Aria Pro II SB-1000 bass "BB Noisekiller" preamp replacement/upgrades

Description: This listing is for replacement pre-amps for vintage 70s-80s Matsumoku Aria Pro II SB-1000 basses. These pre-amps are straight swaps for the original circuit using identical design values but with improvements from modern precision components and PCB manufacturing. The pre-amp was also found in the very limited SB-R150 and SB-800 basses in addition to the less well known NK-700/800 series of guitars. Beyond Aria Pro II instruments, this preamp can be used in custom hybrid electric circuits to eliminate hum and noise in most instruments provided they can be fitted with a switched jack and two 9v batteries. The components in the original Aria Pro II pre-amps are around 40 years old, far older than the decade or so they were expected to work for! Those that haven't failed have inevitable component aging and performance degradation. Original pre-amp circuits were never made available as aftermarket replacements meaning many vintage SB-1000s end up gutted of their active electronics, fitted with a different pre-amp (such as the modern Aria Pro II SB-1000 re-issues which are different ) or left to run as a simpler passive bass. Without the original circuit much of the versatility and distinctive SB-1000 sound owners hunt for ends up lost. This version of the 10-pin BB Noisekiller pre-amp design is compatible with both the original 1978-80 "batwing" SB-1000 basses, the later 80s models with the blinking LED and other bass and guitar models featuring this preamp. Like the originals they are a plug-and-play design that only require that the connector be pulled from the old unit and pushed onto the new one. See note below about connector orientation. In the decades since the original SB-1000s were made, electronic components have improved in technology and quality by magnitudes. Our preamps are true to the original design's functionality and tone, but exceed originals in performance and audio quality; the intrinsic sound of the pre-amp is the same, but with the bonus of increased reliability and fidelity. We opted to use the stellar Burr Brown OPA2227 for our modern version of the BB preamp, along with laser-trimmed metal film resistors, high-spec Japanese capacitors, turned pin IC sockets, heavy copper PCBs and larger grounding planes for noise rejection. For those that insist on absolute vintage reproduction purposes we also offer pre-amps designed around the original JRC4558 chips and component types as per the originals. In general we recommend the modern variants over the original design every time, purely because of the performance and battery life advantages rather than any tonal difference. PURCHASE OPTION DESCRIPTIONS In addition to the two types of preamp design, we can also supply the two most common electronic parts that restorations often require; the switched jack socket and crimped 10-way wiring connector. These are supplied as-is for your own restoration as opposed to being drop-in replacements; soldering is required! These parts are often difficult to acquire or uneconomical when factoring in shipping from different suppliers. The crimped connectors are genuine Molex KK parts with 30cm of colour-coded wiring, more than enough for all sorts of restorations and modifications. The jack sockets are genuine Kobiconn DPDT-switched sockets, identical to the originals. Any queries, just ask. As per the originals, pre-amps are epoxy potted in an ABS case to protect the circuit. Pre-amps are supplied with an unkeyed 10-pin header. Do ensure that the pre-amp is oriented in the same direction as the previous unit when plugging in the connector, ie. PCB the same side of the connector. The listing photographs show a new unit and an original in the same alignment. All pinout labels are printed onto the PCB however confirmation of orientation can easily be made via email if you want to send photos.NEW! B-Stock AvailabilityFrom time to time we will list preamps that are less than 100% cosmetically perfect; the electronic and physical operation of B-stock preamps are absolutely identical to the other preamps, and are also tested both during manufacture and prior to shipping. The cosmetic flaws may be a slight chip on the plastic casing or imperfect epoxy encapsulation, such as slight overspill or a bubble. A nice opportunity to grab a preamp at a discount! IMPORTANT SHIPPING/RETURNS NOTICE Due to a problem with fraudulent buyers gaming the dispute system, we are no longer able to offer economy shipping as an option; we would rather that our customers not have to pay additional costs simply because of one unscrupulous eBayer however the choice isn't really ours