Which Preamp Option?

[DrThumpenstein]

I’m seriously thinking about converting my Aerodyne to active. My other basses are active, and I have to do a lot of tweaking of my amp to get what I want when I switch from one of my actives to my Aerodyne. That, and I just really dig the ability to have a wider tonal pallet on board. I upgraded to EMG Geezers long ago and plan to keep them in the bass. I think I can probably squeeze a little bit more mids with an onboard preamp, and want to be able to boost the signal enough that it keeps up with its stablemates.

I have seen on the Aerodyne thread that the Audere classic preamp fits in the control cavity without modification. I have also read good things as far as the tones available through this preamp. Of the options available, for a three-pot configuration, I’m interested in the four band versus the three band with mid frequency sweep. I’m seeking opinions about which might ultimately be more gratifying. My current actives are 3-bands.

 

[DrThumpenstein]

I did a little dive on the Audere site and found that the mid bands on the 4-band are centered at 250 and 750 Hz. I plugged the Dyne into my WD and played around with cutting and boosting at those frequencies and I think I can get what I want. BUT: if I had a frequency I tend to get the most out of boosting or cutting, I’d pick even higher mids, ~1200 Hz. What I couldn’t find on that site is how high the sweep let’s you go for the sweepable mids. If it lets you go to 1200, that would probably sway me to that option. If it only goes to 750, I’d go with the 4-band to have more adjustability.

Any experience/advice appreciated!

 

[eastcoasteddie]

I just read the Audere Classic descriptions. I read that it has a 3-band with mid frequency SWITCH, not Sweep.
The switch is 3-position to choose Frequency (750, 500, 250 Hz).

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You’d have to drill a 1/4” hole for the switch.
The 3-band has a 500Hz cut/boost, the 4-band has 750Hz and 250Hz cut/boost. You’d have to decide which frequencies you’d like to boost or cut. If your amp has a graphic eq, you can choose those specifically and play around with those three and see which preamp would suit you best

 

[DrThumpenstein]

I just read the Audere Classic descriptions. I read that it has a 3-band with mid frequency SWITCH, not Sweep.
The switch is 3-position to choose Frequency (750, 500, 250 Hz).

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

You’d have to drill a 1/4” hole for the switch.
The 3-band has a 500Hz cut/boost, the 4-band has 750Hz and 250Hz cut/boost. You’d have to decide which frequencies you’d like to boost or cut. If your amp has a graphic eq, you can choose those specifically and play around with those three and see which preamp would suit you best

Thanks! I pulled the trigger on the four-band last night. I can’t see a point in having just three bands if it’s not sweepable to the ideal frequency for me, and the difference in cost is only about four bucks between those. Plus, as you mentioned, I’d have to drill the body for the switchable 3-band, which I’d prefer not to do. And I’d rather have 250 and 750 available than just a single mid at 500.

Thanks for your help! I’m hoping it turns one of my best playing basses into one of my best sounding basses.

 

[iiipopes]

I have used EMG preamps with active treble, bass, and mid with sweep for years: quiet (-100dB), reliable, my sound man appreciates the characteristics making it easier to slot the mix, four selectable treble contours via dip switches, different models for your choice of balance controls to interface passive pickups with solder pads, EMG actives, and the newer EMG X actives, which also work with regular EMG active pickups, and both have quick-connect.

 

[DrThumpenstein]

Thanks for the help on this short but sweet thread. I really appreciate the insight and I pulled the trigger with some confidence based on this and the Aerodyne thread. I found a luthier who has great experience who’s offered to install the preamp and shield the cavities for $50. Sounds like almost too good of a deal, although I’m sure someone experienced could do it in a half hour, so we’ll see.