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IBANEZ PRE AMP QUESTION


WAYNESWORLD
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Hi folks

Anybody have any knowledge about the pre amps in and Ibanez srf805 fanfret .My experience is that the bass plays like a dream but feels like its been held back by the pre amp. I know the Bart pups are made under license and not that bright  with quite a low output but the eq feels very polite unless pushed to the extreme which then  just gets nasty.I have considered replacing the pre amp with a East uni. I have had several east configuration's in various basses and always been impressed, which I know sort of answers my own following question. Replace Pups or pre amp. Both is probably the goal but I would appreciate any input.

Thanks

 

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Hi there!

The consensus from us Ibby fanboys is that there is quite a step up in the quality of the pups between the Barts on the SR Standards and the Big Single Nords (which are just great) on the SR Premiums. 

There is no change in preamp between the different Ibby SR ranges. It's the Barts that are being too polite. If you can get hold of an Ibby SR Premium you'll immediately notice the difference.

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Thanks for that Al Krow. I know that Bart now do a H65 direct replacement for the odd shaped pups on my bass. Unfortunately the Nords are not a direct replacement so would need to check string spacing as the fan fret have angled pups .I know this is a stretch but any of the Ibby fanboys have put Bart singularity pups in there beloved SR's I would love to here there view. I have looked at the Nords and was thinking of having a word with a luthier mate of mine (Dougie Wilkes) to make some custom pup covers to compliment the overall aesthetics and give me more options on pup choice.

 

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The preamp is a standard ibanez preamp. For all the stuff you read on a forum about high quality pre-amps vs low quality, there are barely pence of difference in component costs at the manufacturing level, so it would cost more to have different preamps.

The barts in the 805 are pretty uninspiring, or at least I believe it is them, but maybe it is the positioning. I looked into getting nords in an 805 (I had one), but it was expensive as they were custom pickups (they will do any size you want), and I didn't see the point in putting £3-400 pickups in a bass that I could only sell at £600 so decided to sell up and stick with the 4 digit SRs that I have. 

Barts themselves aren't an issue - I have them in the SR5005 and they are great, but they sounded lifeless in the 805. Unfortunately due to the length / shape of the pickups there aren't many options apart from the custom nords (maybe there are now, I sold mine a while back).

There is a SR prestige that has the fan frets, but they are very uncommon, I would certainly look at one if I saw it. I like the idea of fan frets. I think dingwall got the neck done well, better than ibanez on the 805, in fact I would say it is one of the nicest necks I have used, and doesn't have the awkward headstock end, but again I found the combustion very uninspiring (actually more so than the ibanez) from a pickup point of view, and as I have never had a chance to try a better model I wouldn't be prepared to take the chance with the cost they go for.

Ironically thinking about it, I have some dingwall pickups, which I could have probably wedged in the 805, but as I didn't like the combustion sound either it wouldn't have probably helped.

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Appreciate all the input folks. I know that bart now do a direct up grade with options Single,humbucker, etc but as Woodinblack says £300 -400 .This is not my greatest concern as I love the bass and it was a present for a special birthday,so it will never be going anywhere. Plus I do have other bass's. The thing is will the new barts @ £300-400 plus give me what I am looking for. As I have great confidence in the East pre and they have advantage of a variable mid sweep. I think that the pre amp may always be something I might change in the future. But under advisement from your good selves I think I will have a play around with some pickups before committing.I have a friend previously mentioned who I know has some pups that will not fit correctly in the pup recess (jazz blades) but could give me an Idea of possibilities with or without changing the preamp and tone variations of the pups.

If anybody is interested I can get back to let you know how I got on.

Thanks for your help

Cheers guys

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1 hour ago, WAYNESWORLD said:

 I will have a play around with some pickups before committing.I have a friend previously mentioned who I know has some pups that will not fit correctly in the pup recess (jazz blades) but could give me an Idea of possibilities with or without changing the preamp and tone variations of the pups.

If anybody is interested I can get back to let you know how I got on.

certainly worth a try, keep us all informed, we are interested in that kind of stuff

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