Audere Audio JZ3

i have installed this same preamp into 2 jazz bases. i sold the first one but retained the preamp for use in my next jbazz thus this review.

the output level is slightly higher than regular preamps, but very transparent. i will always have this preamp in my jazz bass. (i have had other brands before but never really deciced to hold on to them). i use it with my gk, acoustic image and my markbass amps and all of them complement the sound of the preamp.

if it were stolen , i would definitely get another one, but good luck wishes to the thief. i have been playing for a while and do own a bit of gear. basses inexpensive, mediocre and expensive ones. same with amps. soft, loud and very loud. this is definitely a plus in any bassplayer's gearbox

Preamp for Jass style Bass Guitar's.
Made in the USA.
Come's in Various confiuration's.
For Passive Pick up's only.
No need for soldering.
Three difference voicing toggle switch.
Jass replacement plate come's with it.
Very easy to install.

The Best sounding preamp i have used.
3 voicing sounds low,mid and high.
Brought my American and MIM jass bass's alive.
It is not to harsh on the treble and not muddy on the bass side.
Very usable in live and studio setting's which i have used for both.
The only thing i found is then installing it in an American jass bass it can be a little noisy and shielding the control cavity and shielding the bottom of your pick up's will take care of the noise, only if you need to.

This Preamp fit's like a glove on Fender Jass Basses.Just make sure you dont pinch any of the wire'. Also if you can solder i would solder the ground wire's together but that just me.All in all it took me about 20 min's to install my first one.

I found all the hardware used for these's preamp's are very top notch.
I have had them install in my bass's for about four month's now and i gig with both basses four night's a week and not one problem and both battery's are still good right now.

No i have not had any problem's with this product at all.

They cost less than any other bass preamp, and sound better than any other i have used and i have used most of them out there.
Including the ones that come already installed on very good basses.

3-band Audere JZ3 preamp with Low Z, Mid Z, and High Z modes.

1975 Fender Jazz Bass American Vintage Re-issue
70's spacing
Ash body/ maple neck
Stock pickups

The output of this preamp is pretty good. It matched with my bas perfectly considering that the bass itself is actually a hot bass and that the volume is louder than most passive basses out there.

I'm using this bass with an Ampeg SVP Pro with the Ampeg HE410 and a Ampeg 15.

The tone of this preamp is very transparent and polite. I definitely lets the true character of your bass shine through. The eq is useful though I will dare to say its slightly limited to my taste. In the mid-z mode you have to crank the bass quite a bit to get any bass response. Also as far as highs is concerned you don't have to use any, I actually had to cut my highs down. One thing that I did not like about the Audere is that they state that the mid-z is more like a stock bass. I beg to differ, because on my stock passive bass when I rolled the tone all the way off it gave me a good dub sound. On the audere even with the highs turned all the way down, you can still hear highs coming through. However on the low-z I'm able to get the dub sound, but I have to pay because of the hiss that I get because of the load and impedance. The low-z mode is very good for those who like their bass heavy sounding. I actually turned the bass up to maybe like an 7 or 8 and the highs were cranked all the way. In the low-z with the highs cranked up it give you nice highs that aren't brittle but actually pleasant. High-z made my teeth grit so I didn't use it much because it was just too much highs for me.

I do love how the pan works on this because your able to pull sounds in between vs. stock electronics where you get both, neck, and bridge and that is it....nothing in between.

Again this is a very transparent preamp, and it seems like today most people are leaning towards that sound. You can pull a lot of sounds out of it but for my taste this pre is a little too polite. I don't like the fact that I have to keep tweaking between z modes and rolling off the bass or treble or adding treble to get my sound. Also I should have to switch to low z mode just so I could kill the treble. Because of the aforementioned I have opted to go with the EMG Jazz Set which I believe will give me my idea sound. This really is a great preamp, just not my style or taste.

