Bartolini Preamps - Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do Bartolini Preamps come with potentiometers?

A: Yes, all of the Bartolini preamps that we sell come with with pots and switches already prewired into the harness.

Q: Do Bartolini Preamps come with knobs?

A: Sort of....Bartolini only includes knobs for the concentric (stacked) pots - if there is a stacked pot in the particular harness you are purchasing. These are black, hard plastic knobs. We do carry knobs here

Q: Do Bartolini Preamps work with Passive Pickups?

A: Yes, that is what they were designed for.

Q: What is a prewired harness?

A: Prewired harnesses have the potentiometers and switches (if applicable) wired to the preamp modules as well as to a battery terminal and a jack. In most cases, the only connections that will need to be made are connecting the pickup wires to the pots and ground.

Q: Do the controls have to be in the locations shown in the layout diagrams?

A: No, Bartolini has left a bit of slack in the wires to allow for some flexibility in the layout of the controls.

Q: What are the frequency centers for the EQ controls?

A: Bass - 30 HZ (+/-14db) | Mid - 250, 500, 800 Hz (+/-10db) | Treble - 10 KHz (+/-16db) Preamps with a push/pull mid selector allow for changing between 250 and 800 Hz. Preamps with a switch allow for changing between 250, 500 and 800 Hz.

Q: Do you have (can you get) the XXXX Bartolini preamp?

A:Bartolini preamps have had different naming conventions over the years. They have also made custom preamps for various companies. At this time, the Bartolini preamps that are available are the NTBT918 (two band) and the NTMB918 (three band).