Is the EMG BTC system really worth it or is it even necessary?? I like to have both pickups on full on my PJ basses so would it even make a difference for me?
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EMG BTC System??
- Thread starter Stingray19
- Start date
Are you using EMG pickups?
Of course the BTC makes a difference but as with any preamp it is not really necesary, it depends what you need it for.
Besides the Blend control (which, from the bolded sentence in the OP, I presume would go unused), the BTC also has active Bass & Treble controls. They can be fun.
Is it "necessary"? No, none of this crap is "necessary" if you already have a working instrument. Is it "worth it"? Depends on your sense of value.
I used to own a BTC and EMGs on one of my basses (sold it, and didn't swap out the BTC which I'm sorry for) The BTC is a nice EQ system. I loved it. It's a Bass, Treble Control. BTC, Get it?
So why do you "need" it. Well that depends on what you want. People looking for a more modern sound tend to use EQ like this more. "Old School" folks often prefer the simple capacitor "tone" control instead. I don't. I call the old ones "toy" tone controls.
But a BTC is not exactly required in many cases as your amp has EQ right on the front of it. The difference is the BTC puts it on the bass and makes it handy.
But for me, the main value of the BTC is when I'm playing through just a DI. In that case the ONLY control I have over my tone is the knobs on the bass. (or yelling at the sound guy) So in that case I really find a BTC (or it's equivalent) on the bass to be a nice option to have at your fingertips.
I like onboard active eq. It lets one tweak the tone to the processor which then feeds mixer, monitors, recorders and Pa. The monitors/amp/pa eq'ing to me is best for adjusting sound to the room rather then as source of bass tone shaping. Ive gone the ready for recording tone before signal reaches amps/Pa, etc route for a good bit more then 10 years now.
Actually, I'm pretty sure the "C" stands for Concentric ...to differentiate it from EMG's BTS preamp, which has Separate (rather than stacked) pots for the Bass and Treble controls.
