FRONT PANEL:
ACTIVE / PASSIVE SWITCH:
This switch allows you to match the signal output level of virtually any instrument.
The
ACTIVE
position is padded down for greater input stage headroom and this works well with basses that use an on-board pre-
amp with an active tone control circuit. Usually these instruments put out a much hotter signal than conventional
basses, even when their tone controls are set “flat”. The added headroom is needed to prevent clipping in the
first stage of the pre-amp and the
ACTIVE
position should be used whenever instruments that utilize active style
pickup/EQ harnesses are used.
You can use the
ACTIVE
position for conventional passive instruments also, for heavy handed players needing
extra headroom or simply a “cleaner” sound. However, note that unless you have Kong size hands it may be
difficult to bring the amplifier to full power with this reduced front end sensitivity.
The
PASSIVE
position is set up for more conventional basses with passive pickups that produce lower output
signal levels. This position is more sensitive than ACTIVE and therefore can drive the first stage to clip with a
much lower signal. Keep this in mind if you play with a heavy touch or want a little bit of growl or front end clip. In those scenarios this
setting can be quite useful to push the first stage of the pre-amp.
FRONT PANEL CONTROLS:
GAIN:
This control determines the overall character of the input sensitivity. The lower regions of the control (below 12:00) lend
greater headroom and provide a scooped, brighter personality. The upper harmonics come through more prominently in this area of
the control making the top end sound more transparent and sweet. This region is especially useful for funkier stuff when thumbing is
in order. It keeps the rubber- band feel intact in the lows and mids while voicing the snap just high enough to avoid harshness, or the
dreaded “gak” when the G string is plucked.
As the
GAIN
control is increased past 12:00 a richer, more “well-rounded” voice becomes dominant and headroom starts to diminish
in increments until eventually, a tube overdrive sound appears as the 12AX7 input tube is driven into
saturation.
The region between 12:00 and 2:30 is where the classic, warm tube sound resides and within this narrow
band you will discover a world of tone. Tiny increments here produce subtle, but important differences in
the attack characteristic which in turn, feel like changes in the time domain. By experimenting with the
amount of gain, you can actually voice the amp to feel as if it bounces just ahead of the groove - or lays
back a little deeper to produce a more Fatback feel. The difference in attack and sustain produces striking
results as to how the bassist - and in fact the whole band - perceives things in the time domain.
PAGE 4
ACTIVE
PASSIVE
INPUT
GAIN BASS MID TREBLE
FOUR - STAGE VACUUM TUBE PREAMPLIFIER
ON
POWER
ON
FS
OFF
0 db 0 0 0 0
40 Hz 120 400 1.4K 6K
SEMI - PARAMETRIC EQUALIZER
30 90 250 900 4K
SIMUL STATE POWER
THRESHOLD RATIO MAIN SOLO
COMPRESSION MASTER VOLUMES
ON
FS
OFF
ENGINEERING
S I M U L S T A T E B A S S A M P L I F I E R
TM
INSTRUMENT
INPUTS
PASSIVE
ACTIVE
GAIN
BASS
FOUR - STAGE VACUMM