Thoughts on the Audere Preamp?

Probably my least favorite preamp. People call it un-colored but to me it's one of the most "active" sounding pres out there. I preferred the retro.

 

Audere's do not have output gain trims which is one reason I swapped both of mine for Bart preamps. I like the sound of the Barts a little better too. Has a little more punch and 'air' to the sound.

 

The Audere is my fav preamp. It is quite neutral in the central indent setting but has a really useable range for the EQ. Plus you can have different capacitors wired in so all in all it's an excellent pre.

Davo

 

I have this preamp on my 92 Mex J bass and it's fantastic. Super upgrade made a great player into a real versatile instrument.

 

Another Audere user here. I've had a JZ3 in my '06 MIA Jazz V for 3 1/2 years now, I think. That paired with a pair of Quarter Pounders made that bass come alive, and it's my go-to bass.

5sg.

 

Another very happy Audere user. JZ-5 replaced the original preamp in a 2001 Fender American Deluxe Jazz. I also changed the pickups to Dimarzio Area J's. I would agree with the comment that it is very neutral sounding in the center position. A great upgrade IMO.

 

The Audere preamps are flat out incredible! I've transformed several of my Pedullas (Thunderbolts and Thunderbasses) using these preamps, and the results have been nothing short of stellar. With everything set flat, they are damn close to being transparent (using the bypass switch you can toggle back and forth between bypassing and comparing that to the preamp with everything flat).

The frequencies are very musical and the boost/cut is not so extreme that you need to be careful without adding or subtracting too much with a slight twist - you have a lot of control over your EQ: lows, low-mids, high-mids, and treble, and the boost/cut allows you to get very precise with how much you want to add or subtract.

The only pre I can currently compare it to is an Aggie OP-3. The aggie is very nice, but I hate the bass boost/cut - WAY too sensitive, and the mids on the aggie seem to be too subtle - don't get me wrong, I do like the aggie in my Rapture (using it with Delano pickups: 3-pickup config: 2 JMVC5 FE and a single SBC5 HE/S between them).

I think Audere has a 10-day trial period, but double-check to be sure.

 

I tried one for a while, and I found the sound to be pleasant, but compared to the Bart preamps I use now, it sounded less punchy and more 'polite', if that makes sense. Maybe it's less midrange? It's so hard to describe these sounds accurately. Also I found the output level to be very low, even running it at 18 volts. Certainly not a bad product, just not at the top of my list.

 

I have a four-band Pro Z installed in my new custom fretless 5string.

The two midrange EQ points seem to work quite well, at least for fretless - adding the lower mid brings out a nice full growl, while adding the upper mid gets you easily into the Jaco/Pino territory. The bass control seems to be more subtle than those on my Bart, Sadowsky and Aggie pre's.

Related to that, the Audere preamp is probably the most subtle overall of those listed above (on the Pro Z, "bypass" is equivalent to everything set in flat position and the Z switch set to mid).

The Z switch adds a bit of extra personality to the tone of the preamp - with the switch set to "Low" (third position) the bottom end becomes absolutely massive without actually boosting the bass control. I'd describe it as adding lots of low end fundamental, all the way down the curve, vs. simply boosting a fixed bass frequency. Some nifty tonal options for sure.

So I'd say it's worked out great for my fretless application. But, with so much interest in "neutral" sounding equipment these days I do think it's important to make sure the "flava" is coming from somewhere, so if you're using uncolored amplication this might not give you the most flexibility.

Lonnybass

 

I've had several Audere's in jazz basses. I didn't find them out to be very low output at all. In any case, just adjust the gain on your amp. I am planning to replace the Bart in my Lakland for an Audere Classic 3 band. True, I will miss the gain adjust feature but I've never had one on any other preamp so it's not a deal breaker.

 

+1 to DW, I've found that my Jazz has a much hotter output than any of my other basses. I suspect that also has to do with pickups though... I know the Quarter Pounders are pretty hot. Combined with the high output of my B7K, I've played gigs where I've had to switch to the DI on the back of my amp because my signal was too hot for the board.

As far as preamp personality, I have a Bart NTMB 5.4 (with Aero pickups) in my Stambaugh and it seems quite tame when compared to my Jazz setup. The Stambaugh is much more polite and the Jazz has a ton more attitude, growl and punch. I still think that has a lot to do with the pickups though...

5sg.

 

if youre careful and the pre you want to use is a small module, you can often cram everything in there. you might consider widening the cavity with a dremel. theres a lot more room that can be made and still be covered by the plate. combine that with mini pots, something like some bourns stack pots, tight wiring, you can fit a lot in there. in my old squier affinity 5, i was able to fit the board of a stingray 2 band preamp, stack volume, and the bass and treble controls on a standard plate with the top mount jack and fit the battery in the cavity as well. that cavity was a little bigger than standard, but still covered by a normal jazz plate.

 

Have a Classic with capacitors wired for EMGs. Like the pre a lot. But not quite it for me. Maybe too versatile. But good preamp indeed. Probably will sell it once I find the right sound for me. Plan and simple.

 

I've got a variable Z jazz plate in my Warmoth build working with Lindy Fralin pickups and a variable z module in an Ibanez SR700 with U.S. Bart's in it. In both cases the Audere preamp is beautifully transparent and versatile. I leave the impedance switch at low Z and have never had call to move it. Very highly recommended!

 

I recently installed the audere jz3 preamp into my sx jazz bass...wow...very nice

 

I have an Audere on a Jazz with Nordstrand NJ4se pickups. It is a musical and powerful combination. I love the Z mode, and the EQ is very intuitive. It was also a very easy install.

 

I installed the Audre' "Classic" in my Deluxe P-Bass ( Vol.,Blend, Treb/bass, Mid ) along with a bill Lawrence P-Bass pick-up .... dead quiet, like the range of tone/color adjustment I can get, the only thing one needs to know, the kit doesn't have enough copper foil to do this particular bass 20150605_185701 by Jessica Stacey, on Flickr
20150821_185056 by Jessica Stacey, on Flickr