OUR CONCEPT FOR PREAMPLIFICATION
Ideally, the concept is (again!) to make everybody happy…! But in matters of pickups and electronics, debate will always prevail and fill in the columns of both professional magazines and forums.
So, again we offer an arbitrary choice of equipment, across the board of possible combinations, keeping in mind that our clients will always have the ultima possibilitas to switch preamps, as long as it fits in our electronics cavity.
Glockenklang
It has been our preferred from the start. German build quality associated to high fidelity and well chosen frequencies. In 2 or 3 band, we offer it on our Deluxe model. It allows you to pull up into passive mode, where the treble knob acts as a tone. We generally include the +6db option on our fretted basses, so that you do not loose any volume when switching to passive mode.
You can get full technical details directly on the Glockenklang website.
Diagrams showing the controls on Cortex Basses, Deluxe or Fretless Models are on the side and hereunder. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you have questions.
Noll Electronic
And another German genius with low frequencies. We added this choice at the end of 2022 to give an alternative to the Duvoisin 3Volt-2/3Band preamps that will be discontinued in 2023. Noll Electronics offers us more options in the midrange frequencies, as did Duvoisin, with the aditional active/passive switch, the TCM 3 PM version. The 2 band option will be offered exclusively on fretless models, and we reserve the TCM 3 P option for the bass engineer…!
You’ll find all technical details on the Noll Electronic Website, and once again, all control diagrams for Cortex basses are on the side.
Aguilar OBP3
As we offer the Aguilar DCB pickups, it is just common sense to give the opportunity to pair up the pickup with the preamp. It is the OBP3, the 3 band preamp of Aguilar, that includes a switch for active/passive mode and a switch that offers two different frequencies for the midrange booster.
You’ll find all details on the Aguilar website. The control diagram for Cortex basses is on the side.
As we feel that the Aguilar preamp does not offer more options than the two previous brands, we shall only equip Napoleon models with this preamp upon special instruction of a client.
Duvoisin 3Volt
We always associate the Duvoisin Active pickups to a Duvoisin 2 or 3 band 3 volt preamp. The illustration shows you where to find which control knob on our Napoleon Bass. Please note that there is no passive switch on this preamp, as the low voltage reduces unwanted noise considerably, making a passive switch simply superfluous.
You’ll find more details (in French) on the Duvoisin Website.
Three caveats however:
- A Duvoisin preamp will only work with Duvoisin pickups and vice versa.
- Never connect a 9 volt battery to the preamp, as it will induce irreparable damage. The preamp only needs a 3 volt supply (2 x AA batteries).
- We will discontinue this option for 2023, as the manufacturing process of making a “home made” electronics is getting too complex and time consuming. For Duvoisin Amateurs, we will continue proposing the 2 band Duvoisin preamp system, associated to the Duvoisin active pickup exclusively for our Napoleon Deluxe Fretless Models, as long as we have inventory left.
