Just ordered a Headway EDB-1

[dberch]

Based on what I've heard from the few people who have AB'd this with K&K's preamps, I went ahead and ordered one today.

I have a Behringer C-2 Mic I'm going to try with it.

My next shows are May 30 and June 16, so it will be a while before I can get back to you with a review. Stay tuned...

David

[leehwd]

Hi David,

Could you share how your show on May 30 went using the Headway EDB-1 preamp?

Thanks,

Howard

[tbeltrans]

Though I have not heard the EDB-1 (and therefore can't compare the K & K preamp to it), I can say that a bit of modding and the K & K preamp improves quite a bit. Replace the ICs and fiddle a bit with the tone control circuitry and it is a different preamp. Whether it is as good, better, etc. than other preamps such as the EDB-1, I can't say, but in its own right, it is much better for the mods than it was stock. If the EDB-1 does it right off the shelf, then that is probably the best choice though because modding the K & K does take some time and work that the EDB-1 probably doesn't need to get the results you are looking for.

Tony

[nobo]

Any further info on what modding you did to the K&K preamp? Which K&K preamp was it?

At the moment I'm using a laptop setup for live with my RME Fireface 400. I also have an AER Compact 60. Had a PARA DI, but recently sold it. For gigs where I'm not using the laptop, I could do with some extra eq and better impedance matching than I can get with AER alone (I'm running a K&K, an M1a and sometimes and external mic too). The Headway is mighty tempting, but so is the Solstice (better interfacing and separate eq on each channel... but not as convenient due to size/mains supply). That said, I could probably save myself a few £ and just get a K&K (and maybe mod it)...

[tbeltrans]

Replace the stock ICs (TI TL072 and TL083) with Analog Devices AD-712. I would suggest socketing them. I always do that when modding pedals in which IC replacement is a part of the project. The other thing is that I changed the center frequency of the mid tone control so it was more consistent with the needs of my Cargo with PWM pickups. The stock center frequency is 1.5 KHZ and I wanted 800 HZ. This preamp is a very simple (simple is good, in my mind...), so there really is not much else to do with it other than use it.

I am not sure you need to change anything in the tone control circuit if your guitar does not have weird needs like my Cargo does. But if you do, it is best to draw schematically the part you want to change and then calculate the capacitor changes off that. I can tell you what I did, but I kind of doubt that you would need an 800 HZ midrange center frequency for most guitars. The stock configuration is probably fine. The only other thing I can think of (which I didn't feel the need to do) is raise the voltage to increase headroom. You will want to do a bit of circuit analysis to make sure that all your voltage points are still right if you do that. Personally, I think that MOST of what K & K did was good. Considering the cost of the AD-712, I can see why they would not have gone that route, but we can - so no harm done.

Note that the battery life will go down a bit, but not enough to really matter in the long run. I don't know how technical you wanted this response to be, so I left it at what to do and what to expect - much more consistent overall sound (better parts and they are more linear at the 9v rail voltage) and a bit worse battery life because the AD-712 draws a bit more power (IIRC - 5 ma vs 1.5 ma).

Tony

[tbeltrans]

One further comment - based on what I have consistently read here about the Headway, if it were available when I was in the process of getting a preamp for my Cargo with PWM, I would probably have gone for the Headway. It really isn't THAT more money and you don't have to do anything except use it. I am not dissatisfied with the Pure XLR preamp, but I was before the mods. I have never seen a Headway in "real life" but too many people have praised it not only here, but in a variety of other forums as well. That is just too consistent to ignore for me.

I don't mean to imply that there is anything inherently wrong with the Pure XLR preamp - it is decent. But the Headway seems to be something special at a good price. The AAD Cub 100 guitar amp is like that. I have one and can vouch for that. I would not be at all surprised if the Headway is special lie that too, based on what I have read.

Regards,

Tony

[tbeltrans]

After reading wal's review of the Headway, I must say that even the stock Pure XLR preamp is much better than what he has described. It runs nicely on either phantom power or 1 9v battery and is not noisy at all. The mods make a basically good thing even better, rather than salvaging a bad thing. Again, I have never seen a headway preamp in real life, so all I can go by is what I read from others. I didn't realize that the Headway has a 5 meg ohm input impedance. The AAD Cub has a 4 meg ohm input impedance and that is too high for the K & K PWM, so I would have to say that for the PWM pickups, the Pure XLR preamp may be THE way to go at this price point.

Tony

[nobo]

Many thanks Tony.

BTW, the Headway has switchable impedence inputs, and you can set it to 1k to work with the K&K. Would be very interested to have be able to compare between your modded K&K pre and the Headway. I must say that the Headway is tempting as I'm not sure I'd trust myself to mod the K&K - and getting someone else to do it for me is likely to mean it ends up costing around the same as the Headway.

[tbeltrans]

I would have to check again, but I thought the switchable Headway input impedances were 5 and 15 meg ohm, rather than being able to switch 1 meg ohm. I will have to check out their site for specs.

Anyway, it will be interesting to read what direction you decide to go and how it works out for you. These forums are great for exchanging ideas and experiences that all can benefit from.

Tony

[jennconducts]

FYI, Laurence Juber is presently using the Headway with great results. He likes it very much.

[dberch]

The K&K is a VERY good premp for it's intended use. I would love to do a true, live, A/B test with the K&K, Modded K&K, and the Headway.

It would be interesting to see if anyone in the audieace at a real show could actually hear the difference.

[hann]

Well I haven't been able to mod a K&K XLR preamp since i've sold it after gettin the headway.. now I wonder how a modded KK wud compare to a headway..

but i did a review of the old preamp here:
http://www.guitar4christ.com/index.p...p&f=32&t=31004

[dberch]

OK, I've enjoyed the discussion on modding preamps, but let's get this back on track

I did my second show Wednesday night with EDB-1 and external microphone. I used three K&K equipped guitars and a Behringer C-2 small diaphragm concenser.

I've seen many comments that "no separate EQ for each channel is a deal breaker" and many other comments for people who have tried it saying it's a non-issue.

Now that I have used it I have to agree. I didn't even use the EQ section. It defies logic. Seriously. I plugged in the mic and the guitar pickup, set the master volume at about 60 %, turned up the mic to the pint of feedback, then backed if off a bit. Turned up the K&K channel until it was audible, and ...

It was the best sound I've ever gotten. Extremely natural. I am surprised and a bit amazed. Didn't even touch the EQ! I left everything flat. How the..? What the ..?

I didn't really expect too much from the cheapo Behringer C-2 but it sounded pretty darn good. Most importantly, it did exactly what I was hoping, namely just add some wood and some air to the already good sound of the K&K Mini.

Even switching guitars did not create any problems. I was going form an all mahogany OM to a Adi/mahogany dread, and they both sounded like they should. Did not have to tweak the EQ at all. Not even any Boom issues from the dread.

About half-way through the show gravity got the better of my goose-neck and I gave up fighting with it. But even then, with just the K&K, it was fantastic and noticeably better than the Pure XLR. I fell a bit like a blasphemer but I'm sold on the EDB-1.

I'm very pleased. And surprised. Did I mention that I didn't touch the EQ?

David

[guitaniac]

Thanks for the report, David. Indeed interesting.

[dberch]

Yeah, when I re-read before posting, I thought "There goes any credibility I ever had.. "

All I can say is I will report back again on this. Or I'll wake up from this dream.