On Board Pre-Amps

[Paul Cooke]

I'm currently intrigued by the possibility of installing an onboard pre-amp into my Squier VMJ... I'm not interested in the entire replacement plate and controls option, and I've looked at some other things like the OBP-1 but was scared off by the prospect of all that soldering...

I'm currently intrigued by this little beastie:
Activator 2 - A DIY onboard JFET preamp kit for guitars and basses
Now Only £24.99 including Worldwide P&P!

[url="http://www.guitar-repairs.co.uk/jfet_guitar_preamp.htm"]http://www.guitar-repairs.co.uk/jfet_guitar_preamp.htm[/url]

but before I splash out, I'd like to know if anyone else in here has tried one beforehand and can share their experiences.

The other option I'm looking at is the EMG-BTC 2-Band Control which is the first item on this page:
[url="http://www.guitarpartsshop.co.uk/acatalog/Bass_Preamps.html"]http://www.guitarpartsshop.co.uk/acatalog/Bass_Preamps.html[/url]

but the price is a little scary for trying sight unseen... however, it does look extremely versatile and could be a very nice add-on for it.

the other thing which caught my eye was this:
JBR-1
Active preamp for "J" style bass guitars. Installs easily without modification to control cavity or pickguard
found some way down this page:
[url="http://www.raven-labs.com/mainframe.html"]http://www.raven-labs.com/mainframe.html[/url]

but apparently the guy has stopped making them...

[quote]After a long and distinguished career developing ground-breaking technology for the musical instrument industry, Raven Labs founder Steve Rabe has announced his retirement. Unfortunately, this means that the Raven Labs product line is retiring with him. As of February 1, 2005, all development, production and shipment of Raven Labs products has ceased.[/quote]

so does anyone have any experiences of installing onboard pre-amps then?

[BOD2]

I'm sure you can buy some of these pre-wired (the Aguilar range in particular). The OBP-3 is a good one - it has 3-band control and it can be handy to have that "mid" control.

The biggest consideration, however, is where to put the battery. There isn't usually a lot of room in the standard control cavity and it may not be possible to squeeze a battery in there so you'll have to make a hole for it somewhere !

Worth planning this through before you buy.

[tauzero]

What are you actually trying to accomplish? I'm not sure about the point of having an internal module which merely amplifies rather than giving you tone control capability as well. If you want tone controls, there's

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Artec-All-In-One-Onboard-EQ-For-Active-Bass-A3_W0QQitemZ130166971018QQihZ003QQcategoryZ22669QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]a two band module[/url]

or

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Artec-All-In-One-Onboard-EQ-For-Active-Bass-A2_W0QQitemZ130166970567QQihZ003QQcategoryZ22669QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]a slightly bigger two-band module[/url]

[Paul Cooke]

I was looking for something that boosts the signal up to line level but kept the existing controls. The first example is just that. The second was a replacement for the tone pot that allowed you to keep your existing vol/vol or vol/blend arrangement.

It's only a Squier VMJ and I'm not really interested in spending serious wonga on upgrading it. The JFET at only £25 is perfectly in range of what I'm interested in spending. The second example is a lot more but has the advantage of requiring only minimal soldering to the existing circuit. The OBP range require far too much soldering and messing around for my taste. I want to disturb existing connections as little as possible...

[BigRedX]

A word of caution - the Squier Vintage Modified bodies are a little thinner than the real thing so there might not be quite enough room (cavity depth) for all the bits that would fit in a Fender Jazz.

Edited November 1, 2007 by BigRedX