2x400W 8ohm. so the amp puts out the exact(maybe?) 800 watts that the two speakers can handle. is that good or bad?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Amp Clipping please help!
- Thread starter PuffusMaximus
- Start date
2x400W 8ohm. so the amp puts out the exact(maybe?) 800 watts that the two speakers can handle. is that good or bad?
Forget about the wattage, they're already past xmax with all the bass he's boosting, just hasn't shorted one out yet that we can tell anyway.
One more thing. That noise/hum you are hearing may be coming from your bass. If you have single coil pickups, it probably is. It's really easy, and cheap, to shield your control cavity/pickup routes/etc.. That will help. It also leads me to believe you stand really close to your amp, or someone else's. Happens all the time. Neon signs will do it too, as well as a bad ground in the outlet your head is plugged in to. Try a "ground lift" (plug adapter with the ground prong removed).
Your power matching is ok, it's all the bass boosting that's likely making them physically move in and out farther than they should be. If they go too far they can tear themselves apart, get creases in the cones or short themselves out against the magnet on the backstroke.
It's not ideal because you have no head room, plus boosting the lows puts more strain on the cabs
ideally if I was running a 4 Ohm load over 2 8 Ohm cabs, I'd make sure I had at least 500W a cab to be safe that I could turn up the volume and still get a clean tone without the amp clipping or the cabs farting. IMO, of course. Also +1 to what Will33 said.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
To keep from clipping turn all of your tone knobs down to at least 5. Most amps have 2 volume or gain controls. try both of those at 5. If you play an active try all of your tone settings at 0, no boost and no cut. Then adjust from there. Also if you play loud get pa support or a 2nd cabinet.
Or just get the band to turn down ... this will also save your hearing.
(tube tone) volume, bass, mid, treble; then theres an overdrive section, vari-q, and room balance i dont use. then master volume
Turn the bass down to even or just a little boost. Turn the mid knob up to somewhere in the middle of it's range, it can be cut a little but not too much. You can turn the treble down if you want. Don't know what "room balance" is, probably some magic knob with a preset eq curve or something. Variq might be a sweepable mid...don't know but if you're not using those that's fine.
That much should have a good presence out in the room while still sounding deep/fat. You may not like that sound so much up close but just know it sounds better than that where the audience is.
That much should have a good presence out in the room while still sounding deep/fat. You may not like that sound so much up close but just know it sounds better than that where the audience is.
the vari q has two knobs, one to select what range of frequency to boost or cut, and one to determine how much boost or cut. the room balance: to the left it cuts the highs and boosts the lows, to the right it cuts the lows and boosts the highs to quickly "dial in the stage" as fender put it
The Fender TB series amps use the passive tone circuit so flat is positions 1/10/1 for the 3 band EQ. That might explain getting lost in the mix if you have the mids turned all the way down (scooped) and the bass boosted. Also, if you keep the mids up and lower the bass, you should be able to drive your cabs a bit harder without them farting/distorting. Also, are you using a passive or active bass?
will33, the vari-Q is just mid frequency selector from 80(?)Hz to 2K. the room balance to the left adds lows, to the right cuts low and adds highs.
active is the pickups that require batteries right? if so then i use a passive
That was my next question whether it had a real fender tone stack.
So forget my last post. You can turn the bass up to about 3 if you want no higher than 4. Then turn the mid knob all the way up or at least to 8. Leave the room balance in the middle and use that variq to dial out whatever honk or twang you don't like without sucking out all the mids. Put a cut on it and fish around between say 800 and 2k to find the spot that takes away the annoying sound but leaves the lower mids in. Adjust treble to taste.
Try that while listening with the whole band from as far away from the rig as you can get. You don't have to have really loud mids but you need some in there to work in a mix. If you find yourself making extreme adjustments with any knob it's usually time to try a different approach.
If you have a friend play for you so you can listen out front you can experiment with how much mid you can cut before you're lost in the mix and how much bass you can add before it turns to indistinct mud.
Hope some of this helps.
So forget my last post. You can turn the bass up to about 3 if you want no higher than 4. Then turn the mid knob all the way up or at least to 8. Leave the room balance in the middle and use that variq to dial out whatever honk or twang you don't like without sucking out all the mids. Put a cut on it and fish around between say 800 and 2k to find the spot that takes away the annoying sound but leaves the lower mids in. Adjust treble to taste.
Try that while listening with the whole band from as far away from the rig as you can get. You don't have to have really loud mids but you need some in there to work in a mix. If you find yourself making extreme adjustments with any knob it's usually time to try a different approach.
If you have a friend play for you so you can listen out front you can experiment with how much mid you can cut before you're lost in the mix and how much bass you can add before it turns to indistinct mud.
Hope some of this helps.
In that case, try setting your amp flat (1/10/1) and start tweaking until you have a tone you're happy with. Keep in mind that you need mids to cut through the mix and that overboosting lows will distort your cabs at higher volumes, but other than that, have fun!
The fender tonestack can be a little wierd until you get used to it. The bass and treble knobs are boost only. You usually have to turn them up slightly to get sound but a setting of 1 or 2 is considered flat or an even amount of bass or treble. You only add from there going up the dial, you can't actually take any away.
The mid knob works the opposite way, it only cuts or takes away mids, you can't actually add any so it's flat or even setting is wide open on 10 and it takes away midrange as you come down the dial.
The settings I gave you are a little bit bass boosted / a little bit mid scooped in keeping with your overall tone flavor but they aren't anywhere near an extreme that'll goof up the mix, just put a little heavier sound on the bass.
Experiment with them, that's what they're there for. Just going to extremes doesn't work out so well with a band....can sound cool playing by yourself.
The mid knob works the opposite way, it only cuts or takes away mids, you can't actually add any so it's flat or even setting is wide open on 10 and it takes away midrange as you come down the dial.
The settings I gave you are a little bit bass boosted / a little bit mid scooped in keeping with your overall tone flavor but they aren't anywhere near an extreme that'll goof up the mix, just put a little heavier sound on the bass.
Experiment with them, that's what they're there for. Just going to extremes doesn't work out so well with a band....can sound cool playing by yourself.
ok. so say if i wanted to get the sound i like while playing alone, just bass and treble no mids, in a band setting, how might i do that?
Your variq doesn't work like that. That one even is in the middle, turning left takes away sound and turning right adds it. The other knob with the numbers on it selects which frequency you want to boost or cut. That's why I say put a cut on it (turn it left) and dial the frequency knob until whatever sound you don't like goes away or at least becomes less in comparison to the rest of the sound.
Without having all that bass boosted your clipping problem will go away, you'll sound better out in the audience and it won't eat up all the amp power giving you more available power/volume should you need it. It'll also make your speakers last longer cause they won't be getting overworked.
Without having all that bass boosted your clipping problem will go away, you'll sound better out in the audience and it won't eat up all the amp power giving you more available power/volume should you need it. It'll also make your speakers last longer cause they won't be getting overworked.
"Alone" tone doesn't work well in band mixes...it's just how sound works. You could add a little more bass and treble and a little less mids to kind of mimic it but if you have "no mids" the audience won't even be able to tell what you're playing you'll be drown out by the rest of the band. They'll just notice something's missing if you stopped playing mid-song but they won't be able to pick out the notes you were playing. It ends up being a low rumbly sort of wishy-washy noise.
