2 Band Versus 3 Band

dmas81

dmas81

Sep 17, 2006
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#1
I’m sure there’s a thread out there somewhere on this but what can you gear heads tell me about why 2 band preamps IMO tend to sound so good compared to a 3 band?

I’ve owned probably 35 basses in the last 10 years with various configurations and some of my favorite basses have been 2 band.

Sadowsky, Alleva Coppollo.

One more example is I’ve tried the audere preamp 2 band and then their Z preamp that is like 5 band. I loved the 2 band and hated the 5 band.

Does it have something to do with the “q” of width of frequency being boosted?
 
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#2
I suspect someone coined the phrase: "two's company three's a crowd" after trying a bunch of active basses. ;)
That's certainly how I feel; I find the pickup blend is all the onboard mid control I ever need or want.
I'm glad they offer 4 & 5 bands and/or sweepable mids for folks who want it... and 2-band boost-only for me.
 
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#4
dmas81 said:
I’m sure there’s a thread out there somewhere on this but what can you gear heads tell me about why 2 band preamps IMO tend to sound so good compared to a 3 band?

I’ve owned probably 35 basses in the last 10 years with various configurations and some of my favorite basses have been 2 band.

Sadowsky, Alleva Coppollo.

One more example is I’ve tried the audere preamp 2 band and then their Z preamp that is like 5 band. I loved the 2 band and hated the 5 band.

Does it have something to do with the “q” of width of frequency being boosted?
Click to expand...

Is this a humble brag about 35 basses some of which are fairly high end?
The only way to somewhat properly compare two preamps is to install them in the same, single bass.
Then of course, that is an exercise in futility as the two preamps would be of a different design and will color the sound differently and that has nothing to do with the number of eq bands... unless the more bands is more cumbersome to setup kind of argument.
You also have not mentioned if you actually use heavy adjustment on the preamps or leave them give or take in the middle. I kind of do not really use the EQ except to maybe nudge one of the knobs about a tenth of the travel here and there. But when I get into desires of heavily scooped sound, I find that 3-bands are hands down, offers more variety and extreme. My personal favorite type of preamp is a combination of standard 2 band EQ with added mid-frequency adjustment. This is basically low-shelf, high-shelf, and added mid band-pass. It offers great variety of tones with most tones very usable. Even better if the mid -band has the frequency adjustment, but that can be a smidge overboard with flexibility.
 
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#6
(2 Band) The 2 band tone control specs are Bass 200 Hz +/- 18 dB and Treble 2.0 KHz +/- 17.5 dB.

(4 band) The Low Mid Tone control spec is 250 Hz +/- 10 dB.

The High Mid Tone control spec is 750 Hz +/- 10 dB.

We use shelving controls for all Treble and Bass tone controls so the specs look different than other manufacturers.

Our frequency specified point is where the 1/2 boost or cut frequency occurs.

The 4 band tone control specs are Bass 180 Hz +/- 16.0 dB and Treble 3.2 KHz +/- 18.0 dB.

Matter of personal preference, that's all. The above are from Audere's FAQ so, yes, there's a difference.

Riis
 
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#9
There is a lot of “eye of the beer holder” in this, because what sounds good to one player is not a universal opinion. There’s also a lot of moving goalposts because boost frequencies, design parameters, and tonal goals are not all the same.

In the case of the Sadowsky pre, it’s an unusual piece because it’s a FET based preamp instead of the usual Op-Amp. It’s also boost only, and when you boost the treble and bass frequencies, it attenuates mids around 300 Hz. It’s just a good sounding circuit that almost all players and engineers love, but it does have its detractors as well.
 
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#11
Thumpin6string said:
It sounds like your dislike of a preamp with more than 2 bands is your opinion not fact. I find the 3 bands are far superior IMHO. Mids are what is needed to cut through. I leave mine mostly flat with a slight mid boost. You can't do that with a 2 band.
Click to expand...

It's also part of why Will Lee eventually asked for Roger to design a special preamp with a midrange switch/control for his signature basses. I've had a Sadowsky pre in some form in my toolbox since 1997... I love it. But sometimes I do have to tweak the mids and must rely on the amp or some sort of additional EQ to make up that difference. ymmv.
 
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#13
On my Jazz basses I disagree with this. I prefer 3 band. The East Retro Deluxe is really good for this. On Stingray H basses I ONLY prefer 2 band. On the SRH I fully understand that it is ME and not the 3 band that is making bad tone but that is is what happens and that is how it is. I have basses with 4 band infinite tonal palettes but they are too busy / complex and for my purposes the added control is unused / unneeded. Especially on 2 / 3 pickup basses. It is just too much. On those basses I have found that I focus on a few really great settings and the rest are wasted. But generally speaking I prefer a mid control of some kind on the bass.
 
#14
Docduval said:
Cut the 2 bands, increase your overall volume = mid boost.
Click to expand...
Depends on the amp... If it is Sadowsky, this will just lower the volume. I believe stingray 2-band is boost only as well, just an op-amp based in this case. Even if it has boost/cut capabilities, the curve will be more gradual than you want for mid-boost.
 
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#15
My sweet spot is active bass with a balancer (this IS the mid control for me), and two band EQ: Little thin, bring up a little bass. Need a little air on top, or if it's a little too bright, tweak the high knob.

This made on the fly changes really easy. A separate mids knob would just get in my way, so I use the balance: More neck pickup to thicken, more bridge pickup to add some string grind.
 
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#19
kgbeast said:
Depends on the amp... If it is Sadowsky, this will just lower the volume. I believe stingray 2-band is boost only as well, just an op-amp based in this case. Even if it has boost/cut capabilities, the curve will be more gradual than you want for mid-boost.
Click to expand...

The StingRay police will soon pop in to tell you that the 2-band Ray pre is NOT boost-only, but is boost/cut, intended to be set kinda sorta in the middle (though there are no detents) as a starting point.
 
#20
What is better an Amp that has only 2 band EQ or 3 band or 4 band or 5 band or also has frequency choices for a couple bands or PEQ or Graphic or passive vs Active tone controls or is it best to plug bass direct into a power Amp somehow as to only use 2 band on Bass etc since all Active Bass preamps 2 or 3 band are exactly the same in themselves makes it easy to choose your preference on that 1 feature alone;)

Disclaimer: the above post contains my personal opinions in a tongue-in-cheek manner most people miss completely. It's ok if you don't share them.
 
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