jun 11, 2008
1,095
55
Louisville, KY
twitter.com
#1
As of right now, I've been playing a Spector 5-string Euro LX through a GK 700RB-II head paired with an 8 ohm Avatar B212 cab.

Besides wanting to get an 8 ohm Avatar B410 cab to use with the B212, I want to do some upgrading on my bass.

I definitely want to replace the TonePump and have searched for such threads on here and found many suggestions, of which I particularly noted the Aguilar OBP-3 and the EMG BQC.

From reading the various reviews/opinions, etc., I came to the conclusion that I believe I want to replace my TonePump with an EMG BQC System. Here are my reasons why:

1) I've read that EMG preamps sound especially good with EMG active pickups (which is what I have now in the bass and foresee having in the future).

2) I feel that this would be an easy transition to make for the installation aspect of this whole ordeal since there are four dials with the TonePump and the BQC System also operates around four dials. Am I correct in this reasoning?


Personally, I really want to have a good solo tone overall but also want a tone which can also morph to fit all kinds of band situations and genres, including funk, rock, indie, metal, jazz, blues, etc.

I really like Victor Wooten's tone in nearly all aspects, except that it can sound a little sterile to me at times (but his playing always makes up for it, hands down), but overall, I think I really would like to model my tone after his most.

I also really admire Stuart Hamm and Les Claypool's tone.


A smaller question that I have is this... I have no idea how getting a new preamp will affect my like or dislike for the two EMG DC40's that currently sit in both positions of my bass right now.
Will the DC40 still sound almost too bright and trebly? I've read that getting a CS40 in the bridge with a DC40 in the neck is an outstanding combination. Would this be true with an EMG BQC preamp, assuming you support that route of action?

Thanks! :D
 
#4
I have the EMG 40DCs in a Spector Euro, which has a EMG BT preamp. I have a few observations. First, Spectors and EMGs go together very well. I don't have an obnoxioulsy bright tone, actually its very full and fat. It can be very smooth, but it grinds pretty easily when you dig in. I don't know how similar the BQC pre is to the BT unit I have, but I can imagine you would get good results with it.

The flip side of that coin is that the Aguilar pre was used on Spector basses for a little while after the EMG pres and before the Tonepump and they work pretty well too. I have never played any, but the reviews I've read are very favorable and I used a few other basses with the OBP-3 and I love it. Also, you can get an OBP-3 configured to fit in a 4-hole setup and I don't think it costs any extra.

So, that should muddy things up for you even more. If I were forced to choose, I would probably go with the EMG pre. Their pickups and pre are meant to go well together. And EMGs go great with Spectors for some reason. I don't even like EMGs in most basses, but I LOVE them in Spectors. Hope this was at least a little helpful.
 
#5
Very good input...

I'll start by saying tone is VERY subjective.. One man's thump is another man's boom is another man's magic tone..You get the picture.

In my experience EMG pickups are very "modern" in there tonality . This being more snappy and bright highs with a tight defined bottom and warm but not real defined mid section. ....now this is MY experience. I will add to this by saying the DC models are very modern in their own right and will give you this very setup. Some call it more sterile.

I believe the GK heads (the ones I've tried) are fairly transparent in tone and will enhance this modern situation even more .You may also benefit from bringing your bass to a guitar store and trying different heads. I just experienced this with my 'ray. The tone your after may be in a color of a specific head.

So...here in lies the issue. What are you trying to gain out of the replacement? I understand the tone-pump gets a pretty bad rap on here..Be careful this is all based on opinion or personal preference. I don't think a preamp change is going to make things drastically different. I've seen a few people make the change end up selling their bass. You may get different "tone" curves in the various boost/cuts but again I don't think it will change things drastically.You will gain more flexibility but tone is what you said you were after.

If your trying to change the tone I would start with the pickups.There are a few other EMG models in this shape. There are also a few pickup builders that make "EMG" shaped shells that will drop in. (Sadowsky,Bart, Nordstrand)

Do some research, listen to clips, and see what fits what your looking for.

I'm not an electronics guru nor have I tried everything out there. I'm just stating from personal experience. I've thrown countless amounts of dollars into preamps and pickups only to find I wanted something different. Others may dismiss my thoughts/observations but again this is what I experienced.

