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Gain/Volume Issue....

Turtle71

Turtle71

Aug 11, 2009
1,339
1,897
Madison, WI
#1
OK, I'll try to keep this as simple as possible...(Sorry for the uber long post)

I have 2 main basses G&L L2000 & an Ibanez SR505, both active, and both used probably 50/50 during my set.

The volume difference is staggering between the 2, (The G&L being the loudest by far).

I have been using a Boss bass eq pedal in an effort to "pump up" the Ibanez gain to a similar level as the G&L, but it's just falling short. I really do like the tone of both instruments, so I don't want to "color" their sounds too much, I just want to either bring the Ibanez up to an acceptable level, or bring the G&L down....

Now the obvious (before the smart a$$es strike ;)), I know I have a volume knob on both the G&L as well as the amp (So I can obviously adjust manually), but I'm hoping for a "simple" stop box or rack mount solution.

I've tried the G&L in "passive" mode, and it does certainly cut the volume, but I prefer the tones I get in the active positions.

My amp (SWR WorkingPro 400) has a input pad feature, I've tried this with the G&L in passive mode, and use the pad feature but it still seems pretty "hot" compared to the Ibanez...I'm starting to pull whats left of my hair out :hmm:

Any thoughts???

side notes: My Ibanez when played through my Big Muff, does come up quite a bit in overall volume...but them I'm stuck with the "fuzz tone" and I certainly don't want that on at all times.

When I play my Tobias Growler with the G&L there is very little difference in overall volume, and thats impressive considering the Tobias has a 18V preamp. So IMHO the Ibanez is just simply not as powerful/gainy as these two other basses.....
 
#2
"Simple as possible" would be more like:

"I have two basses - one is much louder than the other. How can I even them out without fiddling with volume knobs on the basses or my amp?"


My solution was an EBS Micobass II - it allows me to balance the levels as well as switching the signals from both basses. It also has EQ on each channel which is handy as it allows you to balance the tone as well without fiddling with your amp EQ. Downside - it's expensive.

A super-cheap DIY solution is a pot-in-a-box. Basically a volume control that can be turned on and off. Use it to bring the level of the hot bass down to the level of the other bass.

Going the other way, taking the soft bass up to the level of the loud bass, a simple non-inverting op amp circuit can provide you with "transparent" gain. Again, could be a DIY project, or there are commercial devices (Boost pedals) out there.

Some basses have volume trim pots on the preamps - have you looked in the bass's cavity to see if there are any such controls?

Checked the heights of the pickups?
 
#3
Turn down the volume on the G&L. Problem solved. :) I'm being serious. The G&L output is just stupidly hot IMO. I have a L-2500 and the thing was so hot it was unusable with some of my gear until someone told me that I simply needed to turn the volume knob down until it stopped clipping my gear. I even dropped the pickups, it didn't help. It's really one of my dislikes about the G&L to be honest. I'm no expert but I've owned 8 basses now, and this is the only one with stupidly high output that's ever required me to turn the volume down 40% to get a usable output. But like I said, I'm no expert. :)
 
#4
niftydog said:
"Simple as possible" would be more like:

"I have two basses - one is much louder than the other. How can I even them out without fiddling with volume knobs on the basses or my amp?"
Click to expand...

Fair enough, but everytime I shorten the question, someone always asks for more info....:D


niftydog said:
My solution was an EBS Micobass II - it allows me to balance the levels as well as switching the signals from both basses. It also has EQ on each channel which is handy as it allows you to balance the tone as well without fiddling with your amp EQ. Downside - it's expensive.
Click to expand...

That does look like a nice unit, but your right they certainly don't give it away....oh well IME quality equipment usually comes with an appropriate price tag. I'll have to look into that further (Craigslist, ebay etc.).

niftydog said:
A super-cheap DIY solution is a pot-in-a-box. Basically a volume control that can be turned on and off. Use it to bring the level of the hot bass down to the level of the other bass.
Click to expand...

Another cool idea, maybe I shall go surf the DIY forums

niftydog said:
Some basses have volume trim pots on the preamps - have you looked in the bass's cavity to see if there are any such controls?
Click to expand...

I have not, but I shall go inspect...

niftydog said:
Checked the heights of the pickups?
Click to expand...

Actually the bass was recently set-up, and I asked that very question, I was told their height was fine.

Thanks for all the ideas niftydog!!!
 
#6
niftydog said:
A super-cheap DIY solution is a pot-in-a-box. Basically a volume control that can be turned on and off. Use it to bring the level of the hot bass down to the level of the other bass.
Click to expand...

I went this way. Except I bought this: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

There are a bunch of options out there, but I like this one for the size and the reputation of being color-less.

My problem was switching between a jazz and my G3. Huge volume difference. I liked the boost pedal idea better than anything else because I could set it and forget it. Just click the button and the volume was good to go, no futzing around with knobs or trying to adjust things on the fly. I have a setting and I keep the knob in that spot.
 
#7
Turtle71 said:
I agree, they are damn hot!

I just hate fiddling with knobs grrrr. I dunno I'll figure something out.
Click to expand...

I agree. It's annoying, and tedious to have to re-set the bass volume knob each time. And if you set it a little to hot, you clip some gear. I hate it. An internal trimmer of some sort would have been a reasonable feature to the bass preamp. Then you could dial down the overall output so that max volume knob would be a "normal" output compared to the rest of your instruments.
 

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