The Soundgear Club

[fourstringbliss]

Tell us more about the Pope. I have a 755 (MK1) and 1405 (Nordy Big Splits) and considering new pre's for both. I'm usually an Audere guy but willing to wander off the path whether it be a Pope or any number of available replacements.

Riis

Being an Audere guy myeself I just checked out the Pope website. I thought I had heard that they were filter-based preamps similar to what's in a Wal or Alembic, but I'm only seeing that they're highly customizable/configurable. I'll bet they sound great, but then so does Audere.

 

[fourstringbliss]

Looks really similar to Audere. Fully wired with flexible configuration. It looks like the advantage you get with Pope is that you can reconfigure the preamp if you need to after buying one. The advantages I see with Audere is that they're cheaper (around $130 vs $299 for the Pope) and you get the active blending and volume controls.

 

[21DaHoagie12]

Aguilar OBP-3 preamp is fantastic, I've put them in three of my soundgears with fantastic results

 

[mmbass21]

I'm curious as to what the results you guys are having from changing out the preamp. First I just love the Nordy big singles and as right now they're my favorite pickups. I feel the Ibanez preamp compliments them well too. What differences are you hearing or feeling with the Audere, Aguilar and so on?

 

[fourstringbliss]

I'm curious as to what the results you guys are having from changing out the preamp. First I just love the Nordy big singles and as right now they're my favorite pickups. I feel the Ibanez preamp compliments them well too. What differences are you hearing or feeling with the Audere, Aguilar and so on?

My thing with the Audere has always been the active blending. Each pickup attaches to the preamp at a different place and the preamp sees them in stereo. The blend allows for a true 30/70 or 60/40 split which you can't really get with the passive blend control that you have on most other preamps.

 

[Rob112]

I'm curious as to what the results you guys are having from changing out the preamp. First I just love the Nordy big singles and as right now they're my favorite pickups. I feel the Ibanez preamp compliments them well too. What differences are you hearing or feeling with the Audere, Aguilar and so on?

I believe just like some Amos the different preamps can add a different…color or vibe to the sound that like different amps is subjective on the amount of difference and which is best. I am contemplating upgrading my preamps but kinda on the fence.

 

[fourstringbliss]

I believe just like some Amos the different preamps can add a different…color or vibe to the sound that like different amps is subjective on the amount of difference and which is best. I am contemplating upgrading my preamps but kinda on the fence.

I'd say only do it if you're actually going to use them often. My basses all have Audere preamp upgrades and I still find I leave the EQ flat and the pickup blend in the middle most of the time...

 

[21DaHoagie12]

I'm curious as to what the results you guys are having from changing out the preamp. First I just love the Nordy big singles and as right now they're my favorite pickups. I feel the Ibanez preamp compliments them well too. What differences are you hearing or feeling with the Audere, Aguilar and so on?

For me I was unhappy with how thin and sterile the bartolini mk1s sounded in my sr900 as well as the US Bartolinis in my sr1006. I wanted something to enhance the lows and mids and give more overall clarity and character to the tone. The Aguilar obp preamp swap have drastically improved the bartolini pickup tones. No more thin sterile tone, now the basses have a nice deep rich tone, and clarity all throughout the spectrum and I don't even have to touch the knobs, everything set flat and they still sound great. I would legitimately put the tone of my sr1006 with US Bartolinis and Aguilar OBP up against basses that cost as much as a used car.

 

[fourstringbliss]

For me I was unhappy with how thin and sterile the bartolini mk1s sounded in my sr900 as well as the US Bartolinis in my sr1006. I wanted something to enhance the lows and mids and give more overall clarity and character to the tone. The Aguilar obp preamp swap have drastically improved the bartolini pickup tones. No more thin sterile tone, now the basses have a nice deep rich tone, and clarity all throughout the spectrum and I don't even have to touch the knobs, everything set flat and they still sound great. I would legitimately put the tone of my sr1006 with US Bartolinis and Aguilar OBP up against basses that cost as much as a used car.

If I ever own another bass I'll probably give Aguilar a chance.

 

[BassGuyFL]

I'm ok for now but I have a Nordy 2 band and Nordy pickups in another bass and they sound great.

 

[Bartrinsic]

You could always mount it with clear mounting squares and not worry about the screws.

View attachment 4587480

I use this stuff to mount all of my wooden thumbrests. The truss rod cover has a door that swings open so just attach the mounting stuff, trim and attach.

Great idea--for a one piece cover, one could use hook-and-loop stick-ons. I hate tiny screws.

 

[mmbass21]

I appreciate the feedback. I have a Maruszczyk that I put a Delano preamp and pickups in and absolutely hate the tone. It's like there's a blanket over it if that makes sense. I've heard on YouTube the same pickups with different preamps and they sound so much better. I really like the depth and punchy mids that I get out of my SRs with the big singles and couldn't imagine it sounding better.

I had an SR755 from I think '07 with the mk1s and it was nice but like someone said earlier, kind of thin sounding.

 

[Basehead]

Tell us more about the Pope. I have a 755 (MK1) and 1405 (Nordy Big Splits) and considering new pre's for both. I'm usually an Audere guy but willing to wander off the path whether it be a Pope or any number of available replacements.

