Electronic tutor

[PfB]

Hi
This is going to sound very amateurish I am afraid, but I have recently taken up bass and I am enjoying it immensely, but the electronics completely baffle me. All the "teach yourself" type of books I have come across concentrate on styles and playing techniques but none of them seem to explain what to do with all those knobs on the amp. I am a musician, not an electronic engineer. Is there a manual or a self-tutor book that anyone can recommend that would explain these things to me? Like, what do you need a pre-amp for if you have an amp? And what in heaven's name is "gain"? It just seems to work like a second volume control so far as I can tell. That's the sort of thing I mean. Many thanks

 

[line6man]

Like, what do you need a pre-amp for if you have an amp? And what in heaven's name is "gain"? It just seems to work like a second volume control so far as I can tell.

I don't have any book suggestions, but this post should clarify your first question.
Active / Passive What do they mean?

As for gain, in a nutshell, it's a measure of how much the input signal of a preamp is being boosted, or how hard an input stage is pushed. The difference between a volume knob and a gain knob is typically that the volume knob provides attenuation, whereas the gain knob controls how hard you drive an input stage. When you crank up a volume knob, you get "unity-gain," which is where the signal is neither boosted nor cut. Cranking a gain knob will often push a preamp into overdrive, causing distortion.