Question: Will Any Bass Knob Work With Any Amp?
Answer: Will any bass knob work with any amp? The short answer is no. This is especially true if you are working with bass knobs form amps made by separate manufacturers.
If the knobs are from amps made by the same manufacturer and the amps are similar, it might work, but we still wouldn’t recommend it.
There are several other options that you can look at such as an RCA knob or a universal bass knob. Let’s look at these options…
Let’s Discuss
So you lost my bass knob or and are wondering if another will work. We won’t get into the whole debate as to whether you should use a bass knob or not.
That’s a separate discussion. So, you may have done endless research trying to find the answer to this question, looking over forums and came u with nothing. That’s because it’s not an easy question to answer.
My Little Story With Bass Knobs
I had a cool little MB Quart amplifier, newly bought. It’s a cool device, you can check it out here. The amplifier was connected to multiple speakers. Anyway, after about a week, the bass knob disappeared. who knows where it went.
It’s a regular MB Quart amp and the control connects directly to the amp with a telephone jack.
So, I wondered to myself, could I just pick up another knob, say one made from one of my old Rockford or JL amps that has the same telephone jack connection, and use that connection instead?
Will Any Bass Knob Work With Any Amp – Issues
Many people ask are all bass knobs the same. In general, the truth is that while knobs from amplifiers from the same manufacturer will often work, another manufacturer’s knob will NOT work in most cases.
For example, you cant use an Audiobahan knob with a Kicker. It simply won’t work because Audiobahan does not use the standard phone jack plugs while most Kicker amps take standard plugs.
There are many other reasons for this. The most important one is that the circuitry and signals passed from the knob to the amp is often the same for the same brand and often have the same physical characteristics.
However, across brands, the circuitry is normally different with different voltage levels, current demand, and different overall logic.
What if you are switching knobs for the same brands? So, if your amp is popular, say for example a Rockford/JL, then you can probably try a knob off eBay where you will find plenty of them.
However, for a brand which is not as popular, for example, MB Quart, you may have problems finding a proper knob. However, we do not recommend this.
If you try to switch knobs even with the same brand, you might get lucky and it just doesn’t work. However, you might be unlucky and short something out inside the amp and damage the device. The fact is, its simply not worth the risk.
Your Best Option
So what’s your best option?
So is a bass knob necessary? Well, the quickest and easiest solution to this problem is to simply set the gains all the way down. Once you do this, you really won’t have to think or worry about touching the bass knob ever again!
Why?
Because with the gain knob your turning down and turning up just the bass basically.
Another excellent option is a standard RCA level control knob. Depending on your budget, you will find the Pac audio makes good RCA knobs, for example, the Pac lC1 is a very common one and very affordable.
Did you know that some manufacturers such as Memphis use knobs that go through the RCAs as the 3rd party “universal” ones work?
Typically, RCA’s will amplify or completely cut off your bass. It’s quite nice and will work with any amp. However, if you decide to go that route, you will need a short RCA cable to go from your HU to the knob. You will also need a cable from your knob to your amp.
Another option is to simply go on your manufacturer’s website and find a dealer in your area where you can purchase the knob.
Universal Bass Control Knobs
The question will any bass knob work with any amp is a tricky one as it brings up several issues. In my search, I found a few universal bass knobs.
The issue I found with these is that they hook up with RCAs to the line-ins on the HU. The problem with this is that I’m still working with my stock deck for a few months.
As such, that won’t work.
However, if you don’t have this problem and want to go this route, then you can look into the CT Sounds Universal Bass Knob. It’s pretty popular and a very good choice.
Best Universal Bass Control Knobs
1. CT Sounds Universal Bass Knob with Digital Volt Meter
he guys at CT sounds know just how critical it is to monitor your car audio amplifier voltage to prevent damage to all your car audio equipment.
Installing a separate bass knob is a good prevention tactic. The solution to this is the CT Sounds Universal Bass Knob. This device offers remote gain control, a rotary pushable on-off switch and a digital voltmeter display.
Features:
- Digital Voltmeter
- Rotary Pushable ON/OFF & Gain Control Knob for Amp
- Digital Voltmeter
- Compatible with Most Head Units/Amp Combinations
- In-dash/Under-dash mountable
2. JL Audio HD-RLC Amplifier Remote Level
The JL Audio HD-RLC Amplifier Remote Level is an excellent remote level controller works with JL Audio’s HD Series and XD Series amplifiers.
It also works with many marine amps. The great advantage is that you can manage your level settings from the front of your vehicle. So, it controls you amplifier’s level, not its “bass boost”.
In other words, you maintain the same bass quality as you turn the volume up and down. That simply means it acts as an attenuator on the input gain of the amplifier.
Conclusion
So what’s the bottom line? Will any bass knob work with any amp? Can you take another manufacturer’s bass control and add it to another amplifier?
The answer is no. However, for amplifiers of the same manufacturer and of similar power capacity, this may work. However, we certainly don’t recommend it.
Simply put, if you can’t get the same exact knob, then get yourself an RCA level control knob, a universal bass knob, or just set the gain knob instead!