because of this. Apologies that Finland is super expensive for postage - it's a constant bugbear for us. We're still trying to find better options to bring costs down. If you're an eBay seller yourself, we'd recommend that you cover your back against fraudulent buyers claiming non-receipt and offer only tracked services. Losing both an item to a fraudster, any replacements sent and then eBay reversing your original payment is not worth the risk. Product FAQs Q. Can I upgrade a passive bass to active using these preamps? A. Yes. The only caveats being that you will need to swap out your volume and tone pots to lower values (20-25k) and fit a switched DPDT jack socket to manage the 2x 9v battery supply. A Molex KK or TE CST-100 connector is all you need to fit the pre-amp. These are available from electronics suppliers or here on eBay also. You will of course also need space for the batteries and pre-amp which are generally not as easy to acquire! Gotoh dual battery boxes are a nice option, and generally the preamp itself seats on the rear of a cavity plate. I've fitted several instruments with SB-1000 type circuits from custom 5-string basses to Telecasters. Q. Can the pre-amp be run on a 9v supply? A. Yes and no but mostly "no". The pre-amp works on a balanced supply hence the two batteries. Whilst it is possible to fudge a solution to use only one battery, the impact on the noise cancelling capability and overall signal headroom make the negatives outweigh the positives. It's easier to work with "no" than the headaches associated with a poor "yes"! Q. I bought my bass with the pre-amp missing. Which way around do I fit this pre-amp? A. The three pins marked "PWR" on the pre-amp PCB correspond to the three wires that supply voltage. These are most commonly red/orange/blue from the outside in. The red and blue wires should lead to two of the jack socket tags whilst the orange leads to the batteries. Q. My bass has been completely gutted! Can I buy new pickups, electronics, etc? A. Ouch. Well, new pickups can be bought from Rautia Guitars (http://www.rautiaguitars.net/aria-pro-ii.html) here in Finland, Aaron Armstrong in the UK (http://www.armstrongpickups.co.uk/) or Reed James in the US (http://reedjamescustom.com/id22.html). We prefer Rautia Guitars' reproductions as they match the originals the closest in tone and internal architecture. The electronics are a bit more difficult. The stacked pots in the 1981-1986 SB-1000 are impossible to buy outside of a custom order of a few thousand (!!) however sometimes we have replacements. The varitone and rest of the electronics loom can be reproduced also. The downside is that the complex nature of the electronics and time involved means they're not a cheap proposition. 1977-1979 SB-1000s (active only) were much simpler and can be reproduced using standard components. As you'd expect, retrofitting is easier done with the bass on the bench so we don't offer drop-in looms any more. By all means drop us an email for advice and we'll always help one to one as best we can. Q. Do you have any of the original knobs for sale? A. No(t yet). Original volume and tone pot knobs are near-impossible to get ahold of at best. Occasionally they pop up on eBay for ridiculous prices; so much so, it is often almost as cheap buying a low-end Aria Pro II bass just to get the knobs off it. The varitone knob is somewhat easier. Q. My battery LED circuit is causing clicks in the audio. Is this normal? A. No, or at least it is not what is supposed to happen of course. Component aging causes components such as the capacitors to leak current or other unwanted things. The upshot of this is that the LED blinker circuit (the one wrapped in electrical tape) injects noise spikes onto the pre-amp supply, which is then pushed onto the audio signal as clicks or "pulses" if the preamp's supply smoothing components are also leaky. We've been working on a special version of the BB pre-amp which incorporates a "soft LED pulse" circuit for a future iteration, but is not a high priority at current. Customer Comments - "[the pre-amp] opened up [the bottom end] drastically and is a lot less muddy than with the original BB preamp. The high mids and highs are a lot cleaner as well" - "I thought something was wrong because it was almost silent compared to how it used to be. I almost **** myself because I turned [the amp] right up before I played it!" - "I haven't used the [rotary] switch for years after the old one crapped out on me and I forgot how deep the bass sounds" - "Sweet and transparent and the clicking from the LED stopped"

Price: 10 GBP

Location: Turku, Varsinais-Suomi

End Time: 2024-02-05T11:07:15.000Z

Shipping Cost: 22.83 GBP