The AionFX/Traynor TS-50B preamp - CAN YOU DO ANY LESS??!!

 BUILDERS NOTE: MAKE SURE THAT YOUR ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITORS ARE RATED MINIMUM 35 VOLTS.

This layout is posted over at Dirtbox, but it is one of the best damn bass preamps ever, so I wanted to put it up here, too. 

To be clear - I did not draw a majority of this one. Anders/Fuzzhead did all the heavy lifting on this but he used an LTC1144 charge pump to create the bipolar power that this thing needs. While that chip takes DC voltage and does a really good job of converting it to +/- AC voltage, it only puts out about 20 milliamps of current.

Unfortunately - this preamp circuit needs WAY more. Like up around 100mA, if I'm not mistaken. So while the LTC1144 IC works, you will get a subtle, ever present whine from the supply.

AionFX, who did the schematic for this originally (it is one of their PCB projects, go buy one) suggests a kind of expensive (about $10-$12 each) power converter that does the trick, though.

So my layout takes Fuzzhead's drawing and incorporates that power converter, as well as the Zener diode and inductors it needs, and now this thing works perfectly.

Seriously - it's the loudest, clearest bass preamp EVER (and sounds great on guitar, too) and, dialed in right, you can get that characteristic Traynor TS-50B clang that just cuts through anything and everything. The first time I plugged mine in I was like "oh there's THAT bass tone" Jesus Lizard, Shellac...