With both my passive bass (er, uh, Squier....) and active bass (lowish-end Ibanez, $550 new), I really like the sound better when the bass's volume-level is set no more than about 3/4. The sound at full volume on the bass just doesn't sound as "smooth" somehow. Anyone else have this experience, either live or studio? My experience is exclusively live.
It sounds different because the pots (the thingies under the knobs) are basically objects in the way of your signal. The more you turn the knob down, the more RESISTANCE is put into your signal, which directly affects your sound. The tone knob on a passive bass does exactly that. It passivly cuts (without use of a battery) the treble frequencies...think of it as a filter. The volume knob will mildly cut the treble frequencies (at least in my experience). Does this make sense and does this help?
I wouldn't think that resistance would cut the highs (as opposed to capacitors), but something's happening on both my basses, so maybe that's it. I don't think anything is wrong, I'm just trying to understand what's happening.
