Classic Bass Preamp - Preamp kit

Item number: 1812

Category: Web Projects


14,00 €

Final price incl. VAT, plus shipping (mitttel)

Not available now!


Description

This preamp upgrades a cheap MM Stingray copy to a (Nearly) soundalike original. The typical sound is not depending on the instrument itself, it is the used pickup/preamp combination.

This kit is designed as an upgrade kit for an exisitng bass. If you wan to use this Preamp as a pedal, you need additional 2 phone jacks and a DC-jack.

Here is the partslist: Partslist

Here´s the project: Andys website

Documentation: Installation Guide

Der typische Sound des Stingray beruht auf dem Zusammenwirken von Pickup und Preamp. Die scheinbar markante Überbetonung der Höhen beruht darauf, dass die Induktivität der Tonabnehmerwicklung Teil eines Reihenresonanzkreises ist. Dieser Resonanzkreis wird durch das Treble-Poti und den Wicklungswiderstand des Tonabnehmers bedämpft. Daher wirken sich (im Gegensatz zu anderen Preamps, bei denen der Tonabnehmer über einen Buffer eingekoppelt wird) diese Kenngrößen des Pickups auf die Funktion des Treblereglers aus.

MusicMan verwendet einen Tonabnehmer, der durch seine geringe Windungszahl eher im Bereich "Medium Output" anzusiedeln ist. Sein Gleichstromwiderstand beträgt pro Spule ca. 4kOhm, die Indunktivität ca. 1.5 mH. Durch Parallenschalten der Spulen sinken beide auf die Hälfte.

Bei voll aufgedretem Trebleregler wird der Strom nur noch durch den Innenwiderstand des Pickups begrenzt, daher ist bei hochohmigen Pickups ein verringerter Maximalboost zu erwarten, dies ist aber prinzipiell eher unkritisch, da man eigentlich genug Reserven hat.

Da hochohmige Pickups auch über eine höhere Induktivität verfügen, verschiebt sich bei diesen auch die Einsatzfrequenz nach unten, was durch Verringern des Kondensators teilweise ausgeglichen werden kann.

Natürlich kann man die Schaltung auch in ein externes Gehäuse auslagern (das machen ja viele), sie sollte dann nur unmittelbar an den Bass angeschlossen werden. Die Stellung dessen Volumepotis wirkt sich dann aber ebenfalls dämpfend aus.

Im Optimalfall wird die Schaltung daher in den Bass eingebaut, mehrere Pickups sind über einen Schalter (kein Balance-Poti) anzuschließen. Die Pickupposition sollte in etwa dem Original entsprechen.


Instrument: Guitar Bass
Effect-Type: Mod/Echo

Ratings (9)

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Total entries: 4
5 from 5 Very good preamp

used it for my self build MM-Body (with an Yamaha Neck),
in combination with a Bartolini MMC and a Series-Paralell switch.
Great sound (a bit tooo much bass, but i think i´ll change as suggested one elko), and with the switch even a versatile sound!
Before that i tried a EMG-preamp, also passive (V/V-T/T) and a combination with an G&L preamp.
nothing comes close to this one!

-> five stars!

., 05.12.2016
5 from 5 Worthwhile Addition

Thus is the 3rd time Ive purchased these preamps.

Easy to follow instructions , simple to install. Big difference in tone.

I recommend this kit to anyone looking for a low cost , but not low quality, entry into active bass.

., 13.04.2022
5 from 5 Great preamp that needs some adaptation

I ordered 2 of these kits, the first to replace the stock preamp on a SUB Sterling by Musicman Stingray (that has 2 ceramic humbucker pickups and is plagued by distortion when boosting the bass frequency) and the 2nd to turn my 30 year old passive BEAD tuned Boner Fender P-Bass into an instrument more suitable to my taste.
I havent done the mod on the SUB yet, but I just finished it on my Boner P. The change is spectacular!

First off, this bass is a PJ and features two lace sensors. I always found these pickups to sound a bit HIFI but they offer nearly no hum. The toggle switch lets me dial in: the P alone, P&J in parallel and P&J in series.
It takes a few hours to assemble the PCB and I followed the instructions thoroughly. I had a hard time to fit in everything: preamp and battery!! On the first try, it didnt work well, problems with contacts and a very low output. It appears that the connectors are dispensable in tight spaces and I opted for direct solder of the wires on the PCB. The volume pot is 25K and not suitable for passive pickups. I reused the stock 250K pot.
I reassembled the whole, crammed into the tight space and... voila! It works as advertised and gives a lot of depth and clarity to the sound in all configurations, while still retaining the color of the pickups. Finally a configuration that does them justice! I dropped the 2nd capacitor for C9, as the treble boost is just fine that way. Only thing missing on this particular bass is an active/passive switch because it is a pain to have to remove the pickguard and its 12 screws just to replace the battery and you just cant do it on the fly while gigging. As I cant replace the volume by a push/pull volume (battery is underneath), I have to find a stack 100K/1M pot (available at Freds Guitar but should be available here as well... wink!) to replace both bass/treble pots and add a push/pull passive tone knob (out of the circuit when active) and the mod will be over!

All in all, its a very good kit, but you need to know where youre going and what youre doing.

If I can I will add some more details when Im done with the SUB Ray.

., 27.05.2022
5 from 5 Nice upgrade for Sub Ray4

Soundwise its an improvement. More clarity.
Its a tight fit all toghether in the cavity, so make sure to cut some wires to a shorter length.

soundclip a/b test
https://on.soundcloud.com/oKzPq

(my sub ray4 has usa pickup of stingray)

., 23.09.2022
Total entries: 4

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