Davebassics Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannybuoy Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted May 25, 2014 Share Posted May 25, 2014 Sterling Ball wasn't the first to use a preamp...Burns used active pickups in their basses in the 60's. Thanks for sharing though, I might learn a little more about bass related electronics through your generosity. I'm curious about attenuation, so many preamps have two sockets but companies like Avalon make DI's which only need one. How does Avalon achieve something that other manufacturers over look? Is it a cost thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davebassics Posted May 25, 2014 Author Share Posted May 25, 2014 [quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1401006528' post='2458906'] Sterling Ball wasn't the first to use a preamp...Burns used active pickups in their basses in the 60's. Thanks for sharing though, I might learn a little more about bass related electronics through your generosity. I'm curious about attenuation, so many preamps have two sockets but companies like Avalon make DI's which only need one. How does Avalon achieve something that other manufacturers over look? Is it a cost thing? [/quote] Fair enough regarding the sterling ball (mis)fact. Research was a bit out! I cant speak from a commercial point of view but if I had to guess it is a marketing thing. If there are 2 sockets on the front it could be seen as an extra feature.Almost all preamps are designed to have enough headroom for active and passive basses so it can handle either. Depending on how active circuitry is design, it may well have a lower output impedance than a passive bass but this shouldn't matter as most preamp inputs have an impedance of around 1M and in some cases 10M. This is enough to bridge either active or passive signals. Input caps will protect against and rogue DC offset from a active bass. Personally I don't see the need for 2 inputs. If you are switching between active and passive basses then a pad switch may help level matching (but that said, 2 inputs does the same job and may workout cheaper!). Hope this answers your question! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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