Stingray aftermarket 2 band pre

[SGD Lutherie]

Quick question, might have been answered but I didn't see it. Since these are 2-band preamps only for bass and treble, can you only get a scooped tone with them, or is there some interaction between the bass and treble knobs that also adds mids?

The bass control only boosts. The treble boosts and cuts. There is no way to boost the mids. Without the treble and bass boosted the tone is very similar to the passive pickup tone, so you don't lose any mids either.

I haven't felt the need to have a mid control with this. I usually have the bass hosted to about 2 o'clock, and vary the treble depending on the song.

 

[CnB77]

The bass control only boosts. The treble boosts and cuts. There is no way to boost the mids. Without the treble and bass boosted the tone is very similar to the passive pickup tone, so you don't lose any mids either.

I haven't felt the need to have a mid control with this. I usually have the bass hosted to about 2 o'clock, and vary the treble depending on the song.

Cool, thanks! And I presume that since the MM pickup location is near the bridge, there's more perceived mids and treble coming through anyway, right?

 

[MarkusBass]

You would just boost the lows and highs, and dim the volume a little to cut mids, right?

 

[SGD Lutherie]

You would just boost the lows and highs, and dim the volume a little to cut mids, right?

Right, boosting the highs and lows scoops the mids.

 

[Red Planet]

I own a Stingray Classic. I set the bass control full up and the treble about half way most of the time. I do adjust the treble depending on the song need. This paticular bass/tone is really solid sounding.

 

[MarkusBass]

Right, boosting the highs and lows scoops the mids.

That's what I'm used to..just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything

 

[Dominic D]

The bass control only boosts. The treble boosts and cuts.

I've heard this a few times, but it don't believe it's right. I wired an active/passive switch so I could compare the tones and when I rolled the bass all the way back, it was definitely cut. It was significantly thinner than the unaffected passive tone. When I put the bass knob in the middle, it sounded very close to the passive tone. Also, there's this:

This page, from an old manual, states both knobs are cut/boost.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

I've heard this a few times, but it don't believe it's right....

You'll see a lot of people say they are boost only! I haven't tried it with a bypass switch, so I was going by the way it sounded.

I have seen that instruction manual before.

One thing about the controls is that center is not necessarily flat, but it's close. I've tried using control with center detents, that that didn't work well at all.

 

[Stealth]

I thought I saw an amplitude/frequency graph somewhere that showed it was a true boost/cut preamp. Can't quote my source, though.

 

[mcnach]

With my 2band Stingray, I ended up using a John East 3band.
With my 2band SUB, I'm good with the 2band.
The difference?
Pickup wired in parallel for Stingray, in series for SUB. It IS a bit more rich in mids and works better, for me.
I still love the standard Stingray sound, but depending on the rest of the band etc I find myself tweaking my mids.

Another thing is that bass and treble controls seem to interact.
I seem to get my preferred sound starting with both controls fully anticlockwise, then turn up bass 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn, and then treble to taste, depending on how the band sounds around me. The way that treble sounds varies depending on where my bass control is set. When bass is low, treble sounds relatively rich in mids. When bass is high, treble seems to add mostly high treble.
So, if you normally have your bass control all the way up, and feel lacking definition and cut despite what you do to treble... turn down bass and try again. That pickup has a lot of bass even without boosting it. Turn up bass at amp if you need more. That way you have a lot of control from your bass alone and your mids won't be lost.
Experiment. It's a cool preamp. Simple, yet versatile, more than it seems at first glance.
Also consider wiring the pickup in series if you find you wish you had more mids. It's a glorious mighty thump you get from that

 

[narud]

so i just put this pre in a musicman for the first time. my other two installs have been fenders with 250k volumes before the pre. i gutted my sterling and put in the pre with a duncan alnico pickup using a 25k linear taper volume. everything is working and sounding right except for when i roll the volume completely off. you can still hear some faint signal. any ideas what im doing wrong?

 

[SGD Lutherie]

so i just put this pre in a musicman for the first time. my other two installs have been fenders with 250k volumes before the pre. i gutted my sterling and put in the pre with a duncan alnico pickup using a 25k linear taper volume. everything is working and sounding right except for when i roll the volume completely off. you can still hear some faint signal. any ideas what im doing wrong?

Check your grounds.

 

[Red Planet]

IIRC On the EQ of the Stingray Pre the treble is about 75 percent boost and 25 percent cut and the bass is boost only. Something like that.

You can find a good deal of info here.


Link Removed

Link Removed

 

[narud]

Check your grounds.

thanks! that was it. i wasnt taking into account that i was mounting this in the control cavity and not a metal control plate.

 

[Andyman001]

To anyone using this in a 2 - pu bass any problems?
Thinking of using in a passive Corvette

 

[narud]

To anyone using this in a 2 - pu bass any problems?
Thinking of using in a passive Corvette

no problems unless not sounding as high tech as other onboard pres is a problem.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

To anyone using this in a 2 - pu bass any problems?
Thinking of using in a passive Corvette

I use one in my '87 Ibanez SR-885LE with a set of my Neo Jazzbuckers. It's a cool sounding preamp, and doesn't make the bass sound like a Stingray, but with the treble on 10 I can cop that Tony Leven tone.

 

[Andyman001]

Thanks, anyone else?

 

[NelsonVandal]

I've heard this a few times, but it don't believe it's right. I wired an active/passive switch so I could compare the tones and when I rolled the bass all the way back, it was definitely cut. It was significantly thinner than the unaffected passive tone. When I put the bass knob in the middle, it sounded very close to the passive tone. Also, there's this:

This page, from an old manual, states both knobs are cut/boost.

I have simulated the circuit in LTSpice one can find on the Internet. It's definately boost and cut for both bass and treble. The odd thing about it is that it's not really flat when set to mid positions. There's a sligt midrange emphasis.

 

[delta7fred]

Thanks, anyone else?

Don't put any resistance before it, i.e. volume or blend pots, it needs to be fed from direct from pup/s.