Riis

I really love the Flexcore with this bass. I can legitimately get any sound I want with this setup - low and thumpy to refined, crystal precise (remember, this is an Ibanez!). Being able to switch the MK5CBC's to single coil gives me some mix punching detail....LOVE IT!! Also, I boosted the output to match some of my higher output basses (Alleva, Fodera, Spector) so no more "polite" Bartolini sound. With the US Barts and Pope Flexcore, this bass can hang with the big boys....

 

[Basehead]

I'll add a note to what i wrote above based off of my experience. I do hear a quicker change of tone when sweeping to either direction from center detent on the blend knob. It seems to have a pretty drastic change when STARTING to isolate a pickup. I found that with the first 5% of blend you have to make some very fine adjustments when looking for a specific tone. This unlike any other preamp I'm using so it does take some getting used to. But after that, it's tone nirvana....

 

[Zooberwerx]

I'd say only do it if you're actually going to use them often. My basses all have Audere preamp upgrades and I still find I leave the EQ flat and the pickup blend in the middle most of the time...

I installed used Auderes on my Fernandes basses. As you described, I generally leave everything near-flat and allow the mixer to carry the load. If I can find another used pre on-the-cheap, I'll consider installing. As it stands, I'm hard-pressed to spend > $150 on an experiment..."60% of the money buys you 5% of the sound".

Riis

 

[Bartrinsic]

I appreciate the feedback. I have a Maruszczyk that I put a Delano preamp and pickups in and absolutely hate the tone. It's like there's a blanket over it if that makes sense. I've heard on YouTube the same pickups with different preamps and they sound so much better. I really like the depth and punchy mids that I get out of my SRs with the big singles and couldn't imagine it sounding better.

I had an SR755 from I think '07 with the mk1s and it was nice but like someone said earlier, kind of thin sounding.

Which Delano pups did you get? When I don't like the sound of pups with the preamp turned off, then I don't the sound of them with the preamp on either. You have to love your pups. In the Delano range I'm down to JSBC jazzbars and MCFE for pups I still really like, the jazz bars especially. Regular SBC bars are clearer than some humbuckers like MEC, but not as clear and more laid back than, say, Aguilar DCBs. You could switch to any Nordstrand pickup and a custom 3b preamp (Big blades, zen blades, big singles, big splits).

 

[mmbass21]

Which Delano pups did you get? When I don't like the sound of pups with the preamp turned off, then I don't the sound of them with the preamp on either. You have to love your pups. In the Delano range I'm down to JSBC jazzbars and MCFE for pups I still really like, the jazz bars especially. Regular SBC bars are clearer than some humbuckers like MEC, but not as clear and more laid back than, say, Aguilar DCBs. You could switch to any Nordstrand pickup and a custom 3b preamp (Big blades, zen blades, big singles, big splits).

The pickups are Xtender 5 D/HE M2 in the neck, Xtender 5 HE/S, and the preamp is the Delano Sonar 3MS/E. It sounds good in passive but there's no passive tone control and not having tweakability on the fly is a no go for me. Going with the Xtenders essentially locked me into the them due to their shape but I have seen custom nordy shells made to match. The 30th anniversary I just got is so good I'm not even going worry about it for now as I play my 4 bangers way more often these days.

 

[Bartrinsic]

The pickups are Xtender 5 D/HE M2 in the neck, Xtender 5 HE/S, and the preamp is the Delano Sonar 3MS/E. It sounds good in passive but there's no passive tone control and not having tweakability on the fly is a no go for me. Going with the Xtenders essentially locked me into the them due to their shape but I have seen custom nordy shells made to match. The 30th anniversary I just got is so good I'm not even going worry about it for now as I play my 4 bangers way more often these days.

I never liked the sonar-it hisses--Nordy 3b or pope or john east, I guess. Get a new preamp if that's what you need. I have a set of the oval Xtender's in a paddock. I agree they are not crystal clear. I have tap switches and they sound most transparent in single coil, with the 60 coil hum. I'm annoyed that the single coil mode won't hum cancel balanced, as most paired single coils do. I'm OK with the parallel humbucker mode mostly -- but both humbucking modes saturate the signal somewhat. The jazz bars were a pleasant surprise for me on a Jazzus--crystal, loud and silent. Love that new 30th ann. though--enjoy!

 

[Bassiclees]

I love the way my SR300 feels. The sound could use a little work. With the new pricing on SR's I think the 600 models with Nordstrands and obvi the Premiums are out of reach.
So, I'm thinking, keep the 300 and change the pre. The P/U's seem pretty good- double pole humbuckers, so thinking the $$ to get the Nordys might not be as significant as a pre.
Anyone here trick out a 300 series SR to their liking?

 

[Phlipper]

Interesting info on the after-market preamps for SRs. I have always thought I'd put in a different pre for my SRs, but playing an Aggie pre in an SR505e identical to mine with BH2s, I really didn't find it an improvement. The tone was 'different', but not 'better'. My older SRs with Mk1s might have been a different story. But the BH2s and stock pre work perfectly for me covering classic rock, country, pop, etc.

That said ... I pulled out my now-defretted SR400EQM this weekend and I was reminded why I actually like the Power Spans more than the BH2s. Weird.