Markbass Settings With Pbass - Page 2

Got2SadowskyNYC · #21 12-05-2012, 06:53 PM

One thing I notice nearly all bass players do is set the input gain to low.

I run amps like a channel strip on a board.

Set all controls to flat, the VCE and VCF to full left. Set the master volume to full left (off).

Set the input gain at 12 .Now play the bass slightly harder than you normally would. Slap on it too. Turn the gain up until you see the clip light begin to flash then back off just a bit. Till it flashes only with the hardest hits.

Now turn up the master to a normal listening level. This will probably be lower on the knob than you are use to because you're sending more gain to the master.

On MarkBass I always set the bass knob at about 3 o clock. This ought to be pretty close to what you want.

The VLE is a "vintage loudspeaker emulator" i.e. high freq. roll of. Turn up to taste.

The VCF is the happy face EQ mid scoop. Set to taste.

Once you've got this dialed in, keep an eye on the clip light during rehearsals or gigs. If it starts flashing A LOT then back off a tad more.

Once you get it set pretty much every bass will sound good.

Marcus Willett · #22 12-05-2012, 10:37 PM

I did an overlay of the MarkBass LM EQ. Mostly to satisfy my own curiosity about the (IMO) redundancy of the VPF and how that control could have been better implemented (again, IMO).

Took a bit of tweaking because the scale (both X and Y axis) of the VPF control as shown in the manual was different than all other EQ graphs. This graph (which has the VPF in green) shows it in consistent scale and relationship.

I also opted for a 20Hz to 20KHz range, going up to 100KHz seemed a bit silly.

LOW= BLACK
LOW MID= RED
HIGH MID= BLUE
HIGH= YELLOW
VPF= GREEN

SJan3 · #23 12-05-2012, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJung

Leave the VPF off (always... don't touch it). Dial the upper mid control down just a touch. Dial the bass control down just a touch. The VLE has a very similar result as the passive tone control. So, either one will nicely and graduall roll off treble to taste. Should sound killer.

I agree with this! I back my hi mids to about 11 o'clock and run the VLE at around 9 o'clock. With my cabs I'm good with the bass at noon. Don't use the VPF filter unless you' going for a more modern slap sound ala J bass and even then, don't use more than 9 o'clock. Good luck!

Tactician · #24 12-06-2012, 02:22 AM

That old Yamaha NE2 pedal was all about putting a cut into the mids. Certainly the mids can muddy up the sound - but cutting the mids can also lose you in the mix. Most amps are made to sound OK with all the dials on 5. However there are planty of players who wouldn't much dial in anything - I've been told by Stuart Hamm that he'd like a amp with nothing but a volume control. And Mo Foster the UK session player said exactly the same thing. So I tend to just roll off what I don't need rather than turn up more of anything - certainly I find that that Nathan East NE sound is a useful clue and turning out some of the mids and some deep bass clears up my sound. Loads of bottom end sounds great solo - but its all lost in the mix with the other players in the band - its the mids that cut through. And what someone earlier said is SO true - what sounds great at home sound dreadful in the band.

Would someone like to comment on that old nostrum about turning everything up (as that removes the resistances that is in the dial - the idea that you can only really turn down not add to the amps power or EQ) and then turn down what you don't need. Most people I knew in the 60's certainly did that - but is it still true - was it actually wrong thinking.

Help we need an amp guru!

Tactician · #25 12-06-2012, 02:32 AM

Here's a thought - if you recorded yourself along with some sort of band track and then mixed the bass to sound good with the EQ of Cubase or something like like it - would the setting of the EQ give you a clear sign of what your bass setting should be heading. For example if we were mising the bass to sound good and needed to cut the sub100 hz and boost the 200-300hz range, we could do that on the dials of the amp. You see where I'm going with this? Anyone tried something like this?

Anyone actually attached an ocilloscope to the signal path to see what's going on? (I could try this with Adobe Audition which has this sort of analysis capabilities.) Or is this all getting too anal?

lucam · #26 12-06-2012, 02:50 AM

Go with the scope! Log sweep in input and a scope! I'm curious now! B)

Tactician · #27 12-07-2012, 05:56 AM

I did something similar years ago by ABing the sound I was getting doing lessons using my Fender Deluxe Reverb - yes I know its not a bass amp, but this was a lesson at low volume, so no harm done. I loved the valve amp sound I was getting so leaving it the way it sounded good - all bass up an no treble on the clean channel, I set up my Ashdown next to it and swapped back and forwards until I was getting pretty much the same sounds from both. The dials on the Ashdown were all over the place! Look at this - Bright in, EQ in, Deep in, Sub in and dial at 7.30. Bass dial at 9.00, 220hz dial at 1.30, Middle dial at 4.30!, 1.6Khz 1.30, and the Treble dial at 1.30. You'd never get those setting just tinkering around without something to comapre it to.

However after a while I lost patience witht the four 10" Sica's you get with a MAG 250 (the British built one from 2002) and replaced it with a single monster 3015 15" Eminence. Much louder, much clearer. Completely trashed my DL emulated settings - so probably need to do something of the ABing again. I'll let you know what the next set looks like.

Anybody else done this sort of experimenting? There must be a pretty simple way to look at a great bass recording and just emulate the same using Adobe Audition or a scope? Isn't this the sort of thing a manufacturer does when designing an amp? I know in the 60's when Marshal built those Bassman clones you just got whatever it was at the end - the amp came out pretty much according to what components were available here in the uk - so it was a Bassman but with lots of different parts, and the speakers were just the Celestions that were the most powerful at that time. But surely we've moved on?

darius8 · #28 12-22-2012, 07:19 PM

I like to set the VLE at 3 o'clock and the VPF at 9 o'clock for real old school sound when playing disco or R-n-B stuff. For a modern tone I turn off the VLE and set the VPF between 12 to 3 o'clock.

Russell L · #29 12-23-2012, 08:44 AM

I've gotten to where I just don't ever touch that VPF knob. All it does is make me disappear. Ya'll, look closely at Marcus' graph overlay. Last night I found myself running all knobs at noon with both filters off. LOL, all I needed was a power switch, Gain, and Master. Sounded great! These amps are amazing.

fenwickbacker · #30 12-23-2012, 09:06 AM

Russell - I share your experience. I played around with the filters for both my P and J basses (passive Fenders), and just didn't find a comfortable setting.

After about a year of using the LMIII, my settings are 12 on the eqs, gain at 1 (for J), 12 (for P), no filters. Usually have line out around 1 and keep master volume at 11 for "quiet" set and up to 1 for "loud" sets.

Same is really true for the basses - run volume wide open and use the tone knob on each to adjust to the room and/or the song.

Guess I'm not really a bells and whistles type player. One of the reasons I like the LMIII - simple amp . . . and play passive basses.