Thinking of getting Audere 3ZB

[cassius987]

I have found that my 8-month-old (to me) 4003 fretless bass is by far my favorite bass in terms of sound and playability. It's fast become my intimate partner that I use for all of my gigs--mostly jazz right now, but also a lot of pop and rock.

It has a pretty decent sized control cavity, as you all know, and I thought it might be neat to get an Audere 3ZB for it to gain access to the awesome potential of the Z modes. However, as a passive bass with 4 controls, a mini switch capacitor, and a pickup selector, it already has a huge number of sounds (at least 4 very distinct voices on the bass). If I switch to Audere's onboard pre, the bass is likely to both gain a lot and lose a lot. Right now I'm trying to design an Audere wiring harness that will keep most of the stock functionality intact--preferably all, down to that mini-switch capacitor.

Does anyone have any caveats or praise about the Audere stuff? Oh, and I know, "If it ain't broke don't fix it." Agreed. But I'm not one of those people who can just play by the rules like that... I have to tinker. Ultimately I frequently reject the results of my tinkering and go back to stock with my basses... but I must always try. Luckily Audere has a 10-day satisfaction guarantee.

I will post clips of me playing this bass live with a jazz band as soon as they are ready so you all can know how it sounds. Much more like an upright than you'd expect for any fretless with a very strong fundamental. Right now ~4 hours of material are being edited into a demo by my friend.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

EDIT: Here's the product URL: http://www.audereaudio.com/Scripts/prod ... dproduct=9

[woodyng]

jeff rath,who takes "tinkering" to dizzying heights, has used audere preamps on various basses and has posted good results. i myself prefer the sound of passive basses,and can't quite imagine what active preamping could do to improve the rick pickup sound,but as you said,it's a reversible thing,why not try it?

[cassius987]

The thing about Audere's pre is that it allows you to change impedance. I'm not in it as much for the 4-band EQ but I guess I'll go with that also. I suppose I could just order a V V T T setup + a Z switch, totally leaving EQ behind... then I wouldn't have to buy new stacked pot knobs! I'll really miss my "vintage" knobs, shallow as that may be, if I have to get stacked pots.

The Z switch is awesome, though. Lo-Z looks like the mode that will really pair well with my Toasters if I decide to keep the mod.

Okay people, vote: should I get a V + V + T + T setup (trad. Ric) or a V/T + V/T + Lo Mid/Bass + Hi Mid/Treble setup?

Don't worry, I have ten days not to get burned if it's not worth it.

[incubus2432]

The few Audure preamp Jazz basses I tried had good tonal flexibility and nice tone (certainly very subjective). Reviews of their products are generally quite positive as well so it certainly won't hurt to give it a shot and see if it's for you.

Just to throw out another option......check out the ACG unit as well (made by John East). http://www.bestbassgear.com/acg-eq-02-two-pu.htm After searching around a bit it seemed like the best option for me and I couldn't be happier with my decision. It is filter based rather than a traditional EQ style. It does subtle changes very well along with drastic/sweeping alter-egos if needed. It still sounds like a Ric but has some Wal-like characteristics mixed in as well. I'm too inept to give a non-subjective description.......how to describe tone? A beefed up Ric with more nuances to the tone. My wife says that with each note that it sounds like "there's lots going on".

Certainly nothing wrong with a passive Ric but having options is nice as well. Good luck on your quest!

[incubus2432]

Oooooops!

[cassius987]

Certainly nothing wrong with a passive Ric but having options is nice as well. Good luck on your quest!

The Ric is already really versatile. I basically want the maximum number of worthy sounds I can get out of one bass. I am a "one bass romantic", i.e. me and my fretless fly into the sunset and save the day, or something. OTOH I hate the thought of having >10 basses... that's just who I am. I couldn't stand having so much! Tough enough having 3 right now. Weird, huh...

[jps]

OTOH I hate the thought of having >10 basses... that's just who I am. I couldn't stand having so much! Tough enough having 3 right now. Weird, huh...

I can't believe you are really trying to fight RAS! Can't be done, trust me. It will just be a matter of time, you know?

[cassius987]

OTOH I hate the thought of having >10 basses... that's just who I am. I couldn't stand having so much! Tough enough having 3 right now. Weird, huh...

I can't believe you are really trying to fight RAS! Can't be done, trust me. It will just be a matter of time, you know?

All your base are belong to us.

...if I ever do get super RAS-y it'll be to acquire exotic stuff like 4002s and 4000s, or cool vintages of the flagship bass. I'm sure that's what most of you are up to as well! For now I really just want to rely on my one fretless and one fretted 4003. I'm selling my Jazz Bass now so I'm going from 3 to 2. And when I get my 4003 MG, it'll mean one of three things: 1) I sell it back out; 2) I sell the 4003 AFG out; 3) I convert one of those two into a second fretless with an ebony board. Presently I'm really leaning towards #3.

[jps]

...3) I convert one of those two into a second fretless with an ebony board. Presently I'm really leaning towards #3.

Most of us here will prefer you do not do this; better you should should talk Ginger into selling you her fretless 4002.

[cassius987]

...3) I convert one of those two into a second fretless with an ebony board. Presently I'm really leaning towards #3.

Most of us here will prefer you do not do this; better you should should talk Ginger into selling you her fretless 4002.

Why would you prefer I did not?

And good luck talking Ginger into anything remotely like that!

[jps]

It's your bass but it seems that when we see these sorts of mods done to Ricks we tend to cringe!

[cassius987]

Seriously, fretless ebony? I've seen Dane do some very classy things in this vein, although I don't recall if it was ebony or not. I don't see how switching the fingerboard is anything like hacking pieces off the bass and calling it a Shark Attack model.

This is getting OT so I'll stop now. Anyone wanna talk preamps?

[jps]

The Audere is supposed to be a good preamp, so is anything made by John East. I was less than pleased with the BArtolini preamp in my first Zon so I bypassed it and then the following two Zons I got, I had Joe make them passive.

[cassius987]

Zons seem neat, I've never been a fan of ol' Bart though.

My big debate right now is whether to try a 3ZB with four singular pots that mimic the stock config and lose the push-pull (an awesome feature, but is replaced in the Audere's HI-Z Mode which has its own unique capacitance); or else to get 4 STACKED knobs, that would be V/T, V/T, Lo/Lo-Mid, Hi/Hi-Mid. Any thoughts on that? I mean, active EQ is nice I guess, but personally I thought the sound of it sucked on my old Stingray (that I sold). Yes, it did work very well at what it was supposed to do, but the tone was so artificial. The basic concept of Audere's Z Switch on the other hand sounds VERY natural.