bassatnight Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 (edited) Folks, I have just purchased a rather lovely 5 string OLP of the Bay. I will be looking at upgrading it to as close a SR tone as possible, any suggestions? Had a quick look at You Tube and found quite a few upgradaded one that caught my ear had Nordstrands and a pre-amp and frankly the sounded damn close to the real Mcoy. Suggestions welcome! Edited September 28, 2011 by bassatnight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrenleepoole Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 (edited) You can see some mods I did to an OLP on this video: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8BbAfWhd8c[/media] Basically a Basslines pickup upgrade and Audere pre. Not too close, but not too shabby either! Full details are on the Youtube page info section. Please ignore playing Edited September 28, 2011 by derrenleepoole Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Pick-up and Pre-amp mods are a must. I wouldn't aim directly for the 'Ray sound. A 3-band pre with a mid sweep and series/parallel/(?)single coil(?) switching would give you a lot of nice options without deviating too much from what you're looking for. Also, the bridge (depending on what yours is like!) tuners and nut if you're really going for it. I own a nice OLP MM3. Haven't got round to doing much with it. Certain German basses keep interfering... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkstrike Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 (edited) The East MM pre-amp gets a lot of love, and it is a sweet pre, I have one in a custom bass with a Nordstrand MM pickup, but I'm probably gonna change it to a Glockenklang. I put a Basslines MM pre in a SX Stingray clone, along with a Basslines ceramic pickup, and that sounds great. If you don't mind drilling a hole in the pickguard/control plate, I'd definitely recommend a series/single/parallel switch, they're the dog's bits. [quote name='derrenleepoole' timestamp='1317214328' post='1388140'] Basically a Basslines pickup upgrade and Audere pre. Not too close, but not too shabby either! Full details are on the Youtube page info section. Please ignore playing [/quote] Which Audere do you have in there? The only one I could find without the switch was one with a blend knob, or do you have the switch inside the cavity unused? Sounds mighty! Edited September 28, 2011 by Darkstrike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 [quote name='Darkstrike' timestamp='1317235045' post='1388547']The East MM pre-amp gets a lot of love, and it is a sweet pre, I have one in a custom bass with a Nordstrand MM pickup, but I'm probably gonna change it to a Glockenklang. I put a Basslines MM pre in a SX Stingray clone, along with a Basslines ceramic pickup, and that sounds great. If you don't mind drilling a hole in the pickguard/control plate, I'd definitely recommend a series/single/parallel switch, they're the dog's bits. Which Audere do you have in there? The only one I could find without the switch was one with a blend knob, or do you have the switch inside the cavity unused? Sounds mighty![/quote] If you want to get rid off your John East MMSR preamp, I will be looking for one in a month or two (I'm looking for a 3-knob version, 'though) Re: mods... Pickups, both Nordstrand and Seymour Duncan Basslines work. I prefer the Basslines personally. I have both the Nordstrand MM4.2 and the Basslines SMB4A, and I prefer the latter. But both are good. Preamp-wise, I am a bit fan of the John East MMSR preamp. Classic Stingray 2EQ goodness plus a midsweep. I have the Seymour Duncan preamp too, in an OLP (paired to a SMB4A) and it's a mighty mighty combination too. Less "classic" 'ray, but still there. Very cool preamp. I do have a SMB5A that I'm possibly going to sell, in case you decide to go down that route feel free to PM me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkstrike Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1317236184' post='1388556'] If you want to get rid off your John East MMSR preamp, I will be looking for one in a month or two (I'm looking for a 3-knob version, 'though)[/quote] The one I have is a 3knob-3band, if I do end up changing it out, I'll probably just put it in another bass though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 [quote name='Darkstrike' timestamp='1317237273' post='1388576'] The one I have is a 3knob-3band, if I do end up changing it out, I'll probably just put it in another bass though.[/quote] very wise, great preamps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon1964 Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 Another recommendation for the John East pre-amp from me. Very very good piece of kit. You get the classic 'ray tone but with extra versatility in the mids. The Nordstrand pickup is another good recommendation. I A/B'd my Stingray (with original pickup) against one fitted with the Nordstrand at the Nottingham bass bash a couple of years back, and it was impossible to tell the difference - to my ears at least! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkstrike Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 (edited) [quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1317247128' post='1388748'] very wise, great preamps [/quote] They are indeed, I just want something a little more modern/edgy on the Gadow, the MMSR is just a bit dark for me. Edited September 28, 2011 by Darkstrike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted September 28, 2011 Share Posted September 28, 2011 on a unrelated matter - nice fish-eye work there Derren; I really like the look (and sound) of that video. Back to business. Can't speak for the MM stuff that John East does, but if they're anywhere near as good as the Jazz ones then you won't be disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrenleepoole Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 [quote name='Darkstrike' timestamp='1317235045' post='1388547'] The East MM pre-amp gets a lot of love, and it is a sweet pre, I have one in a custom bass with a Nordstrand MM pickup, but I'm probably gonna change it to a Glockenklang. I put a Basslines MM pre in a SX Stingray clone, along with a Basslines ceramic pickup, and that sounds great. If you don't mind drilling a hole in the pickguard/control plate, I'd definitely recommend a series/single/parallel switch, they're the dog's bits. Which Audere do you have in there? The only one I could find without the switch was one with a blend knob, or do you have the switch inside the cavity unused? Sounds mighty! [/quote] The Audere pre was the Classic 4B. http://www.audereaudio.com/Classic4B.htm I loved this bass, but the move to short scale meant all of it went. Shouldn't of done really, but never mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derrenleepoole Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 [quote name='Darkstrike' timestamp='1317235045' post='1388547'] The East MM pre-amp gets a lot of love, and it is a sweet pre, I have one in a custom bass with a Nordstrand MM pickup, but I'm probably gonna change it to a Glockenklang. I put a Basslines MM pre in a SX Stingray clone, along with a Basslines ceramic pickup, and that sounds great. If you don't mind drilling a hole in the pickguard/control plate, I'd definitely recommend a series/single/parallel switch, they're the dog's bits. Which Audere do you have in there? The only one I could find without the switch was one with a blend knob, or do you have the switch inside the cavity unused? Sounds mighty! [/quote] The Audere pre was the Classic 4B. http://www.audereaudio.com/Classic4B.htm I loved this bass, but the move to short scale meant all of it went. Shouldn't of done really, but never mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkstrike Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Shame, it sounded brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beer of the Bass Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 If you're up for a bit of soldering, the original pre-EB 2 band preamp is quite a simple circuit. There's just one opamp and a handful of other bits, so it'd be easy enough to assemble one on perfboard, or there was a guy on Talkbass with a batch of PCBs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassatnight Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 Cheers guy's a lot of good info for me to go on. I'll post up some pics when she arrives. I don't mind a wee bit of soldering but really want to make a good job of it. Anyone experienced in the Cambridgeshire area ;o) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owen Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 I have a Seymour Duncan MM5 replacement that I could flog you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
janmaat Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 I got a pre-eb preamp replica from [url="http://basschat.co.uk/user/305-higgie/"]Higgie[/url] here from BC, which i got it squeezed in with the battery without having to extend the cavity. Mid-term I'll be chiseling a battery compartment (from the back) in though. Truth is that this or a similar mod is a must for any OLP imo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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