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Overly complicated preamp...


KingBollock
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I have this idea for a 3 band preamp. The Bass and Treble would be on one stacked knob. There'd be another stacked knob with Middle and a sweepable Middle Q thingumy. Then just separate volume and blend knobs and a passive/active switch (the switch would just be incase the battery died and because I think a switch would look nice and I don't like the idea of a push/pull on the higher knobs incase it got knocked accidentally).

So, is this doable? I am fairly certain I'd have to get a proper battery box fitted instead of it sharing the control cavity as it currently does. Would it be worth having a double battery box fitted that I could have with a series/parallel switch, for either doubling the voltage or making it last twice as long?

Even if it wouldn't be possible to do from scratch, are there preamps out there that have the different parts that could be incorporated into this one unit? This is assuming there isn't already such a thing in existence, I haven't been able to find one.

It's just an idea I have had floating around in the mush I jokingly call my brain and wondered if I should let it just dribble out of my ear along with the important stuff that I am actually supposed to think about.

Edited by KingBollock
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have you just described the East U retro?

or are you wanting to build something yourself? there was a load of guy on talkbass who designed a modular pickup- think it was vairable Z preamp, active blend, bass treble and mid sweep, and probably a few other options. TB11 http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f38/tb11-preamp-project-669517/

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Thanks guys. I hadn't actually looked at the John East stuff and for the stupidest reason... The word retro. I hadn't figured it might mean retrofit as opposed to old or old fashioned.

The idea for the twin switched batteries was in case I ended up with a preamp that could run at either 9v or 18v for extra boost. Being able to switch to parallel allows both batteries to drain at the same rate while still producing 9v.

Do those preamps come up often secondhand? I'd be after a black set, though not right now and not for a long time yet. My only worry now is that that circuit board looks like it's meant to fit a Bass with a scratch plate and the knobs in a row, which isn't the case for me, I need to find out its dimensions.

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[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1371039940' post='2108952']

The idea for the twin switched batteries was in case I ended up with a preamp that could run at either 9v or 18v for extra boost. Being able to switch to parallel allows both batteries to drain at the same rate while still producing
[/quote]

It's not really a good idea to simply put two batteries in parallel . Two batteries won't be exactly the same and the extra circuitry required to get proper current sharing isn't worth the bother.

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[quote name='MarkBassChat' timestamp='1371226491' post='2111465']
Switching from 9V to 18V does not provide any extra boost. It provides only some more headroom which is not the same as extra boost. So switching from 9V to 18V does not make much difference/sense. Mark
[/quote]

This. 18v means you just get clearer peaks...i.e. more headroom, not more boost. So think of it as more hi-fi if you like. Not more powerful.

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