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distortion issues (ashdown!)

antiochbass

antiochbass

Sep 27, 2007
74
0
Sycamore, IL
#1
hello friends, :help:

i recently purchased an ashdown mag 300h with an ashdown mag 410T cab. the head is 307w RMS and the cab is 450w continuous. i don't know if that has anything to do with it but i'm having some problems with distortion. i'm not sure if its the amp or the cab, but i'm hardly driving the amp (according to the VU meter) and when i play hard around the 7th fret i'm getting pretty serious distortion. turning the input up obviously only makes it more sensitive. when i turn off the EQ everything seems to be ok, but i'd like to be able to use the EQ. i thought it might be because i'm just playing too hard but with the input all the way up i hardly have to touch the string. my other thought is maybe my pickup is too high? i don't know if anyone else has had this experience but if anyone could shed some light on the situation i would muchly appreciate it!
 
#2
You haven't said what your EQ settings were, but if you boost the lows much, especially if you also cut the mids, that eats up all your wattage without giving you as much loudness. If you were EQ'ing that way, and you need more loudness without distortion, then you need a more powerful amp and a cab with better power handling and efficiency. If you weren't EQ'ing that way, then let us know all your settings and we can try to figure out. Also let us know any EQ settings on the bass itself, and any pedals or other processors you may be using.
 
#3
well when i first noticed it they were like this:
bass: 12 o'clock
220Hz: 8 o'clock
mid: 12 o'clock
1.6kHz: 1 o'clock
treble: 1 o'clock

and no EQ on my bass, i've been running passive.

when i started messing with the amp EQ, for example, cutting the treble altogether, it only muffled the distortion. So i'm not sure it's the EQ, but at the same time like i said before: when i turn the EQ off it seems to go away.

i also tried taking all my pedals away and going direct from my bass to my amp and that didn't seem to help either. this all makes me think it must be my pickup height...

does that help?
 
#6
Most mid-size towns have at least one amp repair guy. Maybe he's a crook or a quack, but he's there. I would check the local yellow pages, craigslist, heck even just Google "amp repair arlington va" etc.

Shop rates vary, but a common example might be $45 an hour plus parts, with a one hour minimum. If it really is a simple fix, you pay for the one hour. If it turns out to be complicated, you need to talk with the tech guy beforehand and say "listen, I can't afford a big bill, so if this looks like it's going to go over X amount then call me before going ahead with the work so I can approve it."
 

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