The Soundgear Club

[Ozzman500]

It's really really tight but doable. I had the East in there and switched to the Nordstrand. Outside of the active blend on the East I preferred the Nordstrand. With the East there is no room for switches also.

This is the preamp I put in my 5005

Nordstrand 3B-5b - PREWIRED – 3 band bass preamp with volume (pull passive), blend, tone, push pull frequency selector on mid, and treble/bass stack

East is undoubtedly more flexible and sounds great, but I found the Nordstrand easier to dial in a great tone quickly. Couldn't get a bad sound out of it really.

Can't go wrong with either.

I am quite interested in this discussion and reasons for the proposed change of preamp in a 5005 - mine is a 2017 year ( purchased new 2022) shop demo.,, Yes, i agree it is a little difficult to get a Great tone sometimes using this guitar, but she is awesome, why do you both propose a new Pre amp? My question is purely from an interest point of view where it may be worth my while to change too... i must say that no matter what, my Fender American standard always has a good tone - but is passive, and i get frustrated with the Sr5005 when trying to dial in to a tone that i want for a specific song.. what are your experiences?

 

[fourstringbliss]

Audere will not ship to Australia unfortunately, so I'm now looking at a Bartolini, Nordstrand or John East.
How tight is a tight fit with the John East?

My vote is always for Audere. I'll bet someone here would be willing to ship the preamp to you if you had Audere ship it to them in the States and then Paypalled them the shipping funds. I live just one state away from Oregon - just sayin'.

 

[fourstringbliss]

I am quite interested in this discussion and reasons for the proposed change of preamp in a 5005 - mine is a 2017 year ( purchased new 2022) shop demo.,, Yes, i agree it is a little difficult to get a Great tone sometimes using this guitar, but she is awesome, why do you both propose a new Pre amp? My question is purely from an interest point of view where it may be worth my while to change too... i must say that no matter what, my Fender American standard always has a good tone - but is passive, and i get frustrated with the Sr5005 when trying to dial in to a tone that i want for a specific song.. what are your experiences?

Is there a passive option on the 5005? If so, do you like the tone?

 

[PrimitiveMan]

I am quite interested in this discussion and reasons for the proposed change of preamp in a 5005 - mine is a 2017 year ( purchased new 2022) shop demo.,, Yes, i agree it is a little difficult to get a Great tone sometimes using this guitar, but she is awesome, why do you both propose a new Pre amp? My question is purely from an interest point of view where it may be worth my while to change too... i must say that no matter what, my Fender American standard always has a good tone - but is passive, and i get frustrated with the Sr5005 when trying to dial in to a tone that i want for a specific song.. what are your experiences?

Honestly didn't have a major issue with the original preamp. I mostly wanted a passive tone that worked in active mode (which both the East and Nordstrand have).

Sounds to me like you like the playability of the 5005 but not the sound. Have you tried one of the premium SR with Nordstrand pickups? It's a different flavor and they sound great in a different way

 

[Ozzman500]

Honestly didn't have a major issue with the original preamp. I mostly wanted a passive tone that worked in active mode (which both the East and Nordstrand have).

Sounds to me like you like the playability of the 5005 but not the sound. Have you tried one of the premium SR with Nordstrand pickups? It's a different flavor and they sound great in a different way

Thanks for your response, i did have an Sr1605 prior to my SR5005, the Nordstrands were great but the playability was not a touch on the 5005. I do have an active / passive toggle switch which i do use on the 50005. passive sound is great but active sound seems far too sensitive. However, if dialled in correctly can sound great too, but it is not that quick and simple to get a great tone when fiddling around. I find that very small tweaks to the bass and treble seems to be the trick though. I wondered if a different preamp would make a difference. I am happy with the Bartolini customs.

 

[Ozzman500]

Is there a passive option on the 5005? If so, do you like the tone?

Yea, the passive toggle switch is used quite often.. passive sound is great.

 

[PrimitiveMan]

Thanks for your response, i did have an Sr1605 prior to my SR5005, the Nordstrands were great but the playability was not a touch on the 5005. I do have an active / passive toggle switch which i do use on the 50005. passive sound is great but active sound seems far too sensitive. However, if dialled in correctly can sound great too, but it is not that quick and simple to get a great tone when fiddling around. I find that very small tweaks to the bass and treble seems to be the trick though. I wondered if a different preamp would make a difference. I am happy with the Bartolini customs.

If you like the passive sound then sounds like you just don't like the preamp. I'd go with the Nordstrand I mentioned earlier. One of the easiest to use preamps I've used.

 

[PrimitiveMan]

Also wanted to say I played mostly passive basses only until 2017. Then switched to active basses after 20 years of playing. Took me couple years to get used to how to use on board preamps well.

Just my experience

 

[fourstringbliss]

Yea, the passive toggle switch is used quite often.. passive sound is great.

Got it. Is there also a mid frequency switch?

I ask because you like the tone in passive mode but not active. I know I come off like an Audere fanboy but with the eq centered you get the passive tone of your bass. You could use the empty switch hole for the 3-way mid frequency switch on the Audere 3-band Classic.

Some people want a particular tone and some preamps have a signature sound (Aguilar). Audere preamps are totally transparent so perfect if you already like the passive sound.

 

[PrimitiveMan]

Got it. Is there also a mid frequency switch?

I ask because you like the tone in passive mode but not active. I know I come off like an Audere fanboy but with the eq centered you get the passive tone of your bass. You could use the empty switch hole for the 3-way mid frequency switch on the Audere 3-band Classic.

Some people want a particular tone and some preamps have a signature sound (Aguilar). Audere preamps are totally transparent so perfect if you already like the passive sound.

