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Gospel Instruments => Bass Guitar => Topic started by: ssabass on January 12, 2010, 07:57:24 PM
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Which do you prefer & why. Called & put a hold on my Bartolini preamp, until I do a little more investigation.
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Barts!!!
Which do you prefer & why. Called & put a hold on my Bartolini preamp, until I do a little more investigation.
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I've had a Bartolini 2 band and an aguilar 3 band and I had the aguilar for much longer so this isn't a completely fair review.
I would describe the aguilar as sharp, agressive, versitile, Sensitive controls.
Now here's my descrepency of the aguilar. When set flat nearly everyone says its just like passive. That was not my experience. Now the non musician probably could tell the difference, but there was a noticable attenuation of the high end. There was a loss of growl from the pickups. One of my friend's was playing my bass recently and said it sounded better without knobs. ;D
I would say the strongest point of the aguilar are the mids. There are so many useful sounds by just changing the mid level and freq. I would say the weakest point is the bass. To my ears there is no subtlety to the knob, a little goes a long long way. Despite my experience most people love the aguilar OBP. Two of my friends are completely sold on the OBP-3.
The bartolini sounds more neutral. The bart tone control seems more to boost or cut the qualities of the pickups. I don't have too much to say about the bart. I only had it for a week or so, I had to get a 3 band immediately.
I recently decided to go with an EMG BQC control. Every review i've read seems to support exactly what I am looking for. It has variable mid control, and 4 selectable high freq. They also offer an active blend but for an extra 40 bucks I might hold out for later. Hopefully it will be a good match so I can get some knobs back on my bass. ::)
PS there's enough info on these two pre's on talkbass to make your eyes bleed.
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Of those 2.........Aguilar. Other choices............I'd go Audere!
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I love the aguilar obp 3. I can't compare them because I've never owned the bartolini. I just installed my second aguilar 3. The first was in an all original 1985 peavey dynabass (my 2nd bass ever) about 2 years ago when the circuit board became flaky. After the swap it sounded so good I didn't pick up my MTD Z up until last week when I dropped an aguilar pre in it. I'm one of those who feel the Z is a great bass with weak electronics. Now, problem solved!
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I had a bartolini 2 band pre amp and now I have the aggie OBP-3. I can't accurately compare the two, but the aggie really pumps. You can't wrong with either of them though.
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Heinz 57 or A1?
Both have different flavors but are very nice. I have Bartolini pups and pre in my MTD and Ken Smith pups and OBP-3 in another bass. both are very unique and sound awesome, just depends on what your flavor of the week might be at that moment.
-J
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Thanks fellas. Just talked to Tom from Bartolini & he told me that the Aguilar was actual made for Sadowsky & the spec were pattern after an old Bartolini preamp (TCT). Which I read yesterday, that is the preamp that Marcus Miller uses. Here's is a clip of someone that put in a Bartolini TCT preamp. Don't know how it sounded before, but it definetly sounds good now. '78JB Tone / Marcus Miller style tone (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8lYXPJ8T30#)
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Fellas, well I picked the Aguilar & it's everything I heard it was & the guy didn't even install it correctly. He didn't install the push/pull for the mids. So I actually have no mids at all & it still sounds good. The place that installed it, refuned my money & i'm taking it to an actual luthier to get it installed correctly.
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Correction:refunded my money.
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I've got an Aguilar OBP-3 in my bass and I love it. It's a very aggressive and edgy pre-amp. Some say it's too sensitive (slightest adjust changes tone), but it takes getting use to. I'm using it with Nordstrand Fatstacks and I've had no issues. It was between a Aguilar and Sadowski for me. I'm about to get a bass with a 18v Bartolini Electronics set up (preamp and pickups).
Browntree
And David spake to the chief of the Levites to appoint their brethren to be the singers with instruments of music, psalteries and harps and cymbals, sounding, by lifting up the voice with joy. I Chronicles 15:16