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Eq

am i losing a lot of thing if i choose 2 band over 3 band eq?

  • yes

    Votes: 12 30.0%

  • no

    Votes: 28 70.0%
  • Total voters
    40
wishforbass

wishforbass

Jun 23, 2016
966
909
Iran
www.youtube.com
#1
2band eq vs 3band eq.


If I choose 2 ,am I loose anything ?

How much mid uses over others ?
Because bass and treble is available for both ,here there is a mid that make the change and choose the winner ?
Is 2 band feel lacking or it's just can controls the lack by bass and treble.
 
#3
I don't know, my 2 band singray sounds just fine to my ears.

sbsray1.jpg


mmstingraysunburst.jpg


sr1.jpg
 
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#4
I purposely sought out a 2 band stingray. I just wanted less to screw with. My J style has a Audere with a 3 band and a z switch, and frankly, It was just too many knobs to deal with, especially when I have an EQ on the amp and a tone knob on my compressor (and more importantly, that I was running the bass totally flat most of the time anyway). I have heard claims that 2 band EQs can be more natural sounding because they affect a wider frequency range (wider Q) but that may well just be BS. At any rate, I've not found myself missing a mids knob on any of the 2 band basses I own.
 
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#8
wishforbass said:
2band eq vs 3band eq.


If I choose 2 ,am I loose anything ?

How much mid uses over others ?
Because bass and treble is available for both ,here there is a mid that make the change and choose the winner ?
Is 2 band feel lacking or it's just can controls the lack by bass and treble.
Click to expand...
It's Really not that big of a deal IMO because to me the best sound out of most basses is with the onboard eq flat anyways and you can swap them. I've mostly had 3 bands but this Warwick thumb bolt on was two band and it was a cool bass.
image.jpg
If I remember right it had volume blend and stacked bass and treble. I always ran it flat anyways. But I think it's more of a preference thing. You can always swap them out also. Aguilar for example makes 2 band and 3 bands that are all good quality which you can install in basically anything. I had the Aguilar Obp-3 installed in the 7 string i had.
image.jpg

My ESP basses have real emg pickuls ups but a emg preamp that's not all that and emg doesn't actual sell as an aftermarket part which leads me to believe it's more of a licensed by emg type thing. I'll probably Swap it for the Darkglass tone capsule at some point.
 
Last edited:
#11
I have found that using a two band preamp can work... I dial in my sound using the two band and volume and then dial in the mids with the pickup selector/vol-vol. I don't see the pickups as separate entities, but rather as one more way to dial in my sound even more.
 
#12
Unless there is a parametric mid or mid frequency control you probably wont. When playing through a overdrive pedal sometimes I boost the mids as a lazy way to increase the distortion but on my other bass with no mid control I just cut the bass and treble when I want a mid boost, so really it depends on the guitar and the tones you want out of it, unless your running direct to a DI you'll probably have mid controls on your amp so its only if you have multiple basses and you want to be able to adjust that where it becomes a issue. If you are going direct to a DI then you can always get a preamp or eq pedal if you actually want that control.
 
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#14
I only tweak the knobs on my bass when I am playing in my bedroom, when I am playing at church I just plug the bass into the DI , on board eq flat and I am ready to go. Some players like to change their tone often so they might want 3-4 bands, others are like simple stuff and all they need a passive bass sometimes even without a tone control. Diferent strokes for different folks.
 
#15
I don't think anybody mentioned this old trick yet, about shaping the mids with only a two-band EQ...

If you boost both the treble and the bass, it has the effect of cutting mids. (Compensate as needed with the master volume.)

If you cut both the treble and the bass, it has the effect of boosting mids. (Again, compensate as needed with the master volume.)

No, the resulting curves aren't exactly what you'd get with a dedicated mid knob, but it's not bad as a way to fake it.
 
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#16
wishforbass said:
2band eq vs 3band eq.


If I choose 2 ,am I loose anything ?

How much mid uses over others ?
Because bass and treble is available for both ,here there is a mid that make the change and choose the winner ?
Is 2 band feel lacking or it's just can controls the lack by bass and treble.
Click to expand...
Very direct .. NO .. 2 bands is fine especially when you want to avoid extensive mods. to the control plate layout
 
#17
wishforbass said:
2band eq vs 3band eq.


If I choose 2 ,am I loose anything ?

How much mid uses over others ?
Because bass and treble is available for both ,here there is a mid that make the change and choose the winner ?
Is 2 band feel lacking or it's just can controls the lack by bass and treble.
Click to expand...

Typically you can "control" mids on a 2-band by either reducing bass and treble (pushes mids up) or increasing them (puts the mids lower in the mix).

In my personal experience - the only 3 band preamps I like are ones with a sweepable mid control (so you can control pitch AND boost/cut). The ones with a mid knob set at 1 particular frequency range are less useful and easier to muddy up your tone. If no mid sweep is available I would go with the 2 band or passive, really.
 
#18
I have two identical basses (MTD Saratoga, Kingston series) and I modded both active EQs (guitar fuel tone monsters) one 3 band -one 2 band. I really love the tone of the one with the three band (mid ran flat), yet the two band has a really clanky/gnarly mid range that I can't seem to EQ out unless drastically changing my amp settings, even then it's just OK sounding. It's just not smooth sounding like the other. I have a total of 3 basses with three band EQs, and they all sound fine with the same amp settings, just different in their own "personalities"... but the 2 band is always my least favorite tone. Perfect maybe for punk or a Geddy like tone, but I never need those sounds. You may be happy with a two band, but it's sure not my thing.
 

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