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gain or volume?

I presume you're talking about an input-gain knob on the preamp section, and a master/main volume knob.

You generally set the input gain till you've got enough preamp gain, without clipping it. Many amps have a gain LED. You set the gain till the LED blinks on your loudest/lowest notes, then back off a bit. (I usually do this with the master volume down. Different basses may require a different gain setting.) After that, the input-gain knob generally doesn't need to be changed during the set, unless you start digging in harder later in the evening. Sometimes I have to back it off just a bit in that case.

The main volume control is then used to set your loudness.