Input/Output volume?

[Your Tourniquet]

Ok, so I got an Ashdown Electric Blue 180 amp today! :chug:

I have a little dilemma on my hands... it has 2 volume controls!!!

One's input volume, and the other's output. The only question is...

...how far is it safe to push them both?

[Killer Fridge]

this far <------->











in all seriousness, i wouldnt really push it past 3/4s on either

[Your Tourniquet]

at about 1/2 on each should be enough for small gigs, right? It's a loud amp for its size!

[Phalanx]

im more interested in what the difference between each is

[Your Tourniquet]

I'm sure the input volume is the pre-EQ volume and the output is after the EQ...

[Your Tourniquet]

Input volume = gain
Output volume = master volume

Now that that one's figured out... what's it safe to crank them to?

[apacherosepeacock]

Input volume = gain
Output volume = master volume

Now that that one's figured out... what's it safe to crank them to?

that depends... on what speakers your running it through and how strong the signal going in is... technically aslong as the signal isnt too hot they can both run at 10 without any problems... with any rig just run it about 3/4 maybe a bit more power, just dont push it too far... if you have to then you need to upsize

[Your Tourniquet]

Just running it through 1 15 inch speaker ('tis a combo). I may buy a 4x10 to go with it in the future.

[apacherosepeacock]

ahhh.... the combos pretty well matched as far as i can remember.... those ashdown drivers are pretty tough anyway... it should be fine aslong as your bass isnt unusually powerful or your not running through any preamps or pedals too loudly first

[Spazzout22]

When I tried it in the store, I cranked it to just below distortion... I think it was like 3/4 on both. That amp gets really loud and will do just fine on most small gigs.

[BassPlayingPineapple]

I have the same amp and it should be fine, just remember as soon as the little light diode goes into red, turn that bugger down!

[kev_trb1006]

Well, the input is the pre-amp level. For the best of your tone, roll this up as high as you can without it going into the red (watch the LEDs/VU thingy) The output is the poweramp stage, so basically, you use that one to set the amp how loud you want it

[Your Tourniquet]

Even when the input volume is full it NEVER goes into the red on the VU... is this normal? To be on the safe side, at gigs I think I'll use it with both input and output at 1 o'clock.

[kev_trb1006]

Even when the input volume is full it NEVER goes into the red on the VU... is this normal? To be on the safe side, at gigs I think I'll use it with both input and output at 1 o'clock.


dude, if thats the case, cranking it full is still on the safe side. You'll find if you turn the bass or low mids up on the EQ that you might start going into the red, just experiment. Just keep it as high as possible

[zink182]

when I need to distort run the input to max.. it starting cutting out though when I was using my bodd odb-3 on full and the input in full :/

my eq is very hot.. everything is really boosted.. but that's just so I can get that great distortion.. just like the one in burn the witch by queens of the stone age :)

[cliff_bass player]

i ended up getting a nice distortion out of my old 40 w samick... because i was running it at max to keep up wid a fender twin (that thing can go) and a 100w marshall and drums and we wernt playing quiet.... it kept up well but in the end the spaker suffed its still loud just distorts.... y did i post this?? to say that turning up to distortion stage may be good but u gotta watch it cause it will end up distorting at a low vol to.

but yes im preaty sure imput is gain and out is like master vol

cliff

[HELLonWHEELS]

I have got that amp so all oyu have to do is turn up one knob almost all the way and use the other as a master volume just make sure your not clipping(the Led display doesn't go into the red) if you use the knobs well you can overdrive the amp while playing at 2 or 3

[Your Tourniquet]

dude, if thats the case, cranking it full is still on the safe side. You'll find if you turn the bass or low mids up on the EQ that you might start going into the red, just experiment. Just keep it as high as possible

Yeah, that happened. I have my bass and low mids quite low-medium, so I'm guessing that's why... will it change once I start using overdrive?

[edgebass5]

Just for reference, the amount of headroom your amp has (i.e. how far you can turn up the gain/master before clipping) has absolutely nothing to do with the speakers/cabs its hooked to. Absolutely nothing.

EDIT: That is to say, that outside of impedance, it has absolutely nothing to do with headroom.

[dragonzmad]

well what I usually do is turn the gain as high as it can go before it starts to clip and leave it there. I adjust the post-eq\master volume accordingly depending on how loud I want it. If I'm not mistaken, it seems like adjusting the gain higher amplifies the raw sound of your bass so if you like the actual sound of your bass, crank the gain up as high as it can go before clipping (more for passive, less for active basses). Don't quote me on that but I think that's how it works.

[zink182]

I find that ashdown don't clip the distort.. and the distortion is a fat one too :D

[edgebass5]

^^^ANY amp will clip. Its just a matter of the input voltage to the power amp (or the preamp for that matter) being high enough.