12 string shootout time – the modded beater bass against a stock 12 string

The “beater” 12 string that appeared in my last blog is ready to prove out against a stock Dean 12 string.

I’ve always wondered how a Dean 12 string would sound with a different electronics/pickup package other than the stock set. It’s expensive (and disheartening on some level) to yank pickups out of a brand new $900 bass. So I was offered a beater Dean 12 string bass that was being stripped for parts and resurrected it. That donation permitted this whole experiment to happen. (Thank you Andy Melchert for the donated bass body!)

So here’s specs on the candidates for our test;

My bass – EMG 40 DC pickups, a Kaish preamp (yes, you read that right…a $20 preamp from eBay) that is wired volume, blend, treble, mid, bass, a treble bleed cap on the volume pot, all running 18v.

The stock bass – EMG HZs, 9v system, stock EMG preamp. Controls are volume, volume, treble, midrange, bass.

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