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On-board mid-boost for J-bass ?

Fathand

Fathand

21st Century Distortion Man
Sep 24, 2005
659
717
Finland
www.facebook.com
#1
Ok, let's say that from time to time, I want to widen/boost the midrange of my J-bass and bring it closer to a P-bass sound. I've done this in the past by using EMG's and favouring the neck PU with about 70/30 split. But if I've got a passive bass with barts and want to do the same, do I have any on-board options? Basically an active, 1-band mid boost(/cut) that can be bypassed. E.g, would this do the job? http://www.bestbassgear.com/bartolini-preamps-tc3.htm

The easiest choice would be to use an EQ-pedal, but I really don't want to add anything to my board, which is pretty much set up for a P-bass PU/tone..
 
#3
joelb79 said:
The TC-3 is not an EQ but a signal boost. Your tone will stay the same only get louder with it.
Click to expand...

That's what I understood at first, but then I read this: "It also can be wired so that different parts of the spectrum are boosted using a potentiometer and it will boost up to 40dB. "

I didn't really get from those schematics actually what parts of the spectrum we're talking about...
 
#5
Fathand said:
That's what I understood at first, but then I read this: "It also can be wired so that different parts of the spectrum are boosted using a potentiometer and it will boost up to 40dB. "

I didn't really get from those schematics actually what parts of the spectrum we're talking about...
Click to expand...

I read it the same way. I'd check with Bartolini and see if they have more information for this item. I for one would be very interested in a one band parametric eq which is how I understand their text to read.
 
#7
Hobobob said:
Just wire your pickups to a series/parallel switch. I'm sure someone here could post a schematic for such a procedure. I'm thinking of doing this myself.
Click to expand...

Actually, I have done that to one of my basses (with DiMarzio J's) previously and it's still on the table as an option. The series mode with those pickups was almost too much though, serious "ooomph" and punch. I reckon that with the Bartolini's it would be a bit more tamed soundwise, but still a good way to "Presicionize" the J-bass.

The original question came in mind when I was searching for a preamp, looking for something to tweak the mids with. There is a lot of Hi/Mid/Bass & Hi/Bass -preamps, but no "mid-only". With all of this sound customization going on, I'm surprised no-one would want a sweepable mid or just a certain mid cut/boost -pre.
 
#8
Fathand said:
Actually, I have done that to one of my basses (with DiMarzio J's) previously and it's still on the table as an option. The series mode with those pickups was almost too much though, serious "ooomph" and punch. I reckon that with the Bartolini's it would be a bit more tamed soundwise, but still a good way to "Presicionize" the J-bass.
Click to expand...

It would probably be the most cost-effective solution, and you could always just reverse it if you ended up not liking it.
 
#13
These..

ctmullins said:
Villex PRTB.

John East Mid-Sweep control.

Artec QTA.

And a big +1 to the series wiring option.
Click to expand...

and this..

wcriley said:
EMG VMC.
Invalid Link Removed
Variable frequency. Designed for passive pickups. No need for a bypass, assuming the center detent is truly "flat".
Click to expand...

..exactly what I was looking for. Thanks people, TB never fails. Now I just have to figure out which of these would suit my needs best.

EDIT: Looks like the EMG would have the best price/application ratio for me.. the wiring will be something else though, mixing passive non-EMG PU's with their solderless system (not surprisingly, they have no prepared instructions for that). Looks like it shouldn't be that hard though, keeping the wiring passive until the VMC pot and bypassing the battery bus by connecting the red cables directly (mainly for space issues, I don't want to make any new routing in the bass and the cavity in a J-bass can get a bit crowded..)
 
#15
I'm a fan of EMG's onboard EQs, but it's been a couple years since I've bought one.
Do they only come with solderless connections now? After reading about JimmyM possibly destroying one while soldering to it, I think that's a bad move on EMG's part.
 

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