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Gain Control versus Volume Control

#3
Im guessing your amp is all solid-state. So....

Leave your bass volume at max. (unless you need to adjust it during live songs or whatever)

If you want a really clean sound.....turn up the master volume to about 75% and adjust the gain for your volume. (this setup will give you an idea of how much clean headroom you have available)

If you want something with a little more edge....turn the gain up until you like the sound you're getting (no distortion though), it should probably sound different than the first setup, and then adjust the master volume.

some SS amps work better with different setups. You're pretty much looking for what sounds right to you, and gives you the most volume.

hope this helps. Let me know if i didnt explain something clearly enough.
 
#4
It is best to use the gain as high as you can to get your desired tone. On most amps this will be as high as it can go before you start hearing distortion (or if there's a clip light, that light should ficker during your hardest playing efforts). Keep in mind that bass, mid, and treble controls are typically within the gain stage of the amp and will affect this setting too.

The Volume should be used to control your overall volume and is not supposed to be a tone altering device. Set this to the setting that gives you enough volume for your playing situation. One thing that really confuses most people about the volume is that you're limiting your amp's output with it. Please know that even if your volume is set to 5/10, you can still use all of your amplifier's power if you get enough signal through the preamp (what the gain knob controls). This is a point of confusion because people think that a volume knob at 5/10 on a 600W amp leaves you with 300W available. Not true. All 600W are available, and you are not reducing "headroom" by turning down the volume knob.

This method of setup gets you the lowest noise floor (least hissing/humming, which all amps have to a small degree). As for the volume on your bass, I just leave mine fully open so I get the most level from my bass. I almost never touch it, just leave it cranked.

I hope this helps.
 
#5
Thanks to all of you for the quick responses and the great explanations. The amp is a Fender Bassman 100. Speaking of which, the bottom of the amp is designed so that it can be tilted back at what looks like a 30 degree angle. What would be the advantage of pointing the speaker upwards like that, and when would I use that feature. Thanks, again.
 
#7
BassIan said:
It is best to use the gain as high as you can to get your desired tone. On most amps this will be as high as it can go before you start hearing distortion (or if there's a clip light, that light should ficker during your hardest playing efforts). Keep in mind that bass, mid, and treble controls are typically within the gain stage of the amp and will affect this setting too.

The Volume should be used to control your overall volume and is not supposed to be a tone altering device. Set this to the setting that gives you enough volume for your playing situation. One thing that really confuses most people about the volume is that you're limiting your amp's output with it. Please know that even if your volume is set to 5/10, you can still use all of your amplifier's power if you get enough signal through the preamp (what the gain knob controls). This is a point of confusion because people think that a volume knob at 5/10 on a 600W amp leaves you with 300W available. Not true. All 600W are available, and you are not reducing "headroom" by turning down the volume knob.

This method of setup gets you the lowest noise floor (least hissing/humming, which all amps have to a small degree). As for the volume on your bass, I just leave mine fully open so I get the most level from my bass. I almost never touch it, just leave it cranked.

I hope this helps.
Click to expand...
+1
 
#8
simple definition is IN GENERAL, the gain is a level adjustment on the front of the preamp, before any tone altering circuitry such as graphic eq, etc. The volume is at the back end of the preamp after all the eq circutry and should just be a level control. Gain is traditionaly is used to drive the input section of preamp tubes to the desired level of saturation to get the either a clean tone (low gain) or a overdriven tone (high gain) while the volume should just control the level fed to the power amp section.
 

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