Tone / Amp settings question

BMBassman · #1 01-21-2011, 12:56 PM

Same gear as my previous post, I just wanted to separate the questions so I didn't ramble. (ESP LTD D-5, Peavey Mark IV, old Acoustic 2x12 cab)

I've never had an ear for tone, and I'm trying to work on it now. I have just bought the Peavey Mark IV head (manual linked above). It has an A and B channel with pre and post gain on each channel. I am between bands now, but my target is dance / rock / pop covers - anything from Carrie Underwood through Evanescense, Greenday and Down. I recently played on borrowed gear and loved it. I had typical low end thump and drive, with some real high end clarity and sparkle.

However, I also need some fuzz / distortion for some songs(think Evanescence, Orianthi, or Greenday, for example). I have a Line6 Bass Floor Pod, but that's noisy, and may get sold off, possibly for a stand-alone distortion unit.

My question here is this: What is the recommended approach to setting Pre / Post gain? I have seen all variations suggested, but the manual suggests setting post between 7 - 10 for 'full dynamic range', then running volume via the Pre gain, but I've seen other posts here suggesting the exact opposite. Using the first approach, it seems I might be able to get some fuzz / distortion by running up the Pre gain, but I'm not sure if this is healthy. The head has a clipping light, and I've assumed clipping = bad for the hardware, but I don't understand the difference between THAT clipping, and 'good' fuzz / distortion.

I know I need to make the decision for myself, with my ears, but I'm curious for opinions, and the reasons behind 'em, just so I can understand the factors / thought process behind 'em.

One other thing - I am on a tight, tight budget, and would love to learn to work with what I have before just buying my way out of it. If I can't set this up, I don't know why I would spend more money to buy better gear, that I still won't be able to set up. I'm sure 'scrap the whole thing and buy x' would be better, but I'm locked into this gear, and for now the object is to learn about tone and sound with what I have, then 'one day' be an informed consumer buying the ultimate rig.

Thanks in advance!

JTE · #2 01-21-2011, 01:50 PM

I had one of those amps and I used channel A for an over-drive channel for one song we used to do ("Break On Through" by The Doors). It worked pretty well for my use. Because there's no indication of pre-amp gain, you can't really set the gain stages as easily as you can more modern amps. I just found a place where the pre-amp didn't distort with the hardest attack I did, and set the pre-gain there, and then use the post-gain to set the volume. But it's old circuitry and without the overload indicator, it's just as valid to run the master wide open and use the pre-gain as your volume control. That's how amps worked before there were pre- and post-gain controls on them.

Do you have the Automix footswitch? The tone controls on the two channels are quite different. I think the upper one had a tone bank more similar to a Fender passive one than the active EQ system on channel B. I mostly used Channel B as my sound, and then could set Channel B for specific effect sounds- different EQ for solos, or the overdrive as mentioned above. You might also try using your Bass Pod in the FX loops as the amp has three of them. There's a send and return for each channel you could try, and there's a master send/return that's after the pre-amps. To use the channel FX loops, you'll run a shielded guitar cable from the "Send" of the amp to the input of the Pod, then another one from the output of the Pod to the "Return" of the amp. If you want to use it after the pre-amps, you'll need a special stereo cord with a 1/4" T/R/S (tip, ring, sleeve) plug on one end and two regular mono 1/4" plugs on the other. One this cable the mono 1/4" plug that comes from the TRS' tip goes to your Pod's input, and the other one (the ring connector) goes to the Pod's output.

It's a versatile amp that's still useful and valid today. Built to last forever, and while it might be considered not that powerful it was one of the first amp rated to go (and reliable too) at 2Ω. I used mine for driving a lot of different rigs- a pair of Music Man 212RH boxes, a Dual Showman box with a pair of JBLs, an Electro-Voice TL-606 box, a folded horn 1x15, and a pair of Guild/Hartke 4x10. It worked reliably for a LOT of gigs over the ten years or so I used it.

Have fun with it and don't get suckered in to dumping it until you've exhausted what it can do for you. Heck, it's cheap enough you could hang on to it and have it as a spare. I wish I'd kept mine because there've been times I wish I'd had just one more 200 watt power amp...

John

BMBassman · #3 01-21-2011, 02:42 PM

Thanks for the input...

Actually, I don't have the automix switch, but I've seen threads here on changing the (DIN) plug on the amp to accept the more standard Peavey footswitch 1/4" plug, and think I will do that, as I had considered the same Channel B base sound, with distortion / effects on A that you used.
Were you able to get some distortion simply by setting the gains a particular way, or did you use an offboard unit in the A channel effects loop?

JTE · #4 01-21-2011, 02:53 PM

I haven't used a stomp box distortion on bass since I had a Fuzz Face for a few weeks back in 1976. Just crank the pre-gain on the passive (B) channel, set the post-gain where it was needed, and use the Automix to balance the OD with the clean. Replacing the DIN connector with a 1/4" makes a lot of sense. I had a long discussion with Hartley Peavey about that POS DIN connector they used. I recall telling him that the connector was designed to break and be hard to fix.

John