Audere vs. Series/Parallel

RebelBass117

RebelBass117

Nov 27, 2018
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#1
I have an MIM Geddy Lee, no problems with it or anything and I love it, but I also like having options and being able to tweek things. I've been looking at the possibility of upgrading to 500k pots with a push/pull for one of them for a series/parallel switch, but while trying to figure out exactly what I'd need I also ran across Audere preamps, which most people here seem to love, and quite a few have put in Geddy Lees. I honestly don't really "get" electronics and circuits despite my best efforts to understand at least the basics, and kind of have a hard time trying to figure out what everything means reading through all these old threads.

It seems that installing an Audere would eliminate the possibility of taking advantage of series wiring, am I correct here? Does anything the Audere does approximate switching to series? Or would its overall versatility outweigh the ability to switch?
 
#4
Killed_by_Death said:
You won't need 500,000 potentiometers :smug:
The units are Ohms.

Do one or the other, but not both. If you have a pre-amp you don't really need a series/parallel switch.
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Well sure, nobody needs them, but with how many people on here say it brightens up their tone a little bit I figured it was a cheap/easy enough thing to try if I were to go in and swap a volume for a push/pull anyway. Thanks for the confirmation that it's one or the other though!
 
#10
Most pickups are not voiced with 500k pots and will sound worse, not better. There are a few exceptions, like Quarter Pounder or Model J type pickups. But even then, not sure it is optimal. Buy a pickup and install it as it was designed to be installed. You're better off experimenting with other pickups or strings.

The Audere is a powerful tool. I have a couple and enjoy what they do to the pickups I use with them. I would not use them with every pickup combination. Some pickups that I have sound so good alone, that I don't want to mess with them.
 
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#12
RebelBass117 said:
Or would its overall versatility outweigh the ability to switch?
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A million times. I put an Audere in my Frankenjazz and I think it’s a wonderful bit of kit. The tone controls are voiced very “musically” in that they don’t seem to have unusable extremes. Very well thought out and intuitive to use. You also get pickup pan as well as 3 band EQ and if you get the model with the Z-switch it gives another really great tonality option which I found added a great growl to the tone. No brainer.
 
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#13
Not Audere, but I did add Aguilar 3 band and series/parallel to my jazz type bass and I find having both to be pretty useful.

The 500k pots on the other hand (on a different jazz bass) I found to be very clicky on the top end - almost too hifi in that they amplified everything and not in a good way.... Going back to 250k chopped a lot of that off nearer to the sound we all know and love.
 
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#14
I have 2 jazzes wired in series/parallel and 2 jazzes with audere’s. I prefer the Audere’s. They’re very versatile and uncolored. I started my preamp ventures with John East retro J’s and couldn’t stand how much they colored the tone in active mode. Sold them off. Then, I went to Audere Pro JZ’s with the Z-mode knob and 4 band EQ, Vol/Blend. I liked them a lot but never used the Z mode. So I sold both of those and for the Audere Jazz 4 band preamp with the passive tone knob. THAT preamp is perfect IMO.
 
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#18
I am from the other camp. I have two Jazz Deluxes (Suhrs) that are both wired with a Series/Parallel push pull pot. I like it a lot. Series has a different tone option with both pickups. I am not a fan of preamps and have had many. I run my EQs very flat and never got to jazzed about active. I also have a tendency to leave basses plugged in and hate changing batteries.
 
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#19
RebelBass117 said:
I have an MIM Geddy Lee, no problems with it or anything and I love it, but I also like having options and being able to tweek things. I've been looking at the possibility of upgrading to 500k pots with a push/pull for one of them for a series/parallel switch, but while trying to figure out exactly what I'd need I also ran across Audere preamps, which most people here seem to love, and quite a few have put in Geddy Lees. I honestly don't really "get" electronics and circuits despite my best efforts to understand at least the basics, and kind of have a hard time trying to figure out what everything means reading through all these old threads.

It seems that installing an Audere would eliminate the possibility of taking advantage of series wiring, am I correct here? Does anything the Audere does approximate switching to series? Or would its overall versatility outweigh the ability to switch?
Click to expand...

I am never happy with the passive stock wiring on a jazz bass. Audere and J-retro both make good preamps to install into a jazz bass, 3 or 4 bands are you best options.

you can wire the pickups either series or parallel with a preamp, but with the Audere you won't need to do this because you can boost low mids to simulate series wiring.
 
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#20
This is one of my jazz basses …

It has SD antiquity pickups, and a 4 band Audere preamp

b%20540.jpg
 
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