I bought too much amp. :(

[Billybladez66]

Just a question as I read all of the advice.....how loud do you have to be in your bedroom that keeping you bass volume maxed is so critical? If it's just a volume thing turn your axe down. At a gig for tone sake I understand cranking your bass wide open...but woodshedding in the bedroom I don't know why it would be so important to have you bass volume all the way. But that's just me and I don't mean it condescendingly...I'm just a curious internet onlooker....

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I literally had to turn down the volume knob on my G&L ASAT with the GK MB500. Otherwise, it would go into clipping.

 

[catcauphonic]

I just started a thread the other day on 'why do people dime their active onboard volume?', & don't recall any responses saying their tone is better ... I think most responses were that they back off at least a hair, in case they need the extra guns during a certain passage or solo.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

It won't change your tone on an active bass, but apparently it does with a passive bass.

 

[holdfast]

Yes. I can relate to what you are saying. I bought too much guitar amp once. I'd had the same Fender solid state amp for years and I got a bee in my bonnet that I just had to get a tube amp. So, I bought a Traynor 50 watt tube amp. It sounded great when you cranked it, but it was an unbearable volume for home/studio use when trying to get that nice over-driven tube sound. My old amp already had that great clean Fender sound that I could put pedals in front of to get a nice warm distortion at a comfortable volume. After just one weekend, the Traynor went back to the store and I got a full refund.

 

[wcriley]

It won't change your tone on an active bass...

As I said earlier in this thread, this is not necessarily true.
If the volume pot is ahead of the preamp, which is necessary for instruments with active/passive switches, the pot will load the pickup(s) the same as it would in a purely passive instrument.

 

[MobileHolmes]

I would turn the pre gain and the master way down to start and go from there. I've got an MB500, and while it can go stupid loud, you can also turn it down to whisper quiet as well.

 

[Doner Designs]

I'm in the camp that says 800 watts is just right for a bedroom practice amp. I would agree with those saying to increase/decrease gain and volume together and use the volume on your bass if more rolloff is needed.

 

[Waltsdog]

This is something I will try when I get back home. I know there isn't a lot of love for the manual but I just checked and it says "You can use Level B to increase or lower the overall output volume when switching the Gain B on via the front panel or from the included foot switch."

That may give me the control I'm looking for.

It will almost certainly solve your issue immediately, Gain B makes it a perfect home practice amp.

Another option to additional pads, etc. Just run gain B and use Level B to lower volume as per Youtube video review.

/www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFsxLhwHLHM

It's around the 3:30 mark in this video.

 

[City]

I literally had to turn down the volume knob on my G&L ASAT with the GK MB500. Otherwise, it would go into clipping.

My G&L pickups overdrive my pedals, must turn down...must turn down....I have to keep repeating as to get it through my thick skull.

 

[Ric5]

Eric Clapton used to get the woman tone ...

He turned the marshall up all the way and then put his guitar on 1

So try turning down the bass volume and see what you come up with ...

 

[T-MOST]

Nonsense! You can never have too much amp. Thats what volume knobs are for!

 

[Ellery]

One thing is GK probably uses a logarithmic pot for the master volume, which means it could be shooting up towards max very early in your spin. My GK 1001RB is like that. If that seems to be a moot point, let's talk about your future: in the long term you can never have TOO MUCH power. Maybe it's not necessary now, but if you need the power later (different band, different studio/venue, different style, you never know what's coming up) it is great to have it at your beck and call. It is likely you will use this amp for many years to come; do not succumb to buyer's remorse. Your future self will thank you for it.

 

[Metalbasspro]

Try a Compressor pedal. You can take the volume down further with the level.

 

[PCR]

I poorly estimated my power needs. I bought a GK MB800 and I have it to set the master to JUST about off or I blow my ears apart. That's with the -10 pad on. I need to find a -40 speakon pad or something. It's like I bought a Lamborghini and now I can't drive in a school zone because if I touch the pedal I fly up to 60mph.

LOL

@Noshtero
This was my EXACT thought the first time I plugged in my GK MBF800.

I was like: "Opps. I think I might have over done it this time."

My original amp was a GB Shuttle 9.0 going into 2x Bergantino HD112.

The Shuttle 9.0 was like cutting steak with a scalpel. Clean sound, ultra controllable tone and volume. You can carve your tone into the mix with just a couple clicks of the knob.

The GK MBF800 was more like cutting steak with a 10lb sludge hammer!! It was the Shuttle on super steroids. Don't get me wrong, I still use my GK MBF800, it just does everything the Shuttle does but times 10.

Where the shuttle has awesome lows and fundamentals, the MBF800 hits you in the chest.

It took me about 3 gigs to figure out how to dial in the MBF. I love the amp, but it's an animal.

 

[Brad Johnson]

A 400 watt amp in the bedroom

Hi Brian,
I use an SWR Amplitude with a Mike Pope Mitre Box preamp into a Low Down Sound 1-8 3 way cab in my home office. I can turn it down to the point that I only hear the fan or I can crank it for way more than needed for the room. Sounds very good when I set the volume where I want. I keep the volume on my bass wide open, just like I do on gigs.

Given that, I can't imagine an amp that would be genuinely too loud unless I had absolutely no control over the gain, master volume and instrument volume. Too big, sure. Too much fan noise, sure. But if you can gradually turn the overall volume from too loud to off, the problem is most likely user error.

Reading the manual is great. Understanding basic gain structure is priceless.

 

[dukeorock]

It seems like there's a (remote) chance something is up with that amp, or a refusal to try different types of gain staging to me. I have an MB800 and there's no trickery required to make it sound good at low levels

 

[Downunderwonder]

It's the nature of the MB800 and you may well have hit the nail on the head here as it's not intuitive.
Anyway, using Gain A at anything approaching even the 6 0'clock position will make the Master Volume really touchy, it'll go from zero to quite loud with a barely perceptible movement no matter what bass you're using.
As I said before, using Gain B you can set it anywhere you like (grindy or clean), you can then lower that signal with Volume B which gives a much better sweep on the Master volume. Yes it's a pain but gives much more control.

wth is the 6 o'clock position?

 

[Downunderwonder]

Too much amp. Poppycock. (I've always wanted to say that)

There's no such thing. You've got at least 3 viable gain stages to futz with to get a reasonable low volume and you're only concerned with the main output volume? My main rig tells me that it's 3000w. The other day I had it home (I usually use headphones at home to practice), and had it running with 'dining room volume' without problems.

Turn your volume down from your bass. I use active basses and rarely if ever max out my volume. Since your signal and your pickups are buffered, you don't lose 'tone' by turning down like you do with a passive bass.

VVVVVV THIS VVVV


Your preamp level is way easy to change. Turn it down. I ran a Hartke 3500 for over a decade with the preamps dialed way back and the power amp level cranked. Not all amps work the same, but don't be afraid to mess with things like pre levels and don't take the manual to heart when it comes to these kind of topics.
VVVVVVVV

I will see your poppycock and raise you a piffle!!

 

[Chef]

I poorly estimated my power needs. I bought a GK MB800 and I have it to set the master to JUST about off or I blow my ears apart. That's with the -10 pad on. I need to find a -40 speakon pad or something. It's like I bought a Lamborghini and now I can't drive in a school zone because if I touch the pedal I fly up to 60mph.

-40 speakon pad? WUT?

between the input gain and the master output, you can make that amp as quiet as any teensy little amp you can buy.