His trouble is the clip LED lighting to warn him of approaching clip with heavy hits. He was overly concerned about the clip light. Don't need to read more into it than is there to read. 
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Power amp clipping and barely loud enough.
- Thread starter M Sterling
- Start date
You got around about 3dB sensitivity advantage with the new cab over the single deltalite and possibly some extra power available from the single amp channel, ( unless you bridged it to run the single deltalite, tsktsk! )
I see where you're coming from but the title says "still not loud enough" so I got confused and went off on a tangent of trying to help him not blow up his new cab with a more powerful amp.His trouble is the clip LED lighting to warn him of approaching clip with heavy hits. He was overly concerned about the clip light. Don't need to read more into it than is there to read.
Yes it was not too clear at first. That's why I tried to clear things up a bit
Yikes! That is pretty wimpy xmax - much less than I assumed.
But still, what is cooking other than the clip light?
No... it would solve everything if I understand the OP's problem - namely he has to run his amp into to clip to get the necessary volume. A bigger amp would address that issue perfectly.
Is there an additional problem? If so I didn't see it in the OP's description of his concerns, please point it out.
Or are you suggesting there is no problem?
There is no problem, only a concern about the clip light (on the amp INPUT) coming on occasionally.
Ah - so your point is he is not in fact clipping the amp but rather merely blinking a warning light.
Re-reading that part of the OP's description I think you may well be right... but I'd have to watch it myself to have a firm opinion. Still and all I prefer amp stacks that only blink green.
Re-reading that part of the OP's description I think you may well be right... but I'd have to watch it myself to have a firm opinion. Still and all I prefer amp stacks that only blink green.
What pickups are in the bass, how hard to you pluck/pick, what effects are in the signal chain, how do you set the controls, how large is the room and what other SPL are you competing with?
If you say you "don't need a ton of stage volume" and can't keep it from clipping, you need to start from scratch and match the bass's output to the amp's input sensitivity and the speaker's sensitivity/max output with the amp's output before even touching the controls.
If your bass has a preamp, you're probably overdriving the input. If the bass's output is then altered by the controls and the level is higher than when they're left in the middle position, you're causing a lot of distortion. You should also try setting the amp at max, then setting the volume/gain controls. If it has a gain control, back off with that.
That is where I think a HPF would be helpful before the power amp. Eliminate the heavy finger thumps (not at note frequency) before the clip detect can see them.
I got the feeling he wants to turn up louder but sees the flashing light and backs off. It's probably a good thing since he already blew up a cab.
Assuming he bridged the amp into the 8 ohm he had all the power and half the handling capability but his ears didn't tell him to back off, despite claiming he doesn't need big stage volume. It's all over the place.
Assuming he bridged the amp into the 8 ohm he had all the power and half the handling capability but his ears didn't tell him to back off, despite claiming he doesn't need big stage volume. It's all over the place.
Thanks again for all of the help.
When the gs112 blew, it was in series with another 8 ohm gs112 running off of one side of the power amp. I have never bridged my amp, just because I try to be cautious when dealing with things that I'm not too familiar with.
I do need a decent amount of stage volume, but I can achieve it with my rig. My only issue is that when I get to the necessary volume, there is an occasional, inaudible clip on notes with a higher dynamic. The funny thing is, I can see the clip light come on if my drummer cracks the snare drum hard enough. Weird.
When the gs112 blew, it was in series with another 8 ohm gs112 running off of one side of the power amp. I have never bridged my amp, just because I try to be cautious when dealing with things that I'm not too familiar with.
I do need a decent amount of stage volume, but I can achieve it with my rig. My only issue is that when I get to the necessary volume, there is an occasional, inaudible clip on notes with a higher dynamic. The funny thing is, I can see the clip light come on if my drummer cracks the snare drum hard enough. Weird.
Bad news, your new cab isn't significantly different to your old stack in terms of maximum output achievable.
Yeah, thats what I was afraid of, and why I considered swapping out the drivers. I do prefer this cab to the gs stack tonewise because it is more of a full range deal. I got a really good deal on the cab, so if I have to drop money on upgrading it to something a little closer to a fEARful, it isn't a huge deal.
OTOH, I could just make a habit of bringing my other cab (avatar tb 153 8 ohm) to the louder gigs. I've used this combo twice, running each speaker on its own channel and it sounded really good. Just a pita to haul around every night.
If you think that's what you need - sell it and get a fEARful - a better plan than re-jiggering a cab that aint gettin' it - that story rarely ends well.
Check the user map at the bottom of the page at GB's forum and see if you can get a demo on one before you spend any more money...
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Then get a better amp... one that doesn't blink red every time something exciting happens.
PS: There are those on this thread of the firm opinion you are not clipping your amp's input - and I'll concede that is possible - but I wouldn't bet on it.
I realized that the thread title is not quite accurate, so I adjusted it.
I'm gonna go a few more nights and try some different approaches before I decide to change my gear out. Honestly, I haven't ever really got along with the Crown even though I have tried. I would like to have some more features like a built in HPF, limiter, and maybe a little more power on tap. Either that, or just go back to using a traditional bass amp head.
I'm gonna go a few more nights and try some different approaches before I decide to change my gear out. Honestly, I haven't ever really got along with the Crown even though I have tried. I would like to have some more features like a built in HPF, limiter, and maybe a little more power on tap. Either that, or just go back to using a traditional bass amp head.
Ummm, "in series"? If it was actually in series, you won't achieve high SPL and it won't be louder than the most sensitive cabinet.
If the drummer can make the clipping light go on, it seems that your amp may have a loose connection inside. Thump the amp and see if it does the same thing- if it does, have it repaired. If it doesn't, I would want to know if your bass has a piezo pickup in it. If it does, it's picking up the transient from the drums and that may be your problem- can you move farther from the drums?
Post a photo or description of the amp and bass's control settings. ALL of them.
Ok, by series I meant they were daisy chained together off of one side of the amp.
I will do the thump test when I get to my rig tomorrow. In the meantime here is my gear list and settings.
2012 MIA Deluxe Jazz passive mode volume dimed, tone between 100-75%>
FEA Optifet Comp med threshold, low ratio (3:1ish), medium attack and release, gain set to unity>
Aguilar db659: passive input, gain 12;30, treble noon, slight mid bump, bass noon, bright and deep disengaged, master at around 3:00+ to get where I need to be volume-wise>
Crown XLS602d: attenuator between 75-100%
Thanks!!!
I will do the thump test when I get to my rig tomorrow. In the meantime here is my gear list and settings.
2012 MIA Deluxe Jazz passive mode volume dimed, tone between 100-75%>
FEA Optifet Comp med threshold, low ratio (3:1ish), medium attack and release, gain set to unity>
Aguilar db659: passive input, gain 12;30, treble noon, slight mid bump, bass noon, bright and deep disengaged, master at around 3:00+ to get where I need to be volume-wise>
Crown XLS602d: attenuator between 75-100%
Thanks!!!
