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Bass amp tone settings

rtslinger

rtslinger

Nov 14, 2006
15,587
45,109
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Belleville,New Jersey USA
www.youtube.com
#1
Need to know from you guys what you consider to be the best bass amp tone settings for a live situation. Rock band
two guitars, bass, keys and drums playing with my fingers no slap. I had own classic 1970 Svt with 8 x10 in the past so my work was pretty much done for me.I own a Fender 100 bassman now playing smaller rooms "150 people"
looking for like I said the best tones settings. owners manual is no help.
thanks
RTS
 
#2
My answer WOULD be: the choice of tone settings is a personal one, but luckily for you, I have the exactly the same amp.

I find that it is quite easy to distort the bassman 100 when the bass is set too high, and when the treble is set to maximum you get a craptastic metallic tone.

The problem with this amp is that when you set it to max volume and gain, only one tone sounds good. It is not like other amps where you can get loads of different and great sounding tones, so saying the choice is a personal one is not a valid statement.

If you have the EQ on your bass set to neutral (all the knobs in the middle), the EQ on the bass should look like this:

Gain: 10/10
Bass: 6/10
Mid Level: 7/10
Mid Preq: 5/10
Treble: 2/10
Compressor: 8/10
Master Vol: 10/10.

Switching the limiter on helps, and switching the enhance switch will get you a smoother tone. The active/passive depends on the bass.

This is what works best for MY bass, an active Dean Edge Q 4, you might have to play around a bit for your bass, but the rule of thumb for this amp is: not too much bass, back off the treble.

Also, it is much better if you can hook up to the PA using the XLR output at the back of the amp, because I really don't think the amp is loud enough. I ALWAYS try to borrow other people's amps when I have a gig.

Hope this helps.
Oh, and welcome to the talkbass forums!
 
#3
Thanks Dr. Feelgood I do go direct when playing live
thanks for the settings I have a Fender P which I use brite flat strings which gives it a lot of punch the problem was to much rumble as you stated in a smaller venue I am shaking the place off the foundation.I use a compressor also when I play live but it was not hellping with the bass over powering the rest of the band so I will try these settings Sat night
at the show and let you know I how I make out
RTS
 
#6
One thing that it took me a while to get my head around is that in order to cut through the mix, oftimes what you need to do is cut the low end. I listened to live recordings of my band, and when I turned up the bass (the bass in the recording, not the bass guitar) to where there was sufficient low frequency content in the playback, or even too much, I couldn't tell what notes I was playing a lot of the time. It was really frustrating; I go to a lot of trouble to try and write imaginative yet supportive bass lines, but what's the point if no one can discern what I am doing? I loved the sound I was getting when I was playing alone, but with the band, I was lost in the mix.

So I turned down the bass on my amp, turned up my volume a bit, and added a Fulltone Bass Driver to my rig for a little growl, and hey, there I am!
 
#9
I was able to get a little time last night to dial in the tone settings and it sounded really good I starting playing around with my drum machine and jammed a little bit from 8PM to 12AM
" like I said it sounded real good"! Can't wait to try it Sat night.
If there are any of you guys in the North Jersey area my band is called PHOENIX and we are at Cloud 9 which is on the Totowa, Paterson border at 176 Union Ave. Check out the write up for the place in Steppinout mag this week.I hope some of you can make it.The Best in Classic Rock and Blues. I will be the guy with the bass ha ha ha
RTS
 
#11
Hello Fellow bass players thanks for all your help the show was killer the bass sound was clear and punchy here is an email that I rec'd from my lead guitarist
ROB; GREAT JOB SATURDAY NIGHT. WHEN I WAS TALKING TO THE OWNER HE SAID HE PLAYED GUITAR IN

A BAND BEFORE AND RUNNING DOWN A DREAM BLEW HIS MIND AND HE SAID YOUR BASS PLAYING WAS

OUTSTANDING.
thanks guys for all your help!
RTS
 

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