Two onboard preamp questions...

[Addison]

Howdy!

First:
Can the onboard preamp run in 18v?

I'm considering replacing the 18v Aguilar OBP-3 preamp I have in my Mike Lull 5-string Jazz bass and replacing it with the Sadowsky preamp.  The Aguilar is simply not for me... I appreciate they have a solid fan-base, but... I find it to be mostly unusable.

The Lull already has an 18v battery box in it, so I was just wondering if I could still utilize the whole battery box.

Second:
Can the preamp be ordered custom wired for lefty? 

Thanks!

[Gerard Burick]

For lefty, all you have to do is put the pots in the order you want. 

For 18v... the answer is no.  But, you could always get something like LEDs installed that run on another battery... or keep another battery as a spare inside the box.

[Addison]

For lefty, all you have to do is put the pots in the order you want.

Uhm... I'm not sure what you mean... 

It's not the order of the knobs I'm worried about, it's how the knobs turn.

Think about when you turn the volume up on your bass... you grab the volume with your right hand and you turn the control clockwise to increase the volume.

Now pretend you're a lefty and pretend you're turning up the volume using your left hand... the control would have to turn counter-clockwise to increase the volume if you used a mirror image of the motion you made with your right hand.

Switching the wires would be the next logical solution, however, not all pots are made so the wires can be switched.  Wires can be switched on linear taper pots, but not on audio taper pots, which are most commonly used for volume and passive tone controls.

Therefore... you need what are called "reverse audio taper pots" for left-handed instruments so the controls will turn the same way for me as they do for you.  Otherwise, they are backwards.

Here's a link to a reverse audio taper pot, so you can see what I mean: http://www.allparts.com/CTS-Left-Handed-250K-Audio-Pot-p/ep-4385-l00.htm

I've heard that when a lefty orders a Sadowsky, they are wired "true lefty"... which is a VERY cool thing since a lot of companies out there just give us right-handed controls and act like we don't care.  This was why I wanted to find out if the preamps were available in "true lefty" as well, if they were ordered by themselves.

For 18v... the answer is no.  But, you could always get something like LEDs installed that run on another battery... or keep another battery as a spare inside the box.

I've had someone else tell me the exact opposite... since the Aguilar OBP-1 can run on 18v, then so should the Sadowsy since they are close to being the same thing.

I just wanted to see if I could get verification from the source.

[Gerard Burick]

I did forget about the knobs needing to turn the opposite way.

I've messed with lefty basses, but never messed with the knobs! 

I'm sure Roger and/or crew will pop in soon and take care of the answers.  They're really good about it!

[Sadowsky]

Although our circuit can handle 18 volts, there is no audible difference if using one or two batteries.

Regarding lefty instruments....although I have lefty volume pots, I can not get lefty VTC push pull pots or our stacked pot in lefty without ordering 1000 pcs.  Given that we make maybe 5 lefties a year, it is an investment I cannot afford to make.

So we give our customers the choice of lefty volume and everything else righty, or all righty.
It's the best we can do.

Roger

[Addison]

Cool... thanks for the fast reply!

And, at least there's a choice... in our world, that is much appreciated!

 

[Gerard Burick]

So you could run two batteries together to send 18 volts to the preamp?  Or does that require a different wiring job?

[Sadowsky]

Please remember, there is no advantage to running our circuit at 18 volts.

See link to 18V wiring diagram.