Bass Preamps

[Shananigunz]

Question. I have a Spector Pulse 2 and want to change the preamp in it from the Tone Pump Jr. I'm torn between EMG BQC and Darkglass Tone capsule. Any opinions or advice? I'm new to changing preamps. The Bass has EMG Active pickups in it which i don't plan on changing, and i don't want to spend more than 200. I like the face these 2 don't require soldering and it's straightforward installation. The only pedal I use is a Fuzz when doing Muse or some Metallica tracks if that makes any difference. Is the DarkGlass worth the extra money over the EMG BQC since i have no Dark Glass products to use with it? 

[Sean]

Pop a Haz Labs pre in there and with the active EMGs you'll get exactly what a Spector is supposed to sound like. I replaced a TP with one recently and it's like coming home. It's meant to be. I'll be buying another after April 6th.

 

https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/product/lhz-03-hazlabs-preamp-clone/

 

You can buy them at Bass Direct. And just to clarify, I'm not a Bassdirect.co.uk fanboy. There's some stuff that BD sells that isn't available through other channels.

Edited February 25 by Sean

[Hellzero]

Great to know that Bass Direct are eventually selling the LHZ preamps, which are the best HazLabs clone.

 

Thanks @Sean !

[MartinB]

Check how much space you've got - if it's tight, you might want to hold on for the more compact version 4 to be available in the UK:

 

[cetera]

Definitely replace it with the LHZ Haz pre. I organised the European distribution for Lonnie West (the maker of LHZ) with Mark at Bass Direct and they are super popular!

[Owen]

Is the Smith pre a Haz Labs as well?

[cetera]

2 hours ago, Owen said:

Is the Smith pre a Haz Labs as well?

Yes, but diff EQ points

[Hellzero]

9 hours ago, Owen said:

Is the Smith pre a Haz Labs as well?

 

7 hours ago, cetera said:

Yes, but diff EQ points

Yep, just like the early Fodera's and Steinberger's too.

[Shananigunz]

So Hazlabs is winning. You're convincing me from what i've heard. What about the EMG or the Darkglass? If it was between the EMG BQC and Darkglass Tone capsule what would you vote for? 
 

 

Edited Thursday at 10:31 by Shananigunz

[LeftyJ]

46 minutes ago, Shananigunz said:

So Hazlabs is winning. You're convincing me from what i've heard. What about the EMG or the Darkglass? If it was between the EMG BQC and Darkglass Tone capsule what would you vote for? 

 

I'm hearing very mixed reviews for the Darkglass. Their concept of replacing the treble control with a high mid control is a clever one, but it's the treble band that can really make a bass come to life IMO if the frequency band and bandwidth is chosen well. I played a Dingwall NG3 recently that had the stock Tone Capsule preamp replaced with the BQC and it was brighter, punchier and more lively than with the Darkglass. It's all a matter of taste in the end so YMMV of course.

[NancyJohnson]

On 25/02/2025 at 17:31, Shananigunz said:

Question. I have a Spector Pulse 2 and want to change the preamp in it from the Tone Pump Jr. I'm torn between EMG BQC and Darkglass Tone capsule. Any opinions or advice? I'm new to changing preamps. The Bass has EMG Active pickups in it which i don't plan on changing, and i don't want to spend more than 200. I like the face these 2 don't require soldering and it's straightforward installation. The only pedal I use is a Fuzz when doing Muse or some Metallica tracks if that makes any difference. Is the DarkGlass worth the extra money over the EMG BQC since i have no Dark Glass products to use with it? 

 

I've owned three or four Spector basses over the years...one of these (an 8-string far east NS thing) had a Tone Pump Jr installed from stock; I didn't like it one bit and replaced it with a John East unit.  (Obviously I understand that it was a budget model and Spector need to keep the price down, but I'd have preferred a passive bass over the TPJ.)  

 

I had a Euro Lt for a while and that had a Darkglass circuit in it from stock.  I really liked how it performed; it was quite hot and when pushed through a Sansamp BDDI it sounded lovely.  Obviously tone is subjective.

 

I've got a Darkglass Tone Capsule in one of my Lulls.  It's fine...does what it says on the tin (boost/cut of bass/mids/treble), but it will not turn your bass into something that sounds like a Dingwall unless you're using external processing.