Aguilar OBP-1 Onboard Preamp

Pickup features: onboard active preamp
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: Warmoth P-bass neck, custom made body
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced: n/a
Other pickups on guitar: DiMarzio Model 1 bridge and neck
Artists using this pickup: Billy Sheehan (?)
You musical style(s): Rock
Reason for pickup change: The Model 1s were a little lifeless on their own, I expected a hotter sound from them.

Perceived output level: significantly louder than the passive tone.
Tone: clear though not clean, strong, strong bass, "ripped" highs esp. at high gain.
Sonic evaluation: I play my self-built bass (warmoth neck, mahogany body, Model 1 pickups, through-body bridge) through an Ampeg SVT4 pro and Mesa/Boogie 2x15 cab with Eminence cast-frame drivers (replacements). First off, this setup is LOUD, and the OBP1 had an impact on that. More importantly, it really brought the bass alive - there is a tight quality to the low end that had not been there, the highs were more defined, and the sound was definitely fuller. There is a lot of headroom with this thing, and it is pretty noiseless through my rig. I no longer need my Sansamp Bass Overdrive pedal, the tone is overdriven right out of the bass, which is what i wanted.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: Mostly rock, hard but not metal (like QOTSA, Foo Fighters and such). This is a good match for that. If you want crystal clarity and no growl, this might not be the best.

Comments: I would definitely replace this with a similar model if it broke or got stolen or whatever. Buyers note that it is not really easy (though certainly not really difficult) to install yourself, but Aguilar offers a bunch of different wiring diagrams, and their tech support is excellent - i got good answers to two different questions within 24 hours. I am now completely satisfied with my tone, this bass will stay exactly the way it is.

Pickup features:
Impedence or other specs:

Model of guitar or bass: fender pbass deluxe, carvin, ovation acoustic, steinberger spirit
Position: neck
Pickup being replaced:
Other pickups on guitar:
Artists using this pickup:
You musical style(s): hypnotic acid funk with a touch of jazz(I don't understand, either)
Reason for pickup change:

Perceived output level: With no BT boost there is almost no volume change between preamp and bypass but there is improved active clarity.
Tone:
Sonic evaluation: I built this as an outboard preamp so I could use it with all of my guitars. Tone is very tranparent and clean. This preamp is not for everybody. It is boost only for bass and treble. It lacks the variety of tones you can get from some other preamps. However, this is probably the best preamp I have used. Tons of bass and treble and headroom. Enough to damage speakers if you turn it all the way up at 18v. Very clean. You will get a little hiss if you turn the treble all the way up but I feel this preamp is as quiet as any preamp out there and I doubt you will turn the treble up that much. It improved the tone of all of my basses including the active ones. Not drastically, but slightly warmer lows and smoother on the top end. Turning up the bass adds warmth and turning up the treble adds clarity and that's about it. The character of your bass remains basically the same. By the way, turning up bass and treble does not produce the scooped mids you might expect from using other preamps.

For which styles and positions is this pickup (un)suitable: If you have a great sounding bass that you want to make better I think this is an excellent addition.

Comments: I use it with all of my guitars.(sounds good on a strat, too)Excellent for adding that little extra something. It seems pretty obvious they were going for an uncolored tone in this preamp and I give them a 10 for that. If you use this onboard be sure to leave a passive tone control or if you want to cut the highs you'll be SOL. I'm very happy with it. Because it's a bit of a "one trick pony" I'm giving it an 8 but I'm not looking for any more preamps. 'nuff said.