DESCRIPTION

Bartolini is the original aftermarket boutique pickup and preamp brand. For decades, their electronics have been the foundation of the highest-end, most bespoke bass builds. Bill Bartolini had an incredible ear for what professional, working musicians needed on stage and in the studio. Through his decades of experience and hands-on research, the legendary NTMB three-band preamp came to be.

Think of the NTMB as a highly versatile preamp that works flawlessly in just about every musical environment imaginable. First and foremost, it features super low noise, making it one of the quietest active preamps you will find anywhere. But the real magic lies in its highly musical frequency centers. With the bass control, you get massive low-end heft and punch without the tone ever getting uncontrollably boomy or muddy. When you roll up the highs, you increase the amount of high-end articulation and detail without the sound getting harsh, shrill, or piercing.

What makes the NTMB truly different, however, is the character of its highly adaptable midrange. The real beauty of this preamp is the selectable mid switch, which lets you choose between 250Hz, 500Hz, and 800Hz. These are absolute key frequencies for bass: Boosting 250Hz helps your bass stand out with a thick, beefy tone when you need to cut through a dense mix. Cutting it tames boom to clear up your overall sound. 500Hz & 800Hz provide additional articulation and throatiness, adapting perfectly to your instrument's natural voice.

In practice, this extended tonal control works wonders for players who use different techniques. Whether you are playing fingerstyle, using a pick, or utilizing aggressive slap and pop techniques, you get a very clear, distinct, and punchy tone that responds beautifully to your playing dynamics.

This is a great option if you're looking for something that enhances your natural tone while giving you the flexibility to carve out your exact place in the mix. The NTMB is a professional-grade preamp trusted by pro bassists everywhere for decades to deliver that incredibly well-rounded, boutique sound.

If you want your bass to jump out in a musically pleasing way while maintaining maximum sonic integrity, the Bartolini NTMB is an outstanding choice.

Bartolini’s 3 band bass preamps have been a mainstay for many.  Instrument builders (big and small), techs, professional and amateur players alike, have used Bart’s NTMB systems for decades. While the preamp has went through small evolutions as components have improved - notably moving from a 2 module unit to a single module These units have been tested through time, sweat and gigs and remain hugely popular for both new instruments as well as being an excellent upgrade to replace a stock preamp.

Hiss, hum and overall noise are extremely low as a result of Bill B’s engineering prowess, in tandem with the use of high quality components. These 3 band bass preamps are wired and tested by Bartolini in their California factory, and are ready to install on arrival to you. All the pots, battery clips, and an output jack are wired to the preamp, and all potentiometers are grounded to a removable ground wire (if unnecessary) in your bass. In the photos and video above, one can see the continuous running ground wire, it is the wire without a colored insulation.

At Fat Bass Tone, we offer all of Bartolini’s most popular harness versions of their NTMB 3 band preamp - plus a couple of the lesser known as well. If there is a particular configuration that you are looking for and do not see it in our selection, drop us a line from the contact page and we will try to sort something out for you.

TECHNICAL NOTES ON BARTOLINI 3 BAND BASS PRAMPS

If you take a look at the photo or videos above, you’ll see a little blue box that is attached to the preamp module. This is a trim pot. This little guy allows you to adjust the overall signal output leaving your bass. You can boost or cut this to match the output of other instruments, which is handy if you play gigs with a couple basses, as you are able to keep a fairly similar signal going to your amp.

These preamps come wired with a 9 Volt battery terminal. A second battery terminal is included if you want to operate in 18Volts. Both can be easily disconnected if your bass has a battery box.

The difference between 9Volt and 18Volt operation is a question that comes up on occasion. 18Volt installation are not louder or more powerful - but there is some slight advantages of 18V operation. More headroom is achieved, which means that the signal to noise ration is improved. A little less distortion can happen with the 18V install. That being said, we have done lots of preamp installations over our decades in the business and the difference is not noticeable to most ears. If you have the room for two 9Volt batteries in your electronics cavity, you can try it. If not, don’t sweat it.

The lengths of the wires on Bartolini 3 band bass preamps are a reasonable length, but not overly long. Rarely, on a bass that has the blend and volume particularly far apart, or an odd ordering in the potentiometer layout, a jumper may need to be added. This is not a significant operation if you have done any wiring before, and is pretty basic for the typical tech.

The output jack that is included is the common stereo jack that is used by most of the manufacturers. If your bass has a barrel style jack, or other jack, the supplied jack can be easily de-soldered and connected to the jack that is already in your bass.

Artists: Alissia Benveniste, Lige Curry, Adam Saylor, Elon “Tone” John, Stefan Marinov, Vincent Medina, Chuck Jacobs, Derrick “Swol” Ray, Eric “EQ” Young, Courtney Leonard, Curt Chambers, Cory Baker, Jan Nissimov, Pato Munoz, Lige Curry, Willie “Koot” O. Lemons III, E. Pruitt “E”, Joey Green, Blair Bryant, Jahmal Nichols, Jackie Hancock, Kevin Hide