I think people forget Victor Wooten, Stu Hamm, etc make a living at doing this. ALOT if not all of their stuff if made to their exacting standards. Vic Wooten uses EMG but I'm almost certain there voiced to his standards. They are also really good and create there own various tones with their fingers and style themselves.

Ultimately the tone is in your fingers.. I'm slowly learning this :D
 
#6
Also the EMG BQC and the Aggie make use of a volume knob and midrange instead of 2 boost only knobs. Your Spector will sound nice either way but the anxiety of which one to use will be a pain. I like the Spector tone pump in my LX6 for the horsepower when dealing with a particular sound I want and use my Ken Smith for other venues.
 
#8
Thanks for the input everyone! Keep it coming! :D

I really do think that I want a new preamp, and then I'll consider possible pickup replacements (or maybe I won't need to! I don't know yet...).

The name of the game for me is versatility. I play lots of different musical styles and am planning on going out into the music scene once I get out of college to try and make my way to the point where I'm making a living off of it and it becomes more than just my hobby.

LightGroove said:
Very good input...

I'll start by saying tone is VERY subjective.. One man's thump is another man's boom is another man's magic tone..You get the picture.

In my experience EMG pickups are very "modern" in there tonality . This being more snappy and bright highs with a tight defined bottom and warm but not real defined mid section. ....now this is MY experience. I will add to this by saying the DC models are very modern in their own right and will give you this very setup. Some call it more sterile.

I believe the GK heads (the ones I've tried) are fairly transparent in tone and will enhance this modern situation even more .You may also benefit from bringing your bass to a guitar store and trying different heads. I just experienced this with my 'ray. The tone your after may be in a color of a specific head.

So...here in lies the issue. What are you trying to gain out of the replacement? I understand the tone-pump gets a pretty bad rap on here..Be careful this is all based on opinion or personal preference. I don't think a preamp change is going to make things drastically different. I've seen a few people make the change end up selling their bass. You may get different "tone" curves in the various boost/cuts but again I don't think it will change things drastically.You will gain more flexibility but tone is what you said you were after.

If your trying to change the tone I would start with the pickups.There are a few other EMG models in this shape. There are also a few pickup builders that make "EMG" shaped shells that will drop in. (Sadowsky,Bart, Nordstrand)

Do some research, listen to clips, and see what fits what your looking for.

I'm not an electronics guru nor have I tried everything out there. I'm just stating from personal experience. I've thrown countless amounts of dollars into preamps and pickups only to find I wanted something different. Others may dismiss my thoughts/observations but again this is what I experienced.

I think people forget Victor Wooten, Stu Hamm, etc make a living at doing this. ALOT if not all of their stuff if made to their exacting standards. Vic Wooten uses EMG but I'm almost certain there voiced to his standards. They are also really good and create there own various tones with their fingers and style themselves.

Ultimately the tone is in your fingers.. I'm slowly learning this :D
Click to expand...

What I'm mainly trying to get is a more practical range of different sounds. With only 18db boost, the TonePump has to go.
I really don't like the feel of it - it just feels really over-the-top to me...

I really think having a sweepable mids and boost cut in all frequencies would be beneficial to me in getting a wider variety of tones.


Again, I really don't know what the two DC40's will sound like once I get a new preamp. So maybe once I install the new preamp, I'll be fine with the pickups I already have in the Spector, but assuming I will not, I was simply asking for suggestions as to replacement pickup possibilities...
I'll look into Nordstrand, Sadowsky, and Bart pups. Thanks for the suggestion! :)
 
#11
Ok......i have a Rebop5 with the BQC and the emg 40dc/cs combo and i also have an Euro5 with the same pick up combo but with the Tonepump and i sort of agree with Lightgroove.Why? well it goes like this....
It's nice to have a more versatile preamp as far tone goes so you can get different sounds like the BQC, however i love the hot output on the Tonepump something that i feel the BQC lacks.

I've been thinking about getting the Aguilar obp3 pre since it has the versatility for the tones and i think it has a higher output than the BQC so it might me the happy medium that i need.Also i'm not to sure that the Emg 40 dc at the neck position is as wow as people make it sound(no disrespect just an opinion) i feel it lacks body,it almost sounds nasal to me so i've thought about the 40p5.So in a way is true...it is subjective.
Maybe it will sound better to my ears just by going to the obp3 or i might need to add the 40p5.
 
