New ACG EQ02 sound clips plus review. Just up on talk bass some fretless clips. My thanks to JK for putting these up.
I wasn't happy with the Bartolini NTBT preamp in my Ibanez GWB1 (Gary Willis Fretless bass).
I love the passive sound of the bass, but for me the Bart preamp didn't really do full-range justice to that passive sound, and didn't give much tonal flexibility on its own, at least in the ranges that I like to work an EQ.
I wasn't entirely sure about a filter-based preamp. Installing the ACG, or any 3 band preamp, would necessitate drilling another hole in my bass, so to start I installed it into a project box and used it as an external preamp. My plan was to figure out how to use it, then record some samples to directly compare the ACG preamp, to the bass' passive sound, and to the stock NTBT preamp. If I liked the ACG well enough, it would go into the bass.
Spending a little while (roughly 20 minutes) getting used to using the filters quickly yielded some really good, really useable sounds.
With minor tweaks of the low pass filter, I got several kinds of really great, growly fretless tone. The upper registers really sing on the bass now, without artificiality. I can also dial in a very clear, deep, rootsy sound for country and blues.
Set flat, the preamp is extremely true to the passive sound of the bass. It's much more accurate than the NTBT.
After recording some samples and listening back, the decision to install the ACG was a no-brainer. It sounded THAT good.
Installation was very straightforward, and the no-soldering-required part is quite nice.
I installed the ACG on Friday, and gigged the fretless Saturday and Sunday.
I was delighted with the sounds I was getting out of the GWB, and the way it cut through the mix. That bass has never sounded sweeter to me.
I had expected to have some difficulty being able to adjust sounds "on the fly" on stage, but found that it was very straightforward
to do. Granted, I wasn't making earth-shattering tonal changes, but the 3-4 sounds I was going for, I was able to get, easily and
in the moment.
My bandmates (2 different bands) noticed the change, and had several very postive comments about the bass sound.
I really feel that I am just starting to scratch the surface of what this preamp is capable of doing, and look forward to making
more time to experiment and explore with it. There's a world of good sounds to be found here.
Related Information www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=465096