Hanry Posted October 10, 2019 Posted October 10, 2019 Hullo! I had my Bassix upright for a while now, and while I don't spend enough time practising I like it very much. It was in very good nick when I got it but the electrics were a bit unreliable so I started investigating. I decided to improve matters a little ... 🙂 One of the things that I don't like so much is that it has two different piezo pick-ups, one under the bridge and one in the "trunk"/fingerboard - and they are passively mixed by a potentiometer before entering a no-name little 9V pre-amp quite similar to the one in my accoustic guitar. Are there affordable 🙂 on-board pre-amps that will buffer the piezo's before allowing a mix (as part of the control surface or perhaps via external potentiometer) that anyone can recommend? If it is a drop-in replacement that would be nice - but the Bassix is hollow so I would consider fitting a module inside and making a bespoke control surface for it in the current hole. Looking forward to mad suggestions! Thanks a lot! Hanry Quote
Blartfactor10 Posted October 11, 2019 Posted October 11, 2019 The shadow Rockabilly pro would probably be your best and cheapest choice (Bass bags £175) you would have to make up some plugs to fit but that wouldn't be a bad thing. Oh and don't let the rockabilly moniker put you off you get a great pizz sound out of these units and you can blend both channels. Quote
Hanry Posted October 20, 2019 Author Posted October 20, 2019 Thanks a lot Blartfactor! I am seriously considering this one, as a bonus I end up with two spare piezos (I am not going to touch the ones fixed on the Bassix already, otherwise this project turns into a complete rebuild 😉) Quote
Hanry Posted October 20, 2019 Author Posted October 20, 2019 Very frustrating that Shadow don't publish the weight and/or dimaneions of the box anywhere where it is easy to find.... Quote
Blartfactor10 Posted October 20, 2019 Posted October 20, 2019 I can tell you that the weight isn't at all heavy and the box is (about) 10x7x3.5 cm. If you want to shift the shadow Piezos I would be interested. 😁😁 Quote
Hanry Posted October 21, 2019 Author Posted October 21, 2019 Oh, thank you for the data! I will be in touch 😉 Quote
Cathode_Follower Posted October 21, 2019 Posted October 21, 2019 I've been using this to buffer my piezo without issue. If you're handy with a soldering iron you can build your own, or you can go to the originator's site http://cafewalter.com (currently temporarily down) where there are more updated versions and I think he sells the PCB's and possibly fully-populated boards. http://scotthelmke.com/Mint-box-buffer.html Quote
Hanry Posted October 23, 2019 Author Posted October 23, 2019 Blartfactor10 - the Shadow system arrived today, and while it is very nicely made, I will keep the set together: I am hoping to build a custom kit early next year, so the RP is hopefully going to be sold on as a complete system. Attached to an accoustic upright the size and weight of the Shadow box is negligible but the Bassix is so slender and centered, it is a bit too much, so it'll be a temporary arrangement only. Cathode_Follower - thanks for the links! I laughed when I saw them because many years ago when I was working in electronics I looked at cafewalter, but had all forgotten about it. I'm going to build my own pre-amp, but not before easter next year, my soldering irons have not had a workout for a long time 🙂 1 Quote
Cathode_Follower Posted October 23, 2019 Posted October 23, 2019 @Hanry Best of luck with the preamp! The best projects are always the longest in the making! Hit me up if you felt like putting together a pair of those mk1 walter preamps as a stopgap, I have multiples of all components knocking around from my build that I could mail your way and it's only half a day mucking around with a bit of stripboard Quote
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