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Bass cab farting… need help
- Thread starter spectormike
- Start date
The gain and boost are high enough where you might be pushing the Boost circuit into OD. With the Woofer Master at 11:00, I doubt you are pushing the amp to clipping (700W at 4 ohms). Your cab is supposedly rated for 2000W RMS. No idea what it can actually take.
The preamp distortion in this amp tends to be pretty nasty IMHO. The distortion produced by the Drive circuit is way nicer.
With the Contour maxed out like that, you get quite a mid-scoop:
+2dB@50Hz /
-10dB@500Hz /
+3dB@7kHz
Also the engaging the 4/5 String button gives +11dB at 20hz. If anything is causing the cab to fart out, I would suspect the 4/5 String setting.
The preamp distortion in this amp tends to be pretty nasty IMHO. The distortion produced by the Drive circuit is way nicer.
With the Contour maxed out like that, you get quite a mid-scoop:
+2dB@50Hz /
-10dB@500Hz /
+3dB@7kHz
Also the engaging the 4/5 String button gives +11dB at 20hz. If anything is causing the cab to fart out, I would suspect the 4/5 String setting.
That mid scoop contour setting might be problematic. Boosts lows which saps power and could be causing issues. Why not try that at 9 and everything at noon and then adjust the EQ to cut or boost as necessary.
i don’t have the 4/5 engaged. I am using Spector 5 string basses with it.
I cannot get it farting unless boosting bass too much and feeding too much power. Notice the cab has vintage style sound with loud mids (+ added brightness compared to Ampeg) and not too much low-low end. I mean something like 40hz is not worth of boosting with this one. Check you Spector onboard preamp setting that you are not boosting bass.
Cab itself can be very loud but not super low -> closed cab. I have run it seriously loud in rock festival sized stages and it is not really running out of steam when feeding with proper power amp.
Cab itself can be very loud but not super low -> closed cab. I have run it seriously loud in rock festival sized stages and it is not really running out of steam when feeding with proper power amp.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Try running everything flat and see if it disappears. Then start moving toward present setting a little at a time. That may answer your question.
I was running an Ampeg 350 watt amp into a Hartke 8x10 and it farted, thought I blew one of the speakers. Plugged in my Mesa WD800 and the cab was clear as a bell... Seems it needed more power. <my 2 cents> 
I was running an Ampeg 350 watt amp into a Hartke 8x10 and it farted, thought I blew one of the speakers. Plugged in my Mesa WD800 and the cab was clear as a bell... Seems it needed more power. <my 2 cents>
Are you using any effects, like an Octave or distortion pedal? What are the settings on those?
A good idea, so long as you understand that "all knobs at noon" is almost never, on a bass amp, flat response. The contour cranked as it is on the OP's amp is probably at least part of the problem - take away the mids, boost the lows (what that knob does), and you're very liable to overdrive the linear excursion of the speaker, which is the most direct way to fart city.
I have a 700RBii. So I know these amps well.
Turn that contour down, and work on habituating your ear to a less scooped, more mid-present tone. Many of us get used to hearing studio-scooped sound, and try to recreate it. That contour can be thought of as a mid cut, but is also basically a bass boost and treble boost -- and that bass boost, combined with the fact that you are DIMEing that boost knob (it's way powerful, I keep mine at about 9 o'clock.
Pull back on some of those extreme settings and you should be in good shape. But I'm certain it's going to sound more mid-forward than you're used to. I bet you'll find that you sit in a live mix better that way. I do!
Turn that contour down, and work on habituating your ear to a less scooped, more mid-present tone. Many of us get used to hearing studio-scooped sound, and try to recreate it. That contour can be thought of as a mid cut, but is also basically a bass boost and treble boost -- and that bass boost, combined with the fact that you are DIMEing that boost knob (it's way powerful, I keep mine at about 9 o'clock.
Pull back on some of those extreme settings and you should be in good shape. But I'm certain it's going to sound more mid-forward than you're used to. I bet you'll find that you sit in a live mix better that way. I do!
Correct on the contour diagnosis. But I find that the EQ at noon is the proper starting point on a GK amp. The EQ is very musical, but also powerful. Pulling back towards noon will give a better sound on that amp, I'm certain of it. I get a big change just between 11 and 1, and mainly find that I make only small adjustments to the bass knob depending on the room and stage.
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
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Could you lay out your entire signal chain and relevant settings prior to the amp input (e.g. effects, bass preamp, etc.)? Something doesn't add up quite right with the settings you show, the information you've shared, and the problem you're having. You have a very capable rig there when operating within what should be an impressive (not highly limited) performance envelope.
I think the suggestions above to move to a neutral state on the tone shaping filters (including EQ) and then see if volume and/or one of the tone shaping settings is getting you in trouble is the way to go.
I think the suggestions above to move to a neutral state on the tone shaping filters (including EQ) and then see if volume and/or one of the tone shaping settings is getting you in trouble is the way to go.
The boost and contour on the GK are very powerful, especially the boost. And the woofer (which on a GK is the main volume) at 11 o'clock? That's a huge amount of power on a 1001. I generally have my woofer lower than that on my 700 into two fifteens, and maybe only even get there at my loudest gigs.
I looked again and the boost isn't dimed, but if I had my input gain that high, the boost that high, and the woofer that high -- I'd have problems. Add to that the contour....
Yup, that amp set to noon is a bit mid scooped to begin with.
And I noticed the setting are at cross purposes or at least to me. The contour is maxed out so a lot of bass is present but you have the bass knob pulled back.
But atst, the preamp section is actually set at at setting that fdeck? would call almost flat, as far as frequency response from these amps.
If it was me, I would back the contour off, and the boost and start again from there.
Personal-Page/gkbl600.pdf at master · bassistTech/Personal-Page
Last edited:
Jazzdogg
Less barking, more wagging!
In addition to the observations already made, above, try a variable high-pass filter to trim the deepest frequencies from the bottom up.
I don't use pedals or EQ, this was at a rehearsal studio and I thought I blew one of the speakers, it kept buzzing on G. I plugged in my new Mesa and it kicked ass.
He said Mesa WD 800I was running an Ampeg 350 watt amp into a Hartke 8x10 and it farted, thought I blew one of the speakers. Plugged in my Mesa WD800 and the cab was clear as a bell... Seems it needed more power. <my 2 cents>
fdeck says that flat is +1 on the low mids and high mids and -2 on the treble and bass. The pictured eq is *more* scooped. Not less/flat.
+/- 1 or 2 is not extremely scooped -- I like the sound of the amp at noon, but this may be because I play Bag End 15's which are mid-forward, so my experience is more flat.