I'd say the same of the Nordstrand. The East has some color though (but it's so programmable you can change that by tweaking the board).

Never tried the Audere but would love to at some point.

 

[Ozzman500]

Got it. Is there also a mid frequency switch?

I ask because you like the tone in passive mode but not active. I know I come off like an Audere fanboy but with the eq centered you get the passive tone of your bass. You could use the empty switch hole for the 3-way mid frequency switch on the Audere 3-band Classic.

Some people want a particular tone and some preamps have a signature sound (Aguilar). Audere preamps are totally transparent so perfect if you already like the passive sound.

Thanks so much for this info - yes, there is a mids frequency switch - 3 way between 250 450 and 700hz. I must honestly say that i am working on what this all means. I have an sr500 which i really only played with the preamp set at zero for all..
When in active everything is very much magnified. - even a simple finger lifted

off of a string can be heard..

 

[fourstringbliss]

Thanks so much for this info - yes, there is a mids frequency switch - 3 way between 250 450 and 700hz. I must honestly say that i am working on what this all means. I have an sr500 which i really only played with the preamp set at zero for all..
When in active everything is very much magnified. - even a simple finger liftedView attachment 4788421 View attachment 4788422 off of a string can be heard..

I've never owned/played a bass with an Aguilar preamp so I can't speak to them. I've owned a few basses with Bartolini NTMB preamps. I've been using Audere preamps for more than ten years so I'm pretty familiar with them.

Some definite advantages to Audere preamps:

• They come prewired
• They're less expensive than other quality preamps like Bartolini and Aguilar
• They were designed to give you passive tone when the EQ's are set flat and don't introduce any distortion to your signal
• They don't boost your signal when EQ is set flat
• The pickups connect to the preamp in stereo, so the balance gives a true blend
• The volume control is active, so you can change your volume without the tone changing
• The pots are very small to fit into tight cavities, but are very high quality and smooth turning

 

[PrimitiveMan]

I've never owned/played a bass with an Aguilar preamp so I can't speak to them. I've owned a few basses with Bartolini NTMB preamps. I've been using Audere preamps for more than ten years so I'm pretty familiar with them.

Some definite advantages to Audere preamps:

• They come prewired
• They're less expensive than other quality preamps like Bartolini and Aguilar
• They were designed to give you passive tone when the EQ's are set flat and don't introduce any distortion to your signal
• They don't boost your signal when EQ is set flat
• The pickups connect to the preamp in stereo, so the balance gives a true blend
• The volume control is active, so you can change your volume without the tone changing
• The pots are very small to fit into tight cavities, but are very high quality and smooth turning

I wish the true blend thing was more common, that was my fav thing about the East preamp.

Have you ever used a Delano preamp? I've been curious about those too.

 

[fourstringbliss]

I wish the true blend thing was more common, that was my fav thing about the East preamp.

Have you ever used a Delano preamp? I've been curious about those too.

I've never used Delano, bit I hear good things.

 

[Outbush]

Honestly didn't have a major issue with the original preamp. I mostly wanted a passive tone that worked in active mode (which both the East and Nordstrand have).

Sounds to me like you like the playability of the 5005 but not the sound. Have you tried one of the premium SR with Nordstrand pickups? It's a different flavor and they sound great in a different way

The 5005 is the bees knees - worth considering fitting a set of passive Nordstrom's Big Splits or Big Blades as a powerful passive option.

 

[stingray69]

Have you ever used a Delano preamp? I've been curious about those too.

My .02 cents...

I had a Yamaha BB615 that the previous owner installed a Delano Sonar 3. I was highly impressed with it - had a strong output, but also retained the pickups natural voice (much like Audere). It definitely put them in my next consideration for a preamp if any of my stock Ibanez preamps should develop a problem. They use a small footprint much like Aguilar's OBP series. For most current Ibanez basses, this model seems like a perfect drop-in replacement with all the same features, including active/passive operation.

 

[PrimitiveMan]

My .02 cents...

I had a Yamaha BB615 that the previous owner installed a Delano Sonar 3. I was highly impressed with it - had a strong output, but also retained the pickups natural voice (much like Audere). It definitely put them in my next consideration for a preamp if any of my stock Ibanez preamps should develop a problem. They use a small footprint much like Aguilar's OBP series. For most current Ibanez basses, this model seems like a perfect drop-in replacement with all the same features, including active/passive operation.

Actually looking for that exact bass funnily enough (Yamaha BB 615). Either going to use the Nordstrand or try the Delano

 

[stingray69]

Actually looking for that exact bass funnily enough (Yamaha BB 615). Either going to use the Nordstrand or try the Delano

I haven't tried a Nordstrand or Delano until that Yamaha came along, but the Delano impressed me FWIW. The Delano worked very well with the stock pickups. To be clear, the Delano I tried did not have the 3-way mid selector option. One thing I do notice about Delano's preamp is that they are very reasonably priced as well.

 

[PrimitiveMan]

I haven't tried a Nordstrand or Delano until that Yamaha came along, but the Delano impressed me FWIW. The Delano worked very well with the stock pickups. To be clear, the Delano I tried did not have the 3-way mid selector option. One thing I do notice about Delano's preamp is that they are very reasonably priced as well.

Yeah if I went with the Delano I'd get the one where the mids are adjustable on the board itself, don't want to add a hole for a switch.

Thanks for sharing your experience

 

[PDW30]

Meanwhile at the shallow end ...
Just picked up an SR300-type Ibby with only passive electronics and PJ pickups; seller says it's a 1994 model. I really like the variation of tone I can get from the 2V/1T controls.
Anyone else loving this model?