Musicman onboard HPF

[Zbysek]

I have heard that Musicman basses feature an on-board high pass filter. I have tried to search it online but I have found very little information on the subject.

I would like to know whether my Musicman Sterling bass (made nineties) features such an on-board high pass filter (my ears tell me that it does) and what are the specifications (cut-off frequency and slope).

 

[Warpeg]

Well, if you're handy with sound circuits, you should be able to look at the PCB and see if there are specific capacitors and other electronics inline that would reduce incoming bass frequencies. An alternative would be to disconnect your pickup and connect a white noise generator to the preamp. Compare the generator's clean signal to the preamp signal at the output via analyzer. Just my $.02.

 

[IronLung1986]

The 3 band preamp has a high pass filter in it.

3 band:



2 band:



Those graphs are taken from this great video:



I'm not 100% certain that the Sterling 3 band is the same as the Stingray 3 band, but I think it's a good bet your bass has the HPF.

 

[Zbysek]

The 3 band preamp has a high pass filter in it.

3 band:

View attachment 5242510

2 band:

View attachment 5242512

Those graphs are taken from this great video:



I'm not 100% certain that the Sterling 3 band is the same as the Stingray 3 band, but I think it's a good bet your bass has the HPF.

Thank you!

 

[Kevin Wolfe]

The 3 band preamp has a high pass filter in it.

3 band:

View attachment 5242510

2 band:

View attachment 5242512

Those graphs are taken from this great video:



I'm not 100% certain that the Sterling 3 band is the same as the Stingray 3 band, but I think it's a good bet your bass has the HPF.

Thanks for posting those graphics. I knew the middle switch position was a filter but it's good to actually visualize the roll off that's going on.

 

[dabis]

@Passinwind If I'm not wrong, you once told me that it was a 6dB slope @ 70Hz. Can you confirm this?
Always related to the 3 band preamp.

 

[Nebadon2000]

The 3 band preamp has a high pass filter in it.

3 band:

View attachment 5242510

2 band:

View attachment 5242512

Those graphs are taken from this great video:



I'm not 100% certain that the Sterling 3 band is the same as the Stingray 3 band, but I think it's a good bet your bass has the HPF.

I see a lot of you like this; If the sound he was getting from both 2 band and 3 band was all I ever heard; I would never even consider any Stingray both sound awful in this video. Fortunately I know better and have heard players[including myself] get great tones/sound from both. Bernard Edwards Fans seem to like 2 band

I choose the Special for its tight, punchy and Coherent rich tone[along with playability and comfort upgrades] and can get a decent BE Sound if needed.

Special doesn't seem to have HPF[or set much lower 25-35hz]; I have Mesa WD 800 with variable HPF and you can clearly hear difference in Bass with HPF set around 70hz and then 25 hz

 

[GreyBeard]

My 95 SR5 sure sounds and acts like it has a built in HP.

 

[jbhaugh]

Thanks for posting those graphics. I knew the middle switch position was a filter but it's good to actually visualize the roll off that's going on.

The filter in the middle position affects the tone coming from the pickup, and doesn't affect the voicing of the preamp. I believe it is extra components in the signal path to simulate a single coil while the pickup is in humbucking series configuration.

 

[Zbysek]

Well, if you're handy with sound circuits,

Well, I am not, unfortunatelly.

I am able to change empty battery-that's all I can do in relation to sound circuits...

 

[Zbysek]

The 3 band preamp has a high pass filter in it.

3 band:

View attachment 5242510

2 band:

View attachment 5242512

Those graphs are taken from this great video:



I'm not 100% certain that the Sterling 3 band is the same as the Stingray 3 band, but I think it's a good bet your bass has the HPF.

After listening to the video several times, I believe that the Sterling preamp is no different from the 3 band Stingray preamp (it is likely it features the same HPF).

That explains why my Sterling sounds good with small combos.

That also explains why my octaver does not track well with my Sterling (the reason is the missing fundamental due to the high passed signal).

 

[Kevin Wolfe]

The filter in the middle position affects the tone coming from the pickup, and doesn't affect the voicing of the preamp. I believe it is extra components in the signal path to simulate a single coil while the pickup is in humbucking series configuration.

That's even more good info. More than I ever got form EBMM. This is my first ever MM. A Special 5H, and I'm still lovin' it. It y active go to and I recently reconverted my P/J back to passive and strung it with flats. I've been digging on that one for a week or so.

 

[Passinwind]

@Passinwind If I'm not wrong, you once told me that it was a 6dB slope @ 70Hz. Can you confirm this?
Always related to the 3 band preamp.

The three bander has a 12dB/octave slope, the old Spice model I checked looks like the -3dB point is at around 55Hz. Not sure if the model is completely correct though, and others will be much more familiar with that preamp, which I'm not sure I've ever even heard in person.