Clipping Question

[j-rad66]

I'm almost positive that this has been covered before on TB somewhere but if you folks could clear it up for me one last time it would be greatly appreciated.

Ive got an Ibanez SR755 bass with active electronics, a Markbass little Mark III head, and the standard 1X15 cab to go with it. My problem is that I'm not a very quiet bassist, and i like my sound to have alot of presence with crunchy highs, and enough low end to crack the earth in two, but when i actually get that sound, that little blue clip light starts flashing on the Little Mark. Not to mention im still not getting enough volume to really cut through and be heard amongst my two guitar players and a drummer with a 9 piece kit.

I also have a Tech 21 bass driver DI and i love it. I get an awesome sound out of it, but again i still see that little blue light.

Should I try a different amp? Perhaps a passive bass with the Bass driver? Or maybe I'm just messing with the eq too much..

[dmusic148]

You are feeding it too hot of a signal- the light indicates input clipping, not output clipping. Reduce your input level slightly.
To get louder, reduce Low control and increase Mid Low. The Low control will tend to eat power and headroom if increased too much. Also, reduce the VPF filter to zero- this control eats mids when turned up, which makes the sound smoother, but less able to cut.

[SurferJoe46]

I've only had that trouble when I plug into the Passive side of my amp and I have any stomp in front of the input from the bass.

It's the amp telling you that your signal is a little too hot.

You're pre-amping the signal into the head preamp.

Remember that a stomp IS a preamp of sorts, (some hotter than others) and added into the passive input (if yours has a Passive/Active input - I dunnow your amp) it will clip the extreme spikes off the top and bottom of the signal and then send that signal to the post amp and at the same time tell you what it's doing.

If you amp has an active side, try that - but you may be asking a lot of you amp to run that hard - especially with only a 15.

Blue lights, red lights - they are all trying to get your attention. I know some amps can handle it 24/7 - but then there's always a chance ------- ahem.

[JimmyM]

i'll also add that if you really want to get loud, you need more than a 115. another standard 115 would probably do the trick.

[B-string]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

i'll also add that if you really want to get loud, you need more than a 115. another standard 115 would probably do the trick.

^ THIS and you will be able to cut back on the lows as well. The low to high mids mentioned above are also key if you want to be heard. Stop trying to rattle the stage and you will cut through and the mix won't turn to mud.

[Son of Bovril]

add another cab like the one you have and cut back on the input gain