Description

Steve Bailey’s fretless bass tonal demands range from the bite of a blues trio to the edge of a power trio to the warmth of a jazz trio to the extremes of a bass duo. We designed this system to deliver ultimate control from the studio to the stage. Starting with a calibrated neck and bridge active J bass pickups voiced to enhance Steve’s fretless playing, we then added our 3 band Tone Circuit (STC-3ASB) for a complete system.

Our Tone Circuits will add a tremendous amount of on-board tonal versatility to any dual pickup bass. This design enables players to boost or cut specifically focused frequencies in order to achieve signature tones and to dial in a great sound no matter what the situation. We even added two small trim pots on the circuit board can be tweaked to preset the frequency contour EQ just the way you want.

The STC-3ASB one Circuit provides bass and treble controls, a midrange control, a master volume, a blend control, and our special frequency contour switch. This preamp was voiced by Steve Bailey to have three bands of focused EQ, together with a switch that engages a frequency contour optimized to bring out fretless harmonics as well as mid-range boost. The frequency contour is engaged by pulling up of the volume control.

This system will work in any JJ bass that has space for 4 control knobs (volume/freq switch, blend, concentric bass and treble, and midrange controls) and a single 9v battery in the control cavity. Two 9v batteries can be wired together in series for added headroom. Battery life is approximately 1,000 continuous hours per set. We include all necessary mounting hardware high-quality potentiometers on pre-wired harness; battery clip; and black anodized, knurled, dome-style knobs.

NOTE: this pickup and preamp system is not a direct retrofit for Fender Jazz V but fits many popular 5-string basses.