#12
Hey Clover,

Please don't feel like I'm trying to dissuade you at all. I've just been through this scenario a few times. I've gone from Aggie->Bart->Emg..I've also tried audere and Demeter (my all time fav)

What I'm trying to say is I don't think your going to get a vast amount more in the variety range. The pickups themselves have "limitations" persay and specific voicings. You can't bring out tone or variety that isn't there. You basically going to be boosting or cutting what you already have that's all.

You also have the tone of the bass itself..wood types, bridges , construction all have a factor as well...some may be minute but still affect things.

Now the BQC does have mid control if memory serves me well. I can't remember what system I had but I remember it being a stacked mid setup in which one knob picked frequencies while the other boosted or cut them.This is very handy if you like tweaking on the fly.

My opinion is ...I do believe the BQC will give you the added versatility you desire. I just don't think it will wow you or give you something a simple tweak on your head won't do.

Lastly..have you looked into coil tapping? You may be able to split the coils of the DC pickup. You can probably do this without drilling extra holes as well. If you went this route you would have to go with the Aggie setup.
 
#13
What, does the EMG BQC System not work with coil tapping pups or something?

I understand how a new preamp will only change my sound as far as it can while still keeping the same pickups. However, I thinking about going with the supposedly "warmer" sounding 40CS in the bridge position.

I was actually considering all of the other 5-string EMG pickups, too... For example, how would an EMG 40J sound in the bridge?

I really just want to have an edgy, punchy type sound...but not exclusively. I need it to be able to come reasonably close to pulling off a more traditional-type sound as well.

I'm thinking maybe instead of changing my bridge pickup to a 40CS and keeping the 40DC in the neck, I'll change the bridge pickup to a 40J and keep the 40DC in the neck (depending on what feedback you guys may or may not have).

Thanks for all the suggestions and input guys. I really do appreciate it! :)


LightGroove said:
Hey Clover,

Please don't feel like I'm trying to dissuade you at all. I've just been through this scenario a few times. I've gone from Aggie->Bart->Emg..I've also tried audere and Demeter (my all time fav)

What I'm trying to say is I don't think your going to get a vast amount more in the variety range. The pickups themselves have "limitations" persay and specific voicings. You can't bring out tone or variety that isn't there. You basically going to be boosting or cutting what you already have that's all.

You also have the tone of the bass itself..wood types, bridges , construction all have a factor as well...some may be minute but still affect things.

Now the BQC does have mid control if memory serves me well. I can't remember what system I had but I remember it being a stacked mid setup in which one knob picked frequencies while the other boosted or cut them.This is very handy if you like tweaking on the fly.

My opinion is ...I do believe the BQC will give you the added versatility you desire. I just don't think it will wow you or give you something a simple tweak on your head won't do.

Lastly..have you looked into coil tapping? You may be able to split the coils of the DC pickup. You can probably do this without drilling extra holes as well. If you went this route you would have to go with the Aggie setup.
Click to expand...
 
#14
The EMG preamp I had was prewired and included a circuit board as well. I personally would be uncomfortable soldering and adding/removing components from a prewired system..Something tells me they have it set up a certain way ..I've screwed up a preamp screwing around with the circuit board..Not to say you can't do it I'm not 100% sure but this is just personal experience and opinion.

I think you can purchase the OBP3 and have it wired to your exact specs..or get the hardware and wire it yourself.

I love playing around but it can get really expensive really quick.
 
#16
The flip side of that coin is that the Aguilar pre was used on Spector basses for a little while after the EMG pres and before the Tonepump and they work pretty well too. I have never played any, but the reviews I've read are very favorable and I used a few other basses with the OBP-3 and I love it. Also, you can get an OBP-3 configured to fit in a 4-hole setup and I don't think it costs any extra.
 
#18
1109081630b.jpg


this is what mine looks like. can anyone identify the maker?
 
#19
I just installed an OBP-3 in my Spector Euro LX 4, huge improvement over the Tone Dump pre amp. I've heard some hesitation about the OBP-3 with EMG pickups, but I must say it sounds excellent. I'm able to dial in pretty much any sound. I'm going through a GK 1001RB II with an SWR working pro, the OBP has much more room and warmth than the Tone Dump.
 

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