Do you play your Active Basses volume all the way?

[Bobbito 77']

Hola,
Just seen the Sterling Ball vid. about the Sr5 HH. Interesting when he said Active Basses volume SHOULD'NT be turned full on. Do you cat's play your active E.B.s' and M.Man's full on or not? And I'm wondering if this is active Basses across the board, or just Ernie ball basses.

Bobbo 77'

 

[Mobay45]

I never have the volume full on. It's not necessary with an active bass.

 

[ras1983]

Hola,
Just seen the Sterling Ball vid. about the Sr5 HH. Interesting when he said Active Basses volume SHOULD'NT be turned full on. Do you cat's play your active E.B.s' and M.Man's full on or not? And I'm wondering if this is active Basses across the board, or just Ernie ball basses.

Bobbo 77'

BP was referring to the eq's, not the volume. it won't make a difference if the volume is full-on or not, other than affecting your volume(obviously).

 

[bassmonkeee]

I always use both of my Bongos with the volumes opened up all the way. But, I don't use a lot of bass boost, and I use a mute on my fretted Bongo.

My amp also doesn't have a problem with the Bongo's output. If it did, I'd have no problem turning the volume down on the bass.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

About 3/4 volume on the instrument.

That gives you full up/down control from where you stand rather than returning to the power amp all the time.

My experience is that full vol will introduce distortion.

 

[strummer]

I always have the volume dimed, as I do alot of jumpoing around and can't really tell if I'm too loud or not loud enough. So I just open it up and let the sound guy do the level.

 

[shamus63]

I usually run about 1/2 to 3/4 volume.

EQ settings ~ Bass: 1/2 to 3/4; Mid: flat to slightly less-than-flat; Treble: flat to completely off.

On the amp, 12:00 across-the-board (no slider EQ's here).

 

[MM Mike]

i usually keep my volume at about 80% and tone controls flat.

 

[adouglas]

Volume up all the way here. The reason is that it's repeatable and predictable. If I set it at about halfway, or about 3/4 or whatever, I might not really have it in the same spot. One less variable.

Distortion is not a problem at all. The only time I turn down is if I'm noodling and don't want to bother anyone, or if it's between songs and I want to avoid string noise.

I don't muck about with volume controls while playing as a rule. If I want it soft and quiet, I play softly. There are a lot of dynamics to be had from technique.

+1 on not cranking EQ. Turning everything up on the Bongo makes an awesome and impressive noise, but not in a good way. Way too much muchness, y'know?

 

[Bobbito 77']

My Mistake! I should of paid more attention to the Video. E.Q., yes, I understand NOT to over-do, but the volume thing was always a question I had. I run both my 77' and Sr5 about 3/4 volume. E.Q. just a touch of Bass and Treble.

 

[UKFIN]

I play with the volume at 3/4's

I keep the eq pretty flat with a mild bass boost

I boost the bass/trable on the amp eq and cut the mids

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

In relation to 2 Band EQ, it's the same as it was in yester-years.

 

[roballanson]

it won't make a difference if the volume is full-on or not, other than affecting your volume(obviously).

Thats what I was doing wrong - thought it was a little quiet at band practise last night

 

[lowliferumble]

I like to leave myself at least a third to go. Just in case a Guitard needs some humbling....

 

[xring]

I like to leave it around 3/4 the way up for practice. I like to go 100% when at a gig so as to not affect the house level if I turn up.
On my Bongo, I can never get past 1/2 up without overdriving my amp's pre which is annoying. I have my amp pre barely cracked open and it still distorts. Fresh batt & all.

 

[Bill]

I keep my volume at 100% and I begin with my 3 tone knobs set flat.

 

[Motojunkie]

Volume dimed with EQ set flat on both of my Bongos. Volume dimed with a bit of bass boost on my Stingray HS. All amp EQ flat.

I'm curious as to what amps you guys are having problems with the input level on. My GK 1001RBII, GK 200 MB, EBMM HD-500, and Eden Nemesis are all handling these basses just fine.

 

[Aussie Mark]

I have the volume control dimed on all my basses, and use a volume pedal or the power amp master on the rare occasions I need more volume. For in-song dynamics I control volume with my playing style, depending on the song.

I've never had an issue with "hot" active bassses overdriving my rig, as my rack mounted preamps have all had a separate gain and master volume, so I can set the gain for basses of various output levels.

 

[bovinehost]

I go about 75% on my volume so that if I need some extra oomph, I can dial it in quickly.

 

[Mobay45]

I turn mine up so that I'll have as much volume as I need for the moment I'm playing.

If I need more volume, I turn it up.

If I need less volume, I turn it down.

Much like the stereo in my car.

I also start with the EQ flat and adjust it as needed for the room or the song.