2020 Technical Specs Updated

I did some extensive lab testing today.  I previously did a lot of audio testing with various instruments and pedals, but today and this blog post is mostly about the test measurements.  Those measurements will surely say a good bit to some, and these results make sense to me based on what I heard through my various amps.  I first started by measuring the impedance of a variety of instruments to establish a general reference point, since instrument impedance can span a range based on pickup style, etc.  

• Frequency response of the 2020 can vary based on source impedance.  Total response is from 1Hz-70kHz.  Below is a generic list of tested source impedances and the resultant frequency response.  Your actual impedance can deviate a little bit from pickup to pickup, so its sort of generalized here:  
  • Humbucker or Split-coil (P-Bass) pickup [64k Ohms in this test] feeding into the 2020:  Flat from 10Hz-5kHz with a super gentle high frequency roll off of about 1.5dB per octave.  -3dB at 14kHz.  To my ear its a subtle high frequency roll off.   
  • Single Coil pickup feeding into the 2020 [30k ohms in this test]:  Flat from 7Hz-28kHz.  This is probably the least colorful pairing option because technically its the most perfect pairing of impedances.  
  • FX pedal feeding into the 2020 [10k ohms in this test]:  Flat from 2Hz-20kHz   
• THD+N driven with a source impedance roughly equivalent to that of a generic FX pedal [10.9k Ohms in this test] =
  • 0.09% @1kHz when driven by 500mV sine wave.
  • 0.09% @80Hz when driven by 500mV sine wave.
  • 0.21% @20Hz when driven by 500mV sine wave.

I think there's substantially more THD when the 2020 is driven by humbuckers/split coils, vs. single coils or pedals (at unity gain).  However, pedals, such as my tube pedals, can saturate the 2020 in a very audible and pleasing way.  I haven't used lab equipment to measure this yet, but I heard it and it sounds pleasantly colorful to my ear.  That'll be my next test for sure.