• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Funny Walter Woods behavior

nonsqtr

nonsqtr

The emperor has no clothes!
Aug 29, 2003
3,994
25
Burbank CA USA
Visit site
#1
Hi all, it seems my WW Ultra has some kind of limiter in it. It kicks in when I crank the treble on my new MTD-535. It takes down the whole signal for about a second. Ouch. Good thing I discovered it here at home, and not in the middle of a gig. First I thought I was losing a speaker, it was that kind of a sound, like the coil was about ready to fry or something. But no, it was definitely from the amp. Does anyone know what's up with this? Is this protecting the power section, or is it in the preamp?
 
#2
I've been playing on my WW Ultra for over a year now and I have been playing 2-7 gigs a week with it for the past four months.

I have never noticed any limiting, and in my estimation it has a very open preamp with more headroom than many other integrated amps I have tried.

What are your settings on the amp?

I wonder if your onboard bass preamp could be overloading the input stage of the Woods. Maybe try cutting the input volume and boosting the signal at the master/poweramp stage.

Hope this helps... keep us posted.
 
#3
Well, I tried experimenting with it a little this morning. It looks like the limiter is protecting the power output section. I can turn down the preamp gain and turn up the output, and it still happens. If I max out the preamp gain and turn down the output, it doesn't happen. And it only seems to happen when the upper midrange and treble frequencies are very loud, I can't get it to happen when I turn up the bass. Very interesting. I may ping Walter about this. It happens on both channels, and I'm sure the amp is working fine and this is the way it's "supposed to" behave. It only happens with that one bass (so far), and the reason (probably) is that it has so much high end output (when you dial up the controls), to the point that it can hurt your ears when it's dialed all the way up. I'd never do that in real life at a gig, but I suppose the people who are running 18's or something without much high end response might try to turn the treble way up, and I'm guessing this just protects the amp under those conditions.
 
#4
nonsqtr said:
Well, I tried experimenting with it a little this morning. It looks like the limiter is protecting the power output section. I can turn down the preamp gain and turn up the output, and it still happens. If I max out the preamp gain and turn down the output, it doesn't happen. And it only seems to happen when the upper midrange and treble frequencies are very loud, I can't get it to happen when I turn up the bass. Very interesting. I may ping Walter about this. It happens on both channels, and I'm sure the amp is working fine and this is the way it's "supposed to" behave. It only happens with that one bass (so far), and the reason (probably) is that it has so much high end output (when you dial up the controls), to the point that it can hurt your ears when it's dialed all the way up. I'd never do that in real life at a gig, but I suppose the people who are running 18's or something without much high end response might try to turn the treble way up, and I'm guessing this just protects the amp under those conditions.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Have you checked the battery in your bass preamp?
 
#8
Yep, I think it's just that the MTD is super-hot. I have to turn down the preamp to about "3" to get the same level I get with an F bass on "6". That 535 delivers an incredible amount of high end. The limiting behavior only happens with the 535, it doesn't happen with the Bartolini pre on my Roscoes, or on F basses, or on Alembics (even when the 6 kHz boost is on). Someone probably cranked the gain on my 535 (and it sounds good that way)!
 
#9
nonsqtr said:
Yep, I think it's just that the MTD is super-hot. I have to turn down the preamp to about "3" to get the same level I get with an F bass on "6". That 535 delivers an incredible amount of high end. The limiting behavior only happens with the 535, it doesn't happen with the Bartolini pre on my Roscoes, or on F basses, or on Alembics (even when the 6 kHz boost is on). Someone probably cranked the gain on my 535 (and it sounds good that way)!
Click to expand...

Were you able to get this ironed out with Walter?

My 535 sure doesn't seem to be as hot as what everybody seems to say here. My Monarch with the Pope and my Rob Allen MB2 are almost over the top with output compared to my MTD. And I've adjusted the gain pot to almost max. But I typically run the MTD pretty flat across the board.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back