BassApprentice Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 Hi all I have a Squier P bass Special which has a P/J setup and I was just wondering if anyone would fancy recommending an upgrade in the preamp department. I have heard good things about East preamps but I am unsure which one I would need as there seems to be one for Jazz basses and one for P basses. Any advice would be greatly appreciated Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 [quote name='BassApprentice' timestamp='1327158882' post='1507192'] Hi all I have a Squier P bass Special which has a P/J setup and I was just wondering if anyone would fancy recommending an upgrade in the preamp department. I have heard good things about East preamps but I am unsure which one I would need as there seems to be one for Jazz basses and one for P basses. Any advice would be greatly appreciated Michael [/quote] Why? what are you wanting to achieve with the preamp? (and can you fit a battery in?) My suggestion.... buy a external preamp in a pedal. that way you have the same control but don't have to mod your bass (and can resell easier if it doesn't work out) Actually I think if I had the bass you do and some money I would go more the line of... high mass bridge (fitted one to same model and it brought the sound alive in a way I didn't expect it to) new pickups (wizard for value, nordstand if I had the money, EMG if I liked that kind of tone) and maybe tuners or nut if it needed one, prob not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 [quote name='BassApprentice' timestamp='1327158882' post='1507192'] Hi all I have a Squier P bass Special which has a P/J setup and I was just wondering if anyone would fancy recommending an upgrade in the preamp department. I have heard good things about East preamps but I am unsure which one I would need as there seems to be one for Jazz basses and one for P basses. Any advice would be greatly appreciated Michael [/quote] Be sure that you love the Squier before you start going down that route Michael, as preamp upgrades aren't generally cheap and fitting something like you have suggested will cost almost as much as the bass is worth... and it won't mean that the bass will be worth significantly more with it fitted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1327159803' post='1507213'] Why? what are you wanting to achieve with the preamp? (and can you fit a battery in?) My suggestion.... buy a external preamp in a pedal. that way you have the same control but don't have to mod your bass (and can resell easier if it doesn't work out) Actually I think if I had the bass you do and some money I would go more the line of... high mass bridge (fitted one to same model and it brought the sound alive in a way I didn't expect it to) new pickups (wizard for value, nordstand if I had the money, EMG if I liked that kind of tone) and maybe tuners or nut if it needed one, prob not. [/quote] [quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1327160491' post='1507228'] Be sure that you love the Squier before you start going down that route Michael, as preamp upgrades aren't generally cheap and fitting something like you have suggested will cost almost as much as the bass is worth... and it won't mean that the bass will be worth significantly more with it fitted! [/quote] Thanks guys for your help! The reason I was wanting to do this was to try something new. I've never upgraded something before but I can see where you are both coming from. I was kind of planning to do a minor overhaul on this bass, the bridge and the pickups were very near the top of that list but the preamp question was just to see what people more experienced than myself thought. The routing for a preamp would be a very big commitment. I might put the preamp idea on the backburner and focus on things that can be changed more easily for now Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1327159803' post='1507213'] ... high mass bridge (fitted one to same model and it brought the sound alive in a way I didn't expect it to) new pickups (wizard for value, nordstand if I had the money, EMG if I liked that kind of tone) and maybe tuners or nut if it needed one, prob not. [/quote] This, in spades. I'm a terminal fiddler these days, and that's what I'd do. Then there's different strings you can experiment with... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 [quote name='BassApprentice' timestamp='1327165972' post='1507344'] Thanks guys for your help! The reason I was wanting to do this was to try something new. I've never upgraded something before but I can see where you are both coming from. I was kind of planning to do a minor overhaul on this bass, the bridge and the pickups were very near the top of that list but the preamp question was just to see what people more experienced than myself thought. The routing for a preamp would be a very big commitment. I might put the preamp idea on the backburner and focus on things that can be changed more easily for now Cheers [/quote] or price of selling bass plus price or upgrades... is there anything secondhand at that price that wpuld do what you wanted better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted January 21, 2012 Author Share Posted January 21, 2012 [quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1327169737' post='1507418'] This, in spades. I'm a terminal fiddler these days, and that's what I'd do. Then there's different strings you can experiment with... [/quote] [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1327171833' post='1507454'] or price of selling bass plus price or upgrades... is there anything secondhand at that price that wpuld do what you wanted better [/quote] @ Muzz yeah from what I've read/heard switching to such bridges as the Badass II makes a huge difference to almost any P or J bass so that is definitely one of the first things that will be bought. @ LukeFRC Possibly, but I have my G&L that does everything an more This is definitely more of a learning experience for me of how to change pickups and setting up a bass with a new bridge etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted January 21, 2012 Share Posted January 21, 2012 (edited) [quote name='BassApprentice' timestamp='1327176838' post='1507550'] @ Muzz yeah from what I've read/heard switching to such bridges as the Badass II makes a huge difference to almost any P or J bass so that is definitely one of the first things that will be bought. @ LukeFRC Possibly, but I have my G&L that does everything an more This is definitely more of a learning experience for me of how to change pickups and setting up a bass with a new bridge etc. [/quote] ahh... in which case.... why not save a bit of money and build your own preamp? there is a schematic for a copy of the original music man 2 band which is supposed to sound nice Edited January 21, 2012 by LukeFRC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceH Posted January 22, 2012 Share Posted January 22, 2012 Definitely go pickups over pre-amp IMO. Changing the passive electronics set-up can also have a big effect on the sound and it tends to be cheap, as well as reversible. Switching all the pots from 250k to 500k will enhance the pickups' resonant peak (= more treble 'bite', very noticeably in my recent experience!). Adding capacitors in series with the volume will lower the frequency of this peak giving it a different character, while changing the tone pot capacitor will alter the range the tone control works over. You could even go a bit mad and try a varitone which allows switching between different capacitor values, with or without an inductor which allows quite complex filtering effects like scooped mids and giving a very broad tonal range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted January 23, 2012 Share Posted January 23, 2012 [quote name='BassApprentice' timestamp='1327158882' post='1507192'] Hi all I have a Squier P bass Special which has a P/J setup and I was just wondering if anyone would fancy recommending an upgrade in the preamp department. I have heard good things about East preamps but I am unsure which one I would need as there seems to be one for Jazz basses and one for P basses. Any advice would be greatly appreciated Michael [/quote] If you do go the pickup route, I'm selling a nice PJ set of pickups..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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