Great care has been taken to insure the integrity of the instruments original sound, while adding all the advantages of an active circuit. These include greater tonal flexibility, hotter output signal, low output impedance, and eliminating tone changes due to the loading of the pickup by effects and DI boxes. Our field testers observed a more natural, open, and “airy” response. In some cases, dead spots on the neck were alleviated!
The control functions remain in the traditional arrangement of Volume and Tone. The Volume can boost the signal up to two times the standard output. The Tone knob boosts the bass in one direction while slightly cutting the treble. In the opposite direction, it boosts the treble while slightly lowering the bass response.
The electronics feature custom brass bushing pots, German Wima capacitors, 1% resistors, and a precision ultra low noise op amp. They are powered by two lithium coin cell batteries that can be found nearly any place batteries are sold. Battery life is about 300 hours under normal use. Installation is achieved by simply unsoldering and removing the old control pots and jack, then installing and soldering the new active one-piece electronic assembly. Again, NO modification of the control cavity or pickguard is necessary.
"I applaud the elegant simplicity of this circuit. Easy to install, easy to use, and absolutely ‘right on’ in terms of the way it sounds."
- Jim Roberts
Original Editor of Bass Player Magazine
"I wanted to let you know how much I love the P-Bass preamp. It was a breeze to put in and it made my '58 P-Bass sound amazing! I love how it can add a little (or a lot) of bass or treble without sacrificing the original sound of the instrument. It's unbelievably quiet too! I can't wait to try the Jazz Bass pre-amp!
-Mark Browne
Bassist with Melissa Etheridge/Paula Cole
"The PCB sounds GREAT!!! The slap tone when you boost the bass a bit is amazing. It really opens up chording and makes the bass speak a lot more clearly. It doesn’t try to change the pickup, it just gives it a kick to the butt! That great P-bass hugeness now in a bigger industrial size."
- Peter Davyduck
"The treble boost works well, and it is very convenient being able to EQ from the bass, instead of the amp. The bass boost seems to have the most effect. It has put new life into a blase sounding bass. In a word....Wow."
- Jim Lawrence
The Precision bass is a trademark of Fender Musical Instruments. Raven Labs is not affiliated with Fender, and no endorsement is implied.