I wanted to make a versatile bass preamp that had a clean tone as well as being capable of having a ton of overdrive. I started with a Benson Preamp circuit that was designed for guitar but it lacked low end for use with a bass so I modified it so that it had zero low end loss and could actually boost it. Its design has no opamps or diodes, but rather, uses all JFets (three J201's) that simulate tubes for a very natural clean and overdriven circuit. After using it on my most recent gig I am very pleased with how this one came out. I was previously using one of my two Origin Effects DCX Bass Pedals for that (which I love!) but wanted to see if this one could do the job of it and I pleased to say that I loved it, so I'll be using it on my gigs from now on. It actually can make my Fender JMJ Mustang bass with flatwounds sound very close to an overdriven Rickenbacker bass with roundwounds.
For this one, I used a manufactured PCB mounted it in a polished and acid etched 125B with a relayed true bypass and with all top jacks. This is the last one that I'm going to build (for a total of three) and I am keeping the first one for myself, so only this last one is available for purchase.
I have been building effects pedals since 1974 (50 years!).
Quick soudclip (Mustang bass with flatwound strings)