I've been playing a long while and I've owned and played several types of basses and have owned several jazz basses as well. I am a tone freak, I love good tone and I'm more of an old school funk style player. Everyone has their own opinion, some people like Marcus Miller some people don't. The Audere preamp is a very good product. It is solid like a tank, it has good features like the cool blue light that tells you how much battery life you have remaining. And it is easy as pie to install yourself which is a huge plus. People who are tone freaks who love to constantly tweak will love this pre to death. People who are plug and play bassist will have a love/hate relationship. If transparency is your thing, this is the best pre on the market for that. You can really leave the pre flat and it gives you the sound of your bass. If your a meat and potatoes kind of guy, you might be a little disappointed by having to crank the bass all the way up.

I missed the simplicity of my stock electronics but not the sound. I listened to two of my favorite bass players who are Alex Al and Maurice Fitzgerald and both use EMG Jazz Sets in their basses to give them nice heft with nice glassy/aggressive highs with the ability to use the tone know to roll the highs off just like a stock passive electronic control. This is what I want out of my sound.......I like to be aggressive.

Nevertheless I give this product a 7.....doesn't mean it is a bad product.....just doesn't fit my taste. I plan on holding on to the pre though and using it in a future jazz bass with an Alder body and rosewood neck.

Assembled pre-amp for dropping into a standard Fender Jazz Bass. Features a 3-band eq, pickup blend, master volume, and 3-position toggle switch for low, mid and high Z mode for varying the impedance. Also comes with a battery and setup instructions.

I installed this in my '62 reissue Crafted in Japan Fender Jazz Bass. Prior to installation of the Audere pre-amp I installed a pair of Nordstrand vintage split-humbucking pickups due to the originals being complete crap.

The 3-band eq is very functionally voiced but I typically don't use it all since the pre-amp is very transparent and eqing is generally not necessary. Exceptions are if I'm using a cheap practice amp I'll cut the mids and maybe add a little bass, and if I'm looking for a slightly old school sound I'll cut the highs.

The pickup blend knob is the probably the best feature this pre-amp has to offer, it is incredible. A typical Jazz bass wiring with two volume controls causes the tone and volume to decrease when both are open due to the increased load, plus it is hard to dial in subtle blends with the traditional setup. With the blend control there is no volume difference throughout the rotation of the control and subtle blends can easily be achieved.

The Z control is a great addition but does require some adjusting of the preamp in order to properly adjust the gain of each setting. The gain adjustment requires some trial and error and the adjustment knobs are very sensitive to subtle turns. I prefer the low-Z mode setting, and wouldn't even consider using the high-Z setting. I have noticed however, that in the middle-Z setting, I can acheive almost the same sound as the low-Z setting by boosting the lows slightly and cutting the highs slightly. Basically with as many controls as this thing has, there are many variations possible to acheive similar sounds. But the Z-mode swith is useful as a preset with less adjustments necessary to get three distinct sounds.

Very good. It is a bit expensive, but I often just sit and stare at the inside of it because it is a work of art. It is a very complex piece of gear. It is also operates quietly which is a big plus. I've also owned a stingray with a 3-band eq. To my ear the stingray pre-amp actually sounds to me like you are hearing a battery (metalic sounding) while the Audere pre-amp sounds like you are hearing a passive bass (very transparent and open).

As far as construction, The stacked control for the bass and treble quickly got bent but it still functions fine. Also some of the eq pots are getting a little scratchy sounding while being turned. Since I take good care of the instrument, I'm a little surprised it already has some minor problems.

If this pre-amp broke, I would replace it immediately since the diffence the pre-amp made, compared to the original control plate, was amazingly positive. It made me realize how important good sounding pots are to the tone of the bass.

As good as it is, I still wish Audere would have the option of sodering the pickup wires directly to the preamp. I do not like the way they attach since it requires a tight bend in the wires in order to cram all of it into the tight space. Plus sodering is bomb-proof and solid, I wonder sometimes how good of a connection I actually get with the way the wires are currently attached. If I had to replace mine, I would try to get a custom order with just volume, blend, 3-position Z mode and treble knob. For me, all the other knobs just get in the way and don't get used.