B-band preamps, alternatives, upgrades

Flowboy · #1 10-24-2022, 12:57 PM

Hi all,
does anyone have experience of B-band preamps?
As far as I know B-band no longer exist.
My guitar has an A5 fitted - in reality it works & seems fine but it's now pretty old & I fancy an on-board tuner.

Is there an upgrade from the B-band that is convenient to fit?

The A5 & A6 appear to have an identical control face but the A5 claims UST or AST, the A6 says UST & AST, yet I'm sure I've seen the A5 listed as being the same as A6; possibly just a typo'.
Just out of interest, can an AST be fitted to an A5?
I also read that the B-band bridge/saddle pu may not be compatible with other preamps

I have used an older guitar with a Fishman Prefix Pro blend which is obviously a lot more expensive than B bands seem to have been. That guitar has a mic as well as saddle pu, but again has no tuner.

Thanks

Nymuso · #2 10-24-2022, 02:55 PM

As I understand it, they’re gone. Too bad, because they were great. Anything you can find has gotta be old new stock.

stevecuss · #3 10-27-2022, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Flowboy

Hi all,
does anyone have experience of B-band preamps?
As far as I know B-band no longer exist.
My guitar has an A5 fitted - in reality it works & seems fine but it's now pretty old & I fancy an on-board tuner.

Is there an upgrade from the B-band that is convenient to fit?

The A5 & A6 appear to have an identical control face but the A5 claims UST or AST, the A6 says UST & AST, yet I'm sure I've seen the A5 listed as being the same as A6; possibly just a typo'.
Just out of interest, can an AST be fitted to an A5?
I also read that the B-band bridge/saddle pu may not be compatible with other preamps

I have used an older guitar with a Fishman Prefix Pro blend which is obviously a lot more expensive than B bands seem to have been. That guitar has a mic as well as saddle pu, but again has no tuner.

Thanks

I had a B Band for years and really loved it. I just ran it passive with an external preamp. You might find something on eBay but - caution - I think there might be Chinese counterfeits on there.

You could run it with an external preamp and your other great option is going with Mi-Si who will build a custom preamp for you and they're quite reasonably priced.

rockabilly69 · #4 10-28-2022, 09:28 AM

I have B-Bands in 4 different guitars and they are all made in Finland, and they all sound great, but 99% of what's on the market now are made in China and are not same in sound or quality level. Steer clear from those ebay sellers!!!

I am actually looking to slowly phase out the B-Bands because no replacement parts are available. Although they have less of an acoustic sound than the B-bands, I'm moving to Seymour Duncan Mag Mics for my giggers. With the balance turned towards to microphone they sound pretty good.

In my one B-Band equipped guitar that had a barn door style preamp, I replaced it with a LR Baggs Pro Anthem, which I think is the best most useable Anthem system because it has a notch Filter, and a TUNER. And the phase and mix controls are much easier to dial outside of the soundhole.

https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...sers-guide.pdf