Davebassics

Hi there. Before I begin, I hope this post is appropriate. I guess it falls under "technical". I'd like to share with you my bass preamp designs from a few years back. My life has changed direction in recent months and I have decided to call it time on my DIY bass preamp project. It has now been actively going for 3 years! The following link has all of my research, designs, schematics, build notes, tests and conclusions. I'd really love it if anyone used my foundations for future development or inspiration. All I ask is you keep me updated on your progress. [url="http://audiodomain.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/bass-guitar-preamp-design.html"]http://audiodomain.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/bass-guitar-preamp-design.html[/url] The document on this page is part of my dissertation from 2012. It is a great resource for those looking to learn audio electronics, especially bassists. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it (cliche!) Dave

Never heard of anything like this before. Sounds like faulty electronics in your bass to me. Because the volume comes back within a specific time of the pop, I would say the component at fault could be something with a time constant. Most likely a capacitor. If for example there is a loose wire as suggested by Dad3353, then it could short a capacitor and discharge it. Depending on where the cap is and what its doing this may cause a drop in volume until it is recharged. When the volume comes back, does it come back all at once or does it fade back in? As I said, I've never seen this before and I have no evidence that my theory is correct, its just an initial hunch!

Does the blown transformer have any sort of part number on it so you can look up the specs?

External Preamp?

You could decrease the size of the cap. Try a 0.047uF or even a 0.022uF. Otherwise, your logic seems good to me!

Does your 500W get hotter/Drive the fans more? Anything that isn't converted to compressed/decompressed air is wasted wattage.

Volume controls are logarithmic so the first steps have a much greater affect on "Volume" than the later steps. I guess that would mean in the initial stages of 2 different amplifiers, both are closer than they would be towards the end of the taper. The taper on the pot and the efficiency of the amp can also be a factor on the signal leaving the amplifier. Another thing to consider is your definition of "Volume". I think your referring to "perceived loudness" which is a whole other ball game. But yes I agree, you wouldn't expect 2 amplifiers by the same manufacturer to sound the same given the identical settings and different wattage.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1399737804' post='2447189'] that looks interesting... interesting enough that I clicked on your blog.... and then went to the most recent post.... now you seem to be making something in a rack case... and after going back through 3-4 pages of blog posts you haven't said what it is! Thought it would be easier to ask rather than keep going back through the blog.... What is it? [/quote] Yes its a GSSL compressor, SSL Mix bus clone. It went into operation before I managed to do the final blog post. It's been on my list of things to borrow it back and finish the blog for about 18 months! Poor show I know! Thanks for reading!

Thanks for the review! I'm learning drums and I'm keeping a keen eye on the relevant developments in hardware and software. I'm probably going to build a DIY electronic kit within the next year or two and this would be perfect. Looking forward to hearing more sound samples. Do you know how many kits are included in EZ2? Is it just analogue kits?

Don't worry your not the first! The lads at work are always switching my solder for wire.

Not porn but definitely DIY! My own bass preamp. It never left the prototype phase, mainly because it worked. More info [url="http://audiodomain.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/bit-of-tangent.html"]HERE[/url]

Would be useful when it comes to multi layered PCBs with annoying ground planes that suck the heat away. My experience with maplins soldering irons has been varied. I had one were the handle melted and another where the tips corroded within a week. My first soldering iron from maplins lasted me 4 years and costed £3.99. Those were the days!

[quote name='yepmop' timestamp='1338207833' post='1670763'] Yeah good read, especially as i'm doing something similar, how long did it take to strip the original paint off? [/quote] It took about 2 full days. If I could offer some advice it would be take your time around the edges. Looking back at my project, the outer edges could be a lot smoother. Not bad though. I'm going to tackle the electronics issues this week. Potentially get it looked at professionally if I still can't sort it.

I've been restoring my jazz bass over the past months and been blogging as I go. I'm glad to say, I'm almost done. Got a slight issue with the electronics but that will get sorted out after my holidays! You can check out the progress at my blog [url="http://allthatjazzbass.blogspot.co.uk/"]All That Jazz Bass[/url] New Specs:[list] [*]Vintage White [*]Sadowsky Preamp [*]Dimarzio Ultra Jazz Pickups [*]Precision Neck [*]Badass II Bridge [/list] I've attached the before and after photos! I've got 30 minutes left of my degree this morning then I'm straight off to sunny gran canaria for a holiday! See you all in a week!

Would like to pay my respects to the bassist who most influenced and shaped my blues bass playing. I remember looking at his bass in hard rock orlando, I was in awe. R.I.P Donald Duck Dunn

Great stuff, I'm following. I've really got into blogging. Power amps are way out of my domain, makes for great reading.

Will definitely be checking this out once I've moved house and jobs and finished Uni. Jazz bassist = Long term ambition.

You will need a screened balanced cable. So, XLR/TRS ect. I've got plenty of stuff knocking about if this interests you?

Just bought a Squier neck off Mark. Helped me all the way through, very knowledgable bloke. Don't hesitate to do business with Mark. Dave

Just sold some pickups and control plate to matt. Great to deal with, no problems. Please buy/sell with confidence.

Perfect world theoretical scenario: A active bass output should be around +4dBu line level, 9v is more than enough to give +12dBu output. A 18v preamp you could theoretically push +18dBu. This is regardless of the class operation of the preamp. Most input stages can handle a +24dBu input so this shouldn't be an issue.