We sell the Aguilar OBP-3, but there are many times when a bassist wants at least an idea of what a bass sounds like with one installed.
The video below will give you a general idea of what a direct bass tone can be with an OBP-3 on board.
To note, the bass used in the video also uses Aguilar DCB pickups, so you also get a very good idea of like-to-like brands when you combine Aguilar pickups + Aguilar preamp.
REMEMBER: If you have any questions about installation of the pickups or preamp for your bass, ask us. Email direct to sales@bestbassgear.com
Now, how about an example for the rest of us who don’t reside in slap world? 😀
[quote]Now, how about an example for the rest of us who don’t reside in slap world?[/quote]
Exactly what I was thinking as I watched that… pretty useless to me.
Same here. Would rather hear it used in a blues player’s configuration.
Have to agree . . .
I listened to 15 seconds and stopped it. Of you can’t demo what it sounds like for bass players who don’t secretly want to play a marimba, don’t bother.
You john st list a potential sale with that video.
How about before and after? On e change at a time? Just sounded like a zillion other slaps.
The guy in the video has another one with fingers.
Ditto just bout every bass demo or video is slap… gotta have good finger playing, changing tones and even some chords to get better idea of bass, pickups or preamp…
Holy cow! If that pre-amp made my KZ5 sound like that I’d buy a dozen! If I played slap! Ditto on previous comments. Come on guys, there’s more to technique than slap.
Piling on another “@$#&! Slap” comment. +1
Not Bad. But I dont Like Aguiliar. Because Aguiliar Pickup & Pre~ So Mellow?
Aguiliar is No Growling, No Punch !
I like EMG!
EMGs baby!! all the way full open and angry or low and ssssssssssssssssooo mellow wit good depth of tone. i have an ibanez ,schecter, and wabash but LOVE my inbanez and schecter THEM DAMN EMGs mane!!
AD Shack 25yr+ bassist
Aguilar OBP-3 is probably the most stocked & popular aftermarket bass preamp on the market, And has been for well over a decade.. But I put one in a Lakland 55-02 and a J-bass Deluxe and I absolutely HATED it!! I understand many many people swear by them and one of my all time favorite bass/bassist Modulus Funk Ultd/Flea always uses a 2 band Aguilar pre..
However when I swapped it out for a John East J-Retro the difference was shocking!! I went from strange Nasal mid to “WOW I have access to infinite sonic possibilities & they’re all frickin incredible!!) Sure they’re like 360 $$ here in the USA but once I got it I never looked back
This was great!
I’ve been looking at the OBP3 as a replacement for an EMG DC40 I’ve installed. Great tone from the Aggy gear.
I’m sorry there are so many folks that have issues with percussive and slap playing. I can (and do) play both styles so the sound sample has helped me make a decision ‘to buy’ – so a sale won – not lost.
For me it’s imperative I hear how a bass sounds when slapped. I need to hear and feel it’s percussive quality. I also like a naturally bright and open instrument as I can easily make them dark and thumpy sounding with EQing and technique. But I can’t do the opposite. Oh, wasn’t this supposed to be about Aguilar OBP3? I love that preamp, use it all the time.
Slap is such a limited part of bass playing. Why would anyone think that slapping is a definitive example of a preamp or bass sound? It’s not all there is to bass playing. I’m no wiser to the issue of suitability of this preamp to my playing style. I gave up slapping years ago because there is soooo much music out there that doesn’t need it.
Interesting….so many comments dissing the man’s video. Why don’t you all purchase the Aggie DCBs and the OPB-3 then make the vid the way you want to make it. It’s not like he made the vid with a ton of overdrive or other effects. There are other vids on YouTube with finger tone.
I like the guys who take you through different settings ( eq, pickups neck/bridge, slap / fingers / chords / pick) gives you a better sense of what sounds can be created. I also feel when you’re comparing different sounds they should be in same video just better to compare. When going to another video sound can be mixed differently so many variables. It’s sort of like mixing recording’s use A/B-ing a track when making changes to compare is it better or not? I rely on me ears to know what sounds good to me or not!
I have a Ibanez BTBPQM5. It came with an old Fishman preamp that drove the piezo pups and the 2 Bartolini magnetic pups, and did a fair job of blending everything. But the tones were not all clear and the bottom got mushy.
