The Pro Z preamp is sold as an upgrade for existing basses, our instructions
assume that the mounting holes are already in the instrument. Installation is
simple if you have experience installing music electronics. Typical hand tools
for soldering wire connections and assembly are required. If you are uncertain
about the installation we recommend you have a trained guitar technician
install it for you. You can also send an email to
if you have any questions.
Each product is
configured to order; these
general instructions apply
to most configurations,
some portions of it may
not be applicable to your
particular installation.
Additional information is
available in the Frequently
asked Questions (FAQ)
on our web site.
We offer a 10 day return
period from receipt of
the preamp, see our
Satisfaction Guarantee for
details. We recommend
you follow our instructions
and conduct a “test play”
to check out the product’s
performance before completing the installation and before making any
modifications to the product or your instrument.
Knobs are not provided with the preamp.
Our potentiometers have
solid shafts so the knobs need a set screw to secure them. The single
potentiometer has a 6mm shaft. Dual potentiometers have an 8mm outer shaft
and 6mm inner shaft. These shaft sizes are common to many preamps. Some
knob resellers do not know the shaft size their knobs fit; knobs which will fit a
normal Bart, Aguilar, EMG or East stacked pot should fit.
audio engineering
Every instrument is different; we have made the module small and easy
to install but if you find you need to make modifications to your instrument
in order to install this product please take extra care. Audere Audio is
not
responsible for any damage or modifications you make to your instrument
as part of the product installation of the product. See our Limited Warranty
for restrictions on liability.
Step 1) Connecting to the Pickups
The preamp wires used for the pickups are: Green strip on White base color
(Green/White) for the pickup common, Black/White (Bridge or single pickup
hot) and Blue/White (Neck pickup hot).
The preamp inputs come from the module, unless your configuration includes
an A/P switch in which case the inputs come through the A/P switch.
A. Disconnect your pickup wires from the original preamp.
B. All wire connections must be insulated to prevent shorting and to keep
the leads isolated from the output jack and from the cavity ground.
Prior to connecting the wires, slide the heat shrink tubes over each
pickup wire and the module Green/
White wire. These tubes will be
reduced over the solder joints later.
C. For a single pickup system: connect
the hot lead from the pickup to the
Black/White wire. Connect the pickup
“common” lead to the Green/White
wire.
D. For a dual pickup system: connect the
bridge pickup hot lead to the Black/White wire. Connect the neck pickup
hot lead to the Blue/White wire. Connect both of the pickups “common”
leads together and then solder them to the module’s Green/White wire.
E. For all systems: Slide the heat shrink over the solder connections and
shrink with a heat gun or hair dryer (do not over heat and protect other
components from the heat). You may prefer to postpone shrinking the
heat shrink until after the play test - just be sure that the exposed wires
do not touch anything that will cause an electrical short.
If your pickups have an additional shielding wire; solder it to the output jack
ground (center tab) or cavity ground.
Verify that your pickups are not connected on the negative (common) side
to the cavity shielding. If the pickups are connected to the cavity remove this
connection; the Green/White
wire must not be grounded.
Connecting the Green/White
wire to the cavity ground will
not damage the preamp but it
will increase power pull and the
preamp will sound bad with a lot
of distortion.
PLEASE READ
THESE INSTRUCTIONS
PRIOR TO INSTALLING YOUR
PRO Z PREAMP
Step 2) Connect the Preamp to do a Play Test
To test play the preamp prior to a full
installation: tape the preamp to the
back of the instrument with low tack
tape to hold it in place during testing
(verify first that the tape will not hurt
the finish when it is removed).
A. Connect a battery to the new
preamp and insert the guitar
cable into the new preamp jack.
B. Verify the battery LED lights up
on insertion.
C. You can now do an initial play
test.
Note: it will pick up extra noise while it is out of the shielded cavity. Since this
is just a test, we will not adjust the Low Z gain, so the Low Z-Mode may be
louder or softer than the other modes. This will be adjusted later. Also note that
touching the temporarily ungrounded pots or switches can cause hum.
It is important to prevent any electrical connections from touching and shorting
to each other.
If after playing the preamp in this test mode you are satisfied with the sound,
proceed with the installation.
Step 3) Remove the old preamp and Prepare the Cavity
A. Remove screws holding the existing output jack plate and remove the
jack nut. Set the plate and hardware aside for use with the new output
jack.
B. Pull jack back into the cavity.
C. Remove the knobs from the pots and then remove the nuts and washers
from pots and switches.
D. Pull out the old preamp circuit.
E. Determine the location for the module, battery, LED and any additional
holes, if required, for pots and switches.
F. Most basses have the cavity shielded with either conductive paint or a
foil shield; however some low cost basses do not have a shielded cavity.
This is required for quiet operation in any electric bass and for providing
a ground connection for the pots and switches. With shielding you don’t
need to get 100% coverage, but you want to get the best coverage that is
reasonably achieved.
G. It is important that the pots and switches are grounded to the cavity and
that the cavity is grounded to the output jack. If the pots and switches are
not grounded they will buzz when you touch them. A strip of copper foil
with an adhesive backing is provided for grounding the controls. Apply the
foil to the wood where the controls exit the cavity, and solder the Grey/
White wire from the Jack to the foil. The pots are pulled against the foil
when the hardware is installed completing the ground circuit.
Pro Z Revision 1.0 Printed in the U.S.A.
© 2013 by Audere Engineering LLC All rights reserved.
