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The Radial Tonebone PZ-Pre is a powerful and flexible acoustic preamplifier, built into a heavy-duty floor pedal unit. Obviously, at Gollihur Music we're primarily offering it as a two-channel preamp for use with upright bass, but it's equally useful for ALL acoustic instruments, like acoustic guitar, banjo, violin, cello, mandolin, bouzouki or lute (among others). The unit features high performance 100% discrete class-A piezo boosters, an ultra-quiet preamp circuitry that will adapt to any pickup system and useful connectivity options.
Features:
- Combination PZ booster and preamp
- Two inputs: switch easily between two instruments or blend/mix two instruments/pickups*
- Parametric EQ - tailor your sound
- Notch filter - surgically remove troublesome feedback points
- High-pass filter - cut low frequency resonances to eliminate "rumble"
- Phase reverse - can sometimes help to improve your instrument's sound on odd stage acoustical environments
- Mute switch - allows you to tune (with tuner out) without sending signal to amp/house
- Effects loop - easily add additional effects, dynamic processors, and more - with in/out footswitch
- Four outputs: amp, tuner and two DI outs (pre/post)
- Works with any instrument!
The PZ-Pre is more than just a sonically pure acoustic instrument preamp. The three footwitches let you effortlessly toggle between instruments, bring in boost and/or effects and mute the output for quiet tuning. Set the recessed Peizo buffer switches to suit your instrument's requirements, then adjust separate levels to balance them. Lo-cut, Notch filters, parametric EQ and boost level controls allow the perfect fine-tuning of all parameters of your sound.
There are two inputs on the PZ-Pre which can be used for two instruments - or mixed together if you have two pickups on one instrument. Each input is equipped with its own PZB piezo booster circuit. Important Note: The PZ-Pre is not equipped with any form of phantom or power to supply a remote microphone, so this must be powered independently. You can individually set the volume (and boost circuit) for each pickup to allow for the balance between instruments or pickups that you desire. Once you have set the mix between the inputs, you can adjust the EQ and filters to find the tonal balance that works best for your sound.
Neat: Input-1 is specially equipped to allow a stereo TRS cable (Tip, Ring, and Sleeve) to access both PZ-Pre channels. This feature is designed for instruments that combine two pickup systems through a stereo TRS jack. A stereo TRS cable will allow you to connect both pickups to separate PZ-Pre inputs with a single
cable. So, for instance, you can use this preamp with the Bass Master Pro or Rockabilly transducer sets without using adapters to connect them. Cool!
Here's a diagram of a common hookup using a URB with dual pickups:
Tools for Controlling feedback
If low resonance is encountered, causing feedback, you can try activating the low frequency roll-off (high-pass filter) and setting it to the first position. This setting will give you a gentle roll-off that will usually tame run-away bass resonance.
Mid-range or high frequency squeal is best controlled using the notch filter. A notch filter is basically a type of EQ with a very narrow Q or notch that cuts out the center frequency as set by the notch control. There are two settings for normal and extra deep notches. Simply select the first notch setting and slowly sweep the notch center frequency control until you locate the offending frequency. This control extends over a wide range from 56Hz to 330Hz.
In some instances, as you move around the stage you will notice that feedback or resonance seems to increase in certain spots between the wedge monitor and your personal amp. This is caused by nodes either amplifying each other or cancelling each other out at various frequencies. Try reversing the (absolute) phase with the 180° polarity reverse. This can often help minimize this occurrence. (Keep in mind that the louder you set the on-stage volume, the greater the occurrence of feedback or resonance will be. This is a fact of life when trying to amplify acoustic instruments.)
 Comparison shopping?
The PZ-Pre is a heavy-duty, pro-level preamp that can be used with two separate instruments or a single instrument with two pickups. It has loads of features which are useful to many players, and compared to other preamps we carry, may be more or less suited for your particular situation.
Here's how the PZ-Pre matches up, feature for feature, against the other two-channel preamps we sell:
| Feature |
 Radial PZ-Pre |
 DTAR Solstice |
 K&K Sound Dual Channel Pro |
| Inputs |
2 ¼" (Input 1 is TRS-capable) |
2 ¼" (TRS-capable) and 2 XLR |
2 ¼" (or single ¼" TRS |
| Format |
Floor Pedal |
Desktop/Amptop |
Belt-clippable |
| Power |
AC adapter (included) |
AC adapter (included) |
9v battery or AC adapter (optional) |
| Outputs |
Dual ¼" (pre and post) |
¼" and XLR balanced |
¼" blended (option for separate ¼" for each channel in Dual Channel ST) |
| Effects Loop |
Yes, on/off |
Yes, blendable |
No |
| EQ |
3-band (Bass/Treb) with parametric mid - master only |
3-band (Bass/Mid/Treb) - per channel |
3-band (Bass/Mid/Treb) - per channel |
| Phase Reverse |
Yes - master |
Yes - per channel |
No |
| Gain |
+12 db max |
Internally adjustable 0 to +24db |
Up to 10x gain |
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