New Gear

In the past couple of days, here's what I have boughten:

I started with one of these. It's the Audere (http://www.audereaudio.com) JZ3 onboard preamp for a Jazz bass.

http://audereaudio.com/images/JZ3-web.jpg

I also needed a new bridge, since my stock bridge lost a screw, and is a cheap piece of shit anyway. So I got me a Badass (http://www.leoquan.com):

http://www.leoquan.com/pictures/bass2/BABIIC.JPG

And because I'm putting this on a Mexi Jazz bass, I needed a new pickguard. I went with a white pearloid:

http://www.bassemporium.com/images_products/0992170000.jpg

I'm putting all this stuff into my cheap-ass Mexi Jazz. I've already replaced the stock pickups with Bartolini units, which are great.

Discuss my benevolence.

Mmmm yeah, baby.

Post pics when done.

sounds like a good alternative

Id only consider such replacement to get a good sound on a bass

I like my guitars like I like my women

Stock loaded and American.

(that made no sense)

Thats kinda what I did with my mim tele...I actually stripped that hideous factory finish off of it too, and had a friend of mine custom paint it. I also got upgraded fender pups and new pots and caps and a vintage style bridge...sounds 3x what it cost me

In the past couple of days, here's what I have boughten:

I started with one of these. It's the Audere (http://www.audereaudio.com) JZ3 onboard preamp for a Jazz bass.

http://audereaudio.com/images/JZ3-web.jpg

I also needed a new bridge, since my stock bridge lost a screw, and is a cheap piece of shit anyway. So I got me a Badass (http://www.leoquan.com):

http://www.leoquan.com/pictures/bass2/BABIIC.JPG

And because I'm putting this on a Mexi Jazz bass, I needed a new pickguard. I went with a white pearloid:

http://www.bassemporium.com/images_products/0992170000.jpg

I'm putting all this stuff into my cheap-ass Mexi Jazz. I've already replaced the stock pickups with Bartolini units, which are great.

Discuss my benevolence.

Nice pickguard.

I'm picking one of these up in a few hours from a guy on craigslist:
http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop_image/product/1180d9af4f666434321320b7a 6b0b599.jpg

Is that vintage or reissue?

I once scored a Deluxe Memory Man off ebay for $100, thinking it was the reissue. Dude sends it to me and it's vintage. SCORE

Wow thats a really good deal.

Not sure, I'll see when I meet with him.

Those frequency analyzers sound fucked up. I have an old Quadraverb with a ring mod on it, and never used it because it's so unmusical. The EH pedal sounds even more unmusical...I'm sure you'll love it. There's a time and a place for it.

Thats pretty much what I'm after. :lol:
I am a big fan of Devo and they used to use these.

So the preamp and the bridge arrived today. I put the bridge on. It wasn't slotted from the factory (cheaper that way) so I slotted it myself. It took a while to set up the action and intonation, but I can tell you that this $67 was well spent. HUGE difference in tone and sustain. I was blown away.

I don't have the pickguard yet, and my existing pickguard is a one-piece, so I need to wait to get the new one in to install the pre. Although I may get antsy.

So the preamp and the bridge arrived today. I put the bridge on. It wasn't slotted from the factory (cheaper that way) so I slotted it myself. It took a while to set up the action and intonation, but I can tell you that this $67 was well spent. HUGE difference in tone and sustain. I was blown away.

I don't have the pickguard yet, and my existing pickguard is a one-piece, so I need to wait to get the new one in to install the pre. Although I may get antsy.

What about the tone was what made you go, "yes!"?
More "oomph?"

More low end. More punch on the bridge pickup. The neck pickup still sounds kind of honky, but I'm hoping the preamp will fix some of that.

Before the bridge, the whole bass was quite honky in the low mids. I could never put my finger on it, but basically, I never had enough low end or high end. Too much muddy midrange to it, no matter what kind of amp or preamp I used.

I am still missing some high end, but again, the pre will probably fix that. But the biggest single difference is sustain - there was a noticeable change in how long notes remained audible, amplified or not. Even with the bass unplugged, there's quite a bit more volume to it now.

I'm going to mount the preamp today, sans pickguard. I want to know what it sounds like!



Now if I could only play bass :) I'm getting better, but it takes time.

Okay, the preamp is mounted, with no pickguard. The results:

Wow.

It's like playing someone else's bass. The Audere pre is a pretty cool unit - it is hyper-clean, and has a lot of control over the tone. I haven't found a bad tone yet. A couple of favorites:

In mid-Z mode, boost the mids 100%, leave bass and treble at center detent (50%). A very nice, warm, honky growl. Great for melodic lines. It retains enough thump to be bass, and enough treble to bite.

In low-Z mode, center everything, and use a pick. Instant rock/metal bass!

In high-Z mode, boost treble 100%, leave bass and mids centered. A great slapping tone. I was impressed, and proceeded to play some RHCP.

The Z-mode thing is a switch on the unit that lets you control the amount of impedance the pickups are loaded with. High-Z mode cuts the bass, mid-Z mode is default, and low-Z mode really brings out the bass notes. Pickups obviously change their tone when loaded with different amounts of impedance.

Normally, pickups are loaded with whatever impedance your tone/volume controls, your cable, and the front end of the amp you plug into provide. This preamp loads the pickups directly, amplifies it, and sends the output to the amplifier/input. Very sweet circuit.

I'll take a couple of shots of the bass once I get the new pickguard on it.

I am jealous. I will probably end up stealing your ideas when I upgrade my MIM jazz bass.

http://www.whitneyb.com/whitney/images/small_bass_front.jpg

http://www.whitneyb.com/whitney/images/small_bass_side.jpg