Question on Gain vs Master Volume

[awesomesauce]

I've been fiddling around with some things on my SVT classic and I'm trying to get a throatier sound out of it. I was wondering what the rest of you do. I usually play with the gain about 3/4 the way up and the volume at around 3, but I don't know if that's the best way.

Any suggestions?

 

[anderbass]

Some of these might help you:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=357366&highlight=SVT+classic+settings
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=298677&highlight=SVT+classic+settings
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103530&highlight=SVT+classic+settings

 

[Asa Samuel]

Well gain is how much input volume you are putting into the EQ section, and therefore has alot of controll over the tone.


Master volume ONLY changes the volume and doesn't change the tone at all.

 

[anderbass]

Master volume ONLY changes the volume and doesn't change the tone at all.

Master volume position makes a huge tone change on the
tube-amp this threads about... (plus many other amps too)

 

[Erick Lam]

A typical setting is to put the gain as high as possible without clipping.

 

[Nick Kay]

A typical setting is to put the gain as high as possible without clipping.

On an SS amp. On a tube amp like the SVT-CL, clipping is introduced smoothly and is, generally speaking, a desirable sound.

 

[Proton Lenny]

Mark Wright at Accugroove told me basically the opposite. He said that when him and Bill Dickens were constructing Bill's signature cabs they discovered that they got a much louder, punchier tone by turning the master all the way up and dialing how much volume you want buy adjusting the gain nob. It also makes the drivers work less as well. I tried it, and I really like the tone I got.

 

[Fuzzbass]

Mark Wright at Accugroove told me basically the opposite. He said that when him and Bill Dickens were constructing Bill's signature cabs they discovered that they got a much louder, punchier tone by turning the master all the way up and dialing how much volume you want buy adjusting the gain nob. It also makes the drivers work less as well. I tried it, and I really like the tone I got.

That'll depend on the amp. When using a high-power amp at relatively low volume, if you crank master and keep gain low, you'll likely get poor signal to noise ratio... end result being that you get a lot of hiss.