80-90% until sound check is done. Then wide open. 
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POLL: instrument volume knob settings
- Thread starter SLO Surfer
- Start date
funny! (me too, sometimes!)80-90% until sound check is done. Then wide open.
SLO Surfer : your take (in the OP) is correct/reasonable, IMO.
Unless I'm trying to swell, I've never found a use for the volume knob.
Yeah almost always dimed. I could probably get away with a kill switch.
I was just thinking that. Push pull blend for on or off
For most passive basses, you're correct, but it doesn't have to be that way. Leo made some decisions that worked very well in the 1950's that don't necessarily have to apply today. I wire my basses in parallel, then load them internally (not using the cable as the load), so they sound like a normal bass that's dimed at any volume control setting - doing it that way means I can turn my instruments down, and it doesn't as you say "choke off" the tone. The volume controls on my basses act like volume controls on a stereo - not a combination of volume and tone, like most instruments.
As I play in churches, where we do things like underscoring (playing really quietly behind someone who's talking), I use my volume control much more than most bassists - meaning it's turned down a fair bit of the time. But on a rockin' tune, or the rockin' part of a tune with dynamics (we do alot of those), it's dimed.
I play with what my guitarist refers to as "Negative gain". My volume knob just high enough to make a sound. My volume is adjusted by my compressor. I have an MXR ten band EQ with the gain slider at about -6. Straight into the return port on my head. Isn't actually negative of course, but it gets a killer tone.
That sounds great, thanks for the info.
Do you have a link to where a bass player can look if they decide to try this mod? It's a wonder more manufacturers aren't already using it.
I used to always go wide open, but have learned to sometimes dial back depending on the instrument. I have a pretty aggressive right hand, so with a hot pickup I can overdrive easily. I could also be gentler, but I like the fullness of tone with assertive string attack.
Serek Midwestern 2-one pickup-V&T all the way up always. It's a very lively instrument and very responsive to RH position. If I want a darker tone, I play closer to the end of the FB; brighter tone toward the bridge. Works for me.
sorry, I thought that’s what “wide open, fully turned up” in the poll meant.
this bugs me a lot, and is why I stick to wide open. It’s also probably why most of those who don’t dime it find they need to keep the extra headroom available? (Other than the tone reasons)
Wide open. One less variable to worry about.
This is my thinking, too: I always set the volume just a shade below max so if I have a small boost available mid-song if I need it. I only play in hobby bands, so there's no sound guy to take into account, and sometimes one or another guitarist will turn up mid-song and I need to make a quick adjustment to catch up.
Sound guys aren't all ogres - mostly you just need to talk to them about this stuff and prep them in advance. They've never had a beef with me (though I've had a few with them).
Depends on the bass, the amp and the context.
W my Fender and Squire J basses - always fully on to the max.
W my Modulus basses - generally Unity Gain - 50%.
I have many gain stages and ways to juice the front end of my amp, including the fact that 3 of my 4 electric basses are active, several of my pedals provide added output mmph (for lack of a better word) and the last thing my signal chain hits before slamming my amp is a Felix by Grace Designs (Preamp) with tons of EQ, Gain and Boost options.
W my Fender and Squire J basses - always fully on to the max.
W my Modulus basses - generally Unity Gain - 50%.
I have many gain stages and ways to juice the front end of my amp, including the fact that 3 of my 4 electric basses are active, several of my pedals provide added output mmph (for lack of a better word) and the last thing my signal chain hits before slamming my amp is a Felix by Grace Designs (Preamp) with tons of EQ, Gain and Boost options.
