The issue isn't just "hotness" but also impedance mismatch. People use
pre-amps with a high input impedance in conjunction w/
the pasv4 to alleviate the mismatch.

To my ears, there can be a noticeable difference. Perhaps the input
impedance on your mesa is fairly high already, in which case , you wouldn't
necessarily hear a big difference.

What kind of mesa amp are you using? Do you have sound samples available anywhere?

I don't really pay too much attention to things like impedance mismatch,I've never come across it. Is it more noticeable when running into a mixing board ?
I just always made sure I had a good cord and minimal stuff in front of the amp .

A big difference compared to what though ,is there a reference?

Not trying to be difficult,really .

In some of the stick seminars greg has done, he presented an informal "gear hour" where
he talked about the various pieces of gear he used w/ the stick.

At one point he did an A/B sound
test of a pasv4 pickup with and without a passive friendly pre-amp
(it was a step-about i think in this particular case).

the sound quality (if you were listening more than casually) was noticeable to me.
lot's more headroom and presence in the sound.. If you're happy with what you
have now, i wouldn't go run out and buy pre-amp on my advice.
but.. if you have the opportunity to try an A/B test of something like the step about or a countryman DI (or something similar) it's worth doing..

Ok, I get it ,thanks Mike. I am very happy with the tone of my Stick and Mesa amps,simplicity and portability make things more fun for me.

I agree with Frank. I have a SOVTEK MiG-60 vacuum tube top. For concerts I mostly use a laptop in-the-box rig with instrument level input through a very good audio interface. Both the analog tube and the digital rig feels and behaves just as if used with a typical humbucker type guitar (but the Stick sounds better

I run my Stick with a PASV4 pickup (original version) without a preamp now and am happy with my results. I play the bass section through a Markbass tube 800 head into a 4X10 cab (My bass guitar rig) and play the melody side very recently into a entry level Fender Mustang II 40WT solid state guitar amp (tons of internal effects) and it does the trick for me. Before getting the Fender guitar amp I simply played everything through the Markbass 800 tube (two seperate inputs) and got a very powerful warm tone out of both the bass and melody sides of the Stick. (All it was missing in the Markbass was reverb) I don't "generally" try to sound like a "guitar" and "Bass" on the Stick and usually play without overdrive. Still in my opinion the PASV4 does not lack for gain, tone or headroom without an added preamp to balance impedence. I'm SURE the StepABout adds to the over all tone but it's an expensive add on if you're already happy with what you have. And remember also ... SE sells the StepABout so demo-ing it at a Stick gathering is bit of an advertisment too! And there's NOTHING wrong with that!!

If i were concerned with a preamp and were tight on money I would buy a Zoom Acoustic premp peddle for $99. (or less) As a matter of fact I did just that for my last Stick that had a Stickup. You can get one and run mono or two and run stereo. (I had two) They are clean and clear sounding, offer tones of acoustic sounding presets as well as all your basic effects like reverb and chorus. I'm a big fan of these units! (Kind of wish i didn't sell them!)

I have not tried either the ZOOM products or the StepABout....still running through a mixer into my amp.

but fwiw....both the ZOOM A2 and the ZOOM B2 have an input impedence of 1MOhm. One for each channel (bass & melody) could be a reasonable price compromise if I feel I need a preamp and want a bit more control over the tone.

As this started out about PJB equipment, I was wondering if anyone has tried out the new basscub BG100?

I was just re-reading how I described my signal path and realized an important omission. By "summing-up" the stereo pickup as I put it, I meant that it is a TRS to TS cable. I also left out the 7-band DOD stomp EQ that comes before the Morley ABY. So the signal path goes like this: Stick-TRS-TS-Graphic EQ-ABY-split to Bass and Guitar amps so both stick sides go into both amps. I guess it's kinda like having the stickup as a mono pickup right from the start.

The graphic eq goes from 100Hz to 6400Hz. I fumble around with the sliders, but it's generally in a gentle low-mid boosting curve with a bit more significant dropoff in the 6400Hz slider. I set the level slider about 85% so that it gives a sort of clean drive/boost to signal.

Since I opened myself up for a little preamp discussion, I'll put in another couple questions: Is a TRS - TS cable considered acceptable for combining the signal? Is the graphic EQ more or less accomplishing what a preamp would be doing?

I know that alot of these tonal discussions can be really subjective, but I'm always open to ideas. Gear talk is fun.