I got an Aguilar OBP-3 pre-amp from BBG and disconnected the piezo because I couldn’t figure how to wire it all up. Then somewhere at TalkBass I came across a guy that said they got a piezo buffer from BBG that worked with their magnetic pups. And they also said Max at BBG helped them with going through the install. So today I Max took the time (with patience) to help me with my install. So now I am running my Aguilar OBP-3 with a Bartolini piezo buffer, and I can blend the piezos with my mag pups and get everything out of my bass, with the crisp, clear tones of the Aguilar EQ…including nice bright slap-pability.
THANKS A MILLION MAX @ BBG!!! Could not have done it with out him!!
Craig
I agree that I would need to hear a bass guitar that was like the one I use, or at least similar, with a before and after listening for a true assessment. I’ve been playing bass for fifty years and I’ve had other bassists suggest that I put this kind of pickup in, or that kind of pickup or preamp in but at those times, they all had totally different basses than I had. I am so tired of seeing the “upgrade articles and videos”, of which start out with a pretty reasonable grade bass to begin with. Most people that buy a bass that costs from 800 dollars up are buying that bass because that’s what they want, and they like the sound of it. I haven’t searched Youtube, or search the internet for before and after bass upgrade tests, but would love to find them for a true and honest comparison. So far, I have only changed the pickup in one of my basses and that was because it just stopped working. That was on a Fender MIM jazz. I have other basses that I think might benefit from a pickup change, but find that the sound I want is possible depending on the amp/speaker cabinet I’m using and the settings on the amp.
Grouch Marx once asked a game show contestant who had eight children why he had so many kids. The guy answered: “Well, I love my wife, Groucho.”
Groucho shot back: “Well, I love my cigar but I take it out of my mouth once in a while.”
The point, as it applies to demonstrations of bass tones/pickups/preamps, etc., is that while there is nothing wrong with slap, it’s useful to hear something else once in a while.
I think that slap is a good way to hear how pups and pre’s sound. It’s a more consistent technique from player to player (from a sound perspective) than straight finger style and shows a broader dynamic range. But that’s just me. I know I should probably be more of a hater in order to keep up with the new social norm.
I installed one in a Carvin Bunny bass because the one that came with it, well lets just say it stopped working. I had low expectation on what it was going to sound like, but when I plugged in my Harke 3500 after installing the OP-3. It sounded so much better. I then tried them on my Carvin R600 with 4 tens and they sounded great. The Carvin amp lacks High end so the sound was not slap but more Rock or blues. So when I built me a J-bass I installed one in it. The Bass was designed around using a OB3. I played a lot of classic rock and stuff from the 00 years. Anything from Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin to Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails and Faith No more. That pre-amp never let me down on sound that I was trying to cover. If you set it flat it brings out a clearer sound of what your wood and pickups sound like which is where I keep it most of the time. If you turn up the Bass just a bit it gives you a big bottom end.If you push the highs and Mids just a bit it sounds a lot like M Miller. If you drop the mids with the tremble up it sounds like Justin with Tool. Now I using it in a Church setting ( the Cavin and the J Bass) playing hard Christian rock and the sound man loves them both.They will work for blues or hard rock or what ever, you just have to be tasteful in what you push, it will give a little or a lot.
Wow, everybody triggered b/c he recorded some slap bass. “Now how about one in zero gravity. Not all of us reside on the planet surface you know.” lmao
To me the reason why people choose to play slap bass when demonstrating some products is because its the tonal characteristics of that particular style of playing that captures the pure essence of playing bass. When you can play this technique you pretty much have most of the other techniques covered because they aren’t really that technically diverse. I mean some of the bass lines are really simple ala John Paul Jones and Paul McCartney. Their sounds are solid,but not particularly challenging. Just my opinion. Slap players can play the aforementioned players styles, but can they play slap. I seriously doubt it!!!
Why do people don’t SLAP it anymore like it should !
i gues the very light playin’ expensive basses don’t make that possible of people don’t even try to SLAP well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouULbQEiNaQ
I have two in a les paul style bass. Many many wonderful tones from it. But I usually play it with a pick
That’s Bass playing is it?