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Do you run your bass' volume control wide open?
- Thread starter Bob Coldwell
- Start date
Not at all. I play Fender passive basses with VVT controls. They are wide open, always for that very present clear sound. (I said clear, not necessarily trebly) That said, my choice of amps have very good tonal controls. Eden WT amps only require a slight boost at 165hz. My Mesa WD-800 requires a significant cut in the upper and high mids.
I play music that has a LOT of dynamics (church gigs). Yes, I know how to control dynamics with my technique, but in my world, that really isn't enough - we go from a full roaring rock band volume to "underscoring" - playing soft music underneath someone talking on stage with us - none of the gigs I did in clubs ever had that kind of dynamics. My volume control, in a set of 4 to 5 songs, ends up wide open at a passage or two - the climactic moment (maybe two) of the set. Otherwise, it's backed off, sometimes way off.
Geez... After reading these responses I think that my dream of a one pickup bass with no knobs and just a big mute button is absolutely feasible.
#KnobsAreForAmps
#KnobsAreForAmps
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Exactly - maybe if I was playing in a Metallica tribute band.Why the fock would I want to turn my volume down ?
Seriously, I don’t use the volume knob.
On basses where I’m modifying the electronics and don’t want to drill another control location, I just omit the volume pot.
If I want less volume, I play more softly.
If I want no volume, I hit my tuner pedal.
On a 2 pickup bass I tend to run the neck pickup 100% and the bridge pickup about 80% or so. Except the Jerry Jones (double lipsticks)- that sounds best to me volume maxxed and middle switch position (both on).
On my basses with a blend knob, I go 100% on volume. For basses with individual volumes for each pickup (jazz basses for example) I go 70% neck, 100% bridge.
Bones
Bones
Volume knob up all the time, and I control dynamics with my fingers or pick, and control tone with hand position and of course the tone knob.
Thanks for all the replies. Here's a follow-up question:
Would a volume pedal be a solution to my problem? I really it would affect the amp's input level, but I could run the bass full on.
Would a volume pedal be a solution to my problem? I really it would affect the amp's input level, but I could run the bass full on.
I'd recommend that you try one out. Many people like them. In fact here they come now...
Most basses do lose some of the upper mid peak when the volume is rolled off. With a carefully designed treble bleed circuit, you can compensate for this - you can even design it to give you more edge and presence when turned down, if you want it to. It' s not something you will find on a stock Fender, but I have that on most of my basses, and it is helpful - without it, you will naturally turn up to tory to re-capture the "snap", which means you end up destroying the added dynamic range benefit of playing backed off most of the time.
If everything is loud, you lose the impact that you can get from having a loud passage within a tune where the rest of it isn't balls to the wall. If you're an ACDC tribute band, loud all the time may work, but other material may demand more dynamics.Why the fock would I want to turn my volume down ?
A volume pedal is another load on the pickup - it'll take away some of that "edge and presence", even with the bass and it on 10.
T'was a joke man!
Still, I play with volume at max.
I'll get my dynamics by playing softer when needed, not louder.
If tone is in the fingers, volume also is!
You could adjust the gain on your amp. Passive basses will lose a bit of treble if you turn it down, unless you install a treble bleed circuit.
I mostly open up all volume controls on my bass. I often only use 1 pickup on a 2-pickup bass, and I turn the unused pickup to 0 and the used pickup to 10. Sometimes I roll back one pickup on a 2-pickup bass for subtle blending and less mid scoop, but the other pickup is always on 10.
I mostly open up all volume controls on my bass. I often only use 1 pickup on a 2-pickup bass, and I turn the unused pickup to 0 and the used pickup to 10. Sometimes I roll back one pickup on a 2-pickup bass for subtle blending and less mid scoop, but the other pickup is always on 10.
