BASSBASE 400 - MANUAL
2.0 STANDARD SETUP /
CABLE CONNECTIONS
TUNER
EXTERNAL POWER AMP
FOOTSWITCH
For safety purposes, the BASSBASE 400’s power amp is
exclusively equipped with Speaker and female XLR jacks. In
some cases, you may need to employ an adapter cable. The
requisite pin assignments are depicted on the SPEAKER OUT
panel.
NOTE: Under no circumstances should you use 1/4" plugs
for connecting speaker cabinets to the BASSBASE 400; they
are not designed to handle the amount of power this amp
puts out.
3.0 OPERATING THE BASSBASE 400
3.1 THE INPUT AND BASIC EQ SECTIONS
The response of the BASSBASE 400 tube preamp depends
largely on the instrument you are playing, its pickups and
signal level, as well as your playing style. The -10 dB and
GAIN controls simplify and significantly expedite your
search for the proper level. Although your ears are the
ultimate authority, the PREAMP LEDs are also great visual
reference tools for this task.
To adjust the gain properly, turn your instrument’s volume all
the way up and spank the plank hard by slapping or really
digging in with your pick. For the ideal setting, the RED CLIP
LED will illuminate briefly on peaks only. If the signal is too
hot, press the -10 dB button to damp it.
NOTE: The RED CLIP LED illuminates to indicate distortion
in the BASSBASE 400 preamp caused by a saturated input
or incorrect FX processor levels.
It will not show distortion caused by your bass, such as an
active instrument’s low batteries.
The yellow TUBE SATURATION LED indicates the
BASSBASE's tube is entering the mellow overdrive zone. You
will now begin to hear that utterly desirable tube growl and
typical tube compression. For ultraclean sounds, only the
SIGNAL LED should illuminate. If you cannot achieve tube
saturation even with the gain wide open, deactivate the -10
dB button (not depressed).
Use the BASS and TREBLE controls to dial in the basic tone.
Note that the TREBLE control is situated before the tube
stage in the signal chain, yielding smoother harmonic
overtones. If the CLIP LED illuminates when you dial in
higher TREBLE settings, simply adjust the GAIN control to a
lower level.
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