13
Turn On
– Once you’ve completed the steps above, you can plug in your
bass and turn on the unit (plug it in first, ok?) and let’s get started. We
recommend turning your system on with the Master Volume control set to
its minimum position. This will prevent any unexpected signal from being
sent to your speakers.
Setting Your Level
– Remember, begin with the Input Gain, Enhance,
Compressor and Master Volume completely OFF – fully counter-clockwise.
All EQ should be set flat, that is, at 12:00 – straight up.
While playing your lowest note (or loudest), slowly turn the Input Gain up
until the Set Level light begins to blink with regularity. If you can’t go past 8
or 9 o’clock, you may engage the Gain Switch to better match the gain of
your instrument to the amplifier.
If you have disengaged the Compressor as we suggested, the Set Level light
will barely blink on your loudest notes when you reach clipping in the Input
stage. We recommend you decrease gain one or two clicks to ensure there is
no clipping in the system. By the way, this is David’s favorite way to set
level, even if you intend to use compression.
Once you have properly set your Input Gain, turn the Master Volume up to a
comfortable listening level and proceed with the rest of the setup process.
Setting the Compressor
- If you want to use compression, engage it now by
turning the Compressor Defeat switch OFF. The compressor light will now
blink when your gain goes above the compression threshold. This will
generally show up more on the lower notes, or when you employ Slapping.
(A properly compressed Slap sound is very cool, indeed.) If you want more
compression, increase the Input Gain a little at a time, until you achieve the
amount of compression you desire.
SETTING YOUR EQ
The frequencies that you’ll need to boost or cut are dependent upon your
instrument, playing style, speaker cabinets, and venue. Extreme settings of
boost or cut are unlikely to be necessary or helpful. We are frequently asked
to provide suggested settings for various styles of play. We have discovered
though, that most of our endorsers tend to set their EQ generally flat, using
varying amounts of the Enhance Control to achieve their sound. In fact, a
number of our recording artists tell us that their standard recording set-up is
to have the Enhance set at approximately 9 or 10 O’clock and the tone
controls set flat.
