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2-Band EQ for SBMM ???

phillipkregg

phillipkregg

Jun 8, 2010
3,681
5,824
Nashville, TN
#1
Ok guys, I have to tell you. I'm totally sold on 2-band EQs for Stingray basses. I think there is a HUGE difference between the 3-band and the 2-band circuit and the 2 just sounds sooooo much better to me.

(If you live anywhere near Nashville, go to Corner Music on 12th Ave. They have several Stingrays with both 2-band and 3-band. Try them for yourself and see if you agree. :D)

I'd love to get one of the new Classic Rays but I don't want to fork out 1800 bucks. So...

I'm considering getting a Sterling By Music Man Ray 35, then switching out the 3-band preamp with a 2-band.

I know that John East makes a 2-band EQ for the rays that many folks seem to like.

Has anyone tried this with one of the SBMM basses??? If so what were the results??? Do you recommend any other 2-band Pres???

Advice appreciated! :bassist:
 
#2
Well the great thing about the East 3eq is when the mid is in the middle detent it 'acts' (mid scoop?) as if it were a 2 band eq stingray. He built/designed his preamps on the original stingray preamps.

John makes some amazing bass preamps and is one of the nicest person ive spoken to from a major bass company.

My suggestion......

(which is what im in the middle of doing, i have a deal on a Ray34 but am turning it down)

.....Find a 2EQ SUB bass :) if you like that 2eq sound so much youll love the sound of the SUB! It has the alnico magnet pups like the originals. They are US made !! Just a change of scratchplate and your sorted !

Trust me, you wont learn to like the 3eq preamp, because YOU KNOW the 2eq sounds better TO YOUR ears. (there will always be something in your head saying something aint right!)

Also, waiting for the right deal to come along on a SUB will probably be worth the wait.
 
#3
i just built my own for my '01 EB SR using talkbass member unclefluffy's PCB. it sounds exactly like a vintage stingray now, and IMO, WAY better than the stock three band preamp that it replaced.

stingray2-band-03.jpg
 
#5
they're two completely different circuits altogether.
no mater what i did, i could never get the 3 band to sound like the two band. i really tried to like the 3 band just as much, but for me, it just wasn't cutting it. it sounded too brittle and harsh no matter where i set it. whereas, you almost can't make the 2 band sound bad.
 
#6
johnk_10 said:
they're two completely different circuits altogether.
no mater what i did, i could never get the 3 band to sound like the two band. i really tried to like the 3 band just as much, but for me, it just wasn't cutting it. it sounded too brittle and harsh no matter where i set it. whereas, you almost can't make the 2 band sound bad.
Click to expand...

^ Exactly what he said.

I've never been able to EQ that harshness out of the 3-band. But in the 2-band the harshness doesn't exist at all. You could crank the treble 100% and it still has a sweetness to it. Crank the bass and the treble full throttle - it has a huge bottom with a crisp bite and lots of natural mids. Turning the treble all the way down and cranking the bass is almost like rolling of a passive tone circuit on a jazz bass. It leaves you with a super fat sounding low end with plenty of growl.

It really is hard to make the 2-band sound bad.
 
#7
I agree. The 2 band is the winner in my book! I kept my '80 Stingray for 22 years and then, in a moment of stupidity, sold it. Since then, I've been through 2 more Stingrays and 1 Sterling: all 3 Band and just couldn't get comfortable with the tone on any of them.
Too much "edge" for me; nothing like the 2 Band. My next Music Man WILL BE a 2 band again!
 
#10
From John East:

The design of the 2 band EQ in the early Stingray© basses is unusual in that it does not follow the types of topologies around which the majority of equalisers are designed. It would seem that Leo Fender designed it to create a particular sound rather than follow any conventions, such as symmetrical EQ curves. Consequently the figures shown may appear unusual to those familiar with such specifications. In fact it's not easy to portray what this EQ does with a few numbers, but in any case some figures, based around a flat response input signal, are quoted as reference points.

NOTE: Like the original, this circuit does not have a flat response when the controls are set midway. This unit is not designed as a clinical tool, where what goes in, comes out at some reference setting.

TREBLE (+20dB / -16dB @ 10 kHz)
There is more boost than cut, giving rise the characteristic 'sizzle' associated with the Stingray© style of EQ.

BASS (+14dB / -7dB @ 40Hz)
The bass control has a little more boost than the original. The boost curve continues to rise towards the lower frequencies, without flattening out at any frequency within the normal bass guitar range. Conversly the cut characteristic is shelving, having an essentially flat response from 30 - 100Hz, when fully cut.

VOLUME
Sets the level from the preamp, feeding the output jack directly, like the original. This means that the pickup feeds the preamp directly, allowing the best possible transfer of signal, and full interraction of the pickup with the preamp.


I had a 1976 String Ray and I just built a Warmoth sorta Sting Ray using this Pre amp. The sound is amazingly similar to the sound of my '76 Ray. I have a Maple/Rosewood neck so there is some difference in the sound, but the pickup (Nordstrand MM5.2) and Pre sound just like (to my ears) a real 2 band Ray.

The picture is just for reference.
 

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#12
phillipkregg said:
I'd love to get one of the new Classic Rays but I don't want to fork out 1800 bucks. So...

I'm considering getting a Sterling By Music Man Ray 35, then switching out the 3-band preamp with a 2-band.

I know that John East makes a 2-band EQ for the rays that many folks seem to like.
Click to expand...

I'm a huge fan of the 2eq Ray, but for that cost involved, why not look for a used Classic? There's been a few in the TB classifieds for far-far less than 1800.
 
#15
phillipkregg said:
Ok guys, I have to tell you. I'm totally sold on 2-band EQs for Stingray basses. I think there is a HUGE difference between the 3-band and the 2-band circuit and the 2 just sounds sooooo much better to me.

(If you live anywhere near Nashville, go to Corner Music on 12th Ave. They have several Stingrays with both 2-band and 3-band. Try them for yourself and see if you agree. :D)

I'd love to get one of the new Classic Rays but I don't want to fork out 1800 bucks. So...

I'm considering getting a Sterling By Music Man Ray 35, then switching out the 3-band preamp with a 2-band.

I know that John East makes a 2-band EQ for the rays that many folks seem to like.

Has anyone tried this with one of the SBMM basses??? If so what were the results??? Do you recommend any other 2-band Pres???

Advice appreciated! :bassist:
Click to expand...


either i'm blind, or idk how nobody has brought this up yet. SBMM has their own "classic" line, 2 band and all. the ray34 classic active. idk why, but they don't seem too popular around here/ not alot of people on the forum have them either. but i here they are of great quality, even better then the regular ray 34's. i personally think you should check that out, cause sometimes it can be hard to find SUBs around.

here's the links; sunburst:
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seafoam green:
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