shemeckfrac

I am replacing the circuitry and pre-amp on my early Sabre with John East MMSR 3-EQ preamp. As it turns out my current Phase switch is a 6-pin toggle but in order to go back to original MM Sabre topology I need a 9-pin toggle (see attached), which appears to be impossible to source ! Any suggestion who may possibly supply this type of switch? Any other ideas how to solve this problem?

On my Hercules GS405B the locking mechanism (the sliding ring) on the base fork broke (got permanently stuck) few months after I bought it so I can't properly fold it anymore !!! The stand looked reliable, but looks are deceiving !!!

Overall great, highly entertaining and educational show. The clinics and the live shows really top notch. John East was very helpful and friendly, great, down to earth chap ! Can't say the same about the CEO of Aquilar. At first I thought he was just an unmotivated sales/marketing rep not interested in selling you anything nor knowing mutch about the product (latter I realized I was talking to the CEO after I saw his pic in the brochure) The confusion about whether it was allowed to make noise or not was annoying. Most vendors very allowing people to crank up any time, other said they were not allowed by the landlord (only at the top of the hour or something like that). Stupid thing was then even 1hr before the end of everything they were still paranoid.

Another quick question; when the MMSR is in the passive mode, do the Treble and Bass controls still function or the signal bypasses the pre-amp completely ?

Found the example of the MM Sabre 3EQ version (attached), but instead of the SWITCHES on my bass (resembling the earlier 2EQ version (attached)), that one has the LEVER that enables all combination of pickup/coil selection. So ...., my Sabre looks like a transition version from 2EQ to 3EQ where the Mid control was added but switches have not yet been replaced by the lever. Am I making any sense?

Going back to the allocation of switches couple good options emerged thanks to the basschaters' feedback. Still having tough time to decide, mainly because I don't really know what the end effect will be. One option suggested was as follows: sw 1: pickup selector (this one is a must) sw 2: parallel/series (bridge pickup) sw 3: parallel/series (neck pickup) This option explores pickups capability. Anyone can tell me if parallel/series switching is worth doing? Never played around with parallel/series configurations so don't know if that option adds any practical value. Second possible option would be: sw 1: pickup selector (this one is a must) sw 2: BRIGHT (there is a contact for this in MMSR preamp) sw 3: passive/active (could potentially be useful if your battery goes all the sudden) This option leverages the build-in pre-amp capabilities. I'm sure there are other ones. Feel free to suggest some. Would like to hear some pros and cons

Ahpook & BassBod All very good and useful tips and answers. Much appreciated.

I am seriously considering replacement of my original pre-amp on my early Music Man Sabre with John East MMSR 4-knobs 3-band for genuine reasons (some issues/features with the original, won't go into details). The controls on the bass appear have been modified at some point because it has 4-knobs, which no one hear of on early Sabres (see couple of photos on under shemeckfrac): [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=38766&hl=shemeckfrac"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...;hl=shemeckfrac[/url] or [url="https://picasaweb.google.com/shemeckfrac/BassGear?authkey=Gv1sRgCOzgrrjRreOr9QE&feat=directlink"]https://picasaweb.google.com/shemeckfrac/Ba...feat=directlink[/url] I believe the existing pre-amp is original MM (perhaps someone can advise on that one. Posted some pics of the guts & pre-amp here) [url="https://picasaweb.google.com/shemeckfrac/BassGear?authkey=Gv1sRgCOzgrrjRreOr9QE&feat=directlink"]https://picasaweb.google.com/shemeckfrac/Ba...feat=directlink[/url] Although I would love to simplify the controls it appears that I'm constrained by the plate (???) and the bottom cable entry. Sabre plates with bottom cable entry seem to be rare (???). So looks like 4-knobs (and 3 switches) has to be, because whatever I buy needs to go into the existing plate. I read all threats on John East pre-amps so I'm confident it's the right one for me. What I would like to know fellow basschaters is the following: - Can I still have a Pickup Selector switch with the MMSR 4-knobs 3-band ? - What could I use the other 2 switches (or holes in my plate) for? An Active/Passive switch would be handy, does the MMSR 4-knobs 3-band support it? - Ignoring the previous two lines above; what would be the optimal content of my control plate (remember there are 4 knob and 3 switch holes to fill)?

