Stingray 2EQ or 3EQ?

[dannybuoy]

I’ve not compared them, but the story goes that the 3 band is not simply a 2 band with an added mid, it does sound rather different. So not so much a case of choosing to limit yourself to two bands, but more selecting the one that delivers the sound you want. There’ll be tons of threads out there discussing the details. 

John East do make a model that does provide the 2-band sound with an added mid control, many 3-band owners upgrade to it for this reason.

[mcnach]

On 16/05/2019 at 11:15, Drew Dempster said:

The 3eq Stingray (ie, with mid-boost) is a no-brainier -especially if you play rock and want to be heard through the mix. If you want the soft, ‘scoopy’ Sound favoured by slappers simply cut the mid boost. It really does give you far more tonal options so why limit yourself with the 2 eq version?

 

Not a limit whatsoever. The 2EQ gives you plenty of mids, you don't need to turn up everything to the max, you know?   

I am not one for a scooped tone at all... I like a fat, prominent, mids-rich sound, which a 2EQ can achieve without breaking a sweat

Both preamps are quite different, so it's more a matter of which one you prefer the sound of. With a little experience, the 2EQ is pretty intuitive and you just 'feel' how much to turn up or down each control to emphasise low or higher mids etc...

I personally prefer the 2EQ. But better even, the John East MMSR 3-band: with the mids set flat (centre detent) the mids module does nothing and it's essentially a late 70s 2EQ Stingray preamp. The mids module has an adjustable centre frequency control that allows you to boost or cut a specific band. I installed that on my (originally) 2EQ Stingray. I don't use the mids module much, but it's great to have it when you want it.

Edited June 3, 2019 by mcnach

[mcnach]

14 hours ago, Drew Dempster said:

I have a Stingray HS. In addition to the 3eq preamp it has a 5 position pickup combination switch. You can run it in many modes...even have it on the humbucker only with the mid cut/boost set flat if you want the classic 2eq single pickup tone....but why would you want to limit yourself? It all depends whether you tend to take the 'intelligent' approach or the 'rose tinted glasses approach' ...the latter being that a 'proper' Stingray only has one pickup and 2 eq.

 

 

that's a little condescending, to put it mildly