Great guy, pleasure to do business with. Reliable and sensible. Snatched his 5-string Spector NS2000 last night for an incredibly reasonable price.

Please feel free to provide your feedback

Ahpook, thanks for the tip. As for the battery (Higgie), the distortion (luckily present only under certain settings) is consistent regarding the status of the battery.

[quote name='BassBod' post='1152194' date='Mar 7 2011, 09:17 AM']For potential replacement I'd talk to John East (East UK). May be worth replacing the control plate and losing some of the switches? A friend has one of these and I've never worked out all the possible sounds..or ever been certain what they all did![/quote] I seem to have the exactly same problem as your friend! Can't really work out all the possibilities, worse takes some effort to go back to the known settings (e.g. after your child gets the hold of the knobs). On the other hand there are some interesting distortion/saturation effects you can achieve (I am not sure if that's malfunction or a feature). Anyway, my question to you is: does your friend has exactly the same bass with exactly these controls ? If so it could mean my Sabre was never altered and everything is original (which I'm trying to determine).

Now, that is a very good question. Like I said I did not find the diagram that matches my Sabre. I believe are as follows: 1st 3-way switch (black head) - pickup(s) selector 2nd 3-way switch -[b] not sure[/b] (one Sabre schematic it shows 2-way switch for Phase) 2nd 3-way switch - [b]not sure[/b] (one Sabre schematic it shows 2-way switch for Brightness) Knob 1 - Master Volume Knob 2 - [b]Not sure[/b]. It does some type of switching in 3 stages (its like a 3-stage boost of some sort) Knob 3 - Bass Knob 4 - Treble The only schematic for Sabre I could find is the one attached, but it's definitely different from mine.

I was wondering if anyone would have any suggestions for a replacement pre-amp on my Music Man Sabre (aka late 70's). The current 4 controls circuit topology does not appear to be original because I did not find any electrical wiring or photos of a Sabre with (4 knobs & 3 switches). If there was such model issued by Music Man please let me know. Although the bass plays great and the tone is amazing I'm a bit frustrated with effort of fiddling with the controls to set the tone I'm looking for. Also there are minor issues with noise, picking up the radio waves and draining the battery very fast. I'm contemplating replacing the existing pre-amp with the Aguilar OBP-2 (vol,vol, bass, treble config), but I don't want to compromise the characteristics of the Sabre vintage sound that I really love. In other words, I don't want to turn it into some other bass. I am looking for suggestions as to what pre-amp would be ideal for my Music Man Sabre. (more pics here: [url="https://picasaweb.google.com/shemeckfrac/BassGear?authkey=Gv1sRgCOzgrrjRreOr9QE&feat=directlink"]https://picasaweb.google.com/shemeckfrac/Ba...feat=directlink[/url]

OK, mine ain't the Stingray but the Sabre (aka late 70's) with the finish very similar to Simon's Stingray, so I'd thought I'd post some photos here. Never seen this configuration (it's got an extra knob) and can't find schematic for it on the web (perhaps someone can help), therefore I think it has been modified at some point. Plays great and it's got a great tone. Contemplating replacement of the existing pre-amp for Aguilar OBP-2 pre-amp (not 100% happy with the current one), but worried about loosing its Sabreness in the process. Does anybody have any thoughts about this combination (MM Sabre/OBP-2)? Full set of pics under the following link: [url="https://picasaweb.google.com/shemeckfrac/BassGear?authkey=Gv1sRgCOzgrrjRreOr9QE&feat=directlink"]https://picasaweb.google.com/shemeckfrac/Ba...feat=directlink[/url] Couple shots attached:

Thinking of unloading some EB Bongos ?