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new bass distorts my amp


4 candles
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Im not very technically minded so please bear with me.

I took my new bass to a gig on friday, hooked it up to a markbass rig lmk2 and 4x10

gain was about 75% volume between half and 75% and it was distorting like crazy but was the only way i could be heared in the mix.

When i turned the gain or volume down, the distortion subsided but I couldnt be heared over the drummer.

I have another bass that when using this configuration only requires 30% gain and under half volume with plenty of headroom left.

my question is, would a bigger amp i.e 1200watt markbass solve my problem. or is the pre amp on my new bass just sh*t?

appreciate some help

Regards

Mark

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[quote name='4 candles' post='962721' date='Sep 20 2010, 08:59 PM']Im not very technically minded so please bear with me.

I took my new bass to a gig on friday, hooked it up to a markbass rig lmk2 and 4x10

gain was about 75% volume between half and 75% and it was distorting like crazy but was the only way i could be heared in the mix.

When i turned the gain or volume down, the distortion subsided but I couldnt be heared over the drummer.

I have another bass that when using this configuration only requires 30% gain and under half volume with plenty of headroom left.

my question is, would a bigger amp i.e 1200watt markbass solve my problem. or is the pre amp on my new bass just sh*t?

appreciate some help

Regards

Mark[/quote]

Is your new Bass Passive, you might have to let the amp know if it is.

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[quote name='PURPOLARIS' post='962724' date='Sep 20 2010, 04:04 PM']Is your new Bass Passive, you might have to let the amp know if it is.[/quote]
He said it had a pre. I'd say the old bass was passive.
Put the amp volume to full, take the gain only as high as required. It might have better adjustability with the volume on the instrument backed off. The amp is not the problem, gain structure is.

Edited by Bill Fitzmaurice
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[quote name='Ghost_Bass' post='963078' date='Sep 21 2010, 09:36 AM']Looks like your bass's batery could be replaced... It shows all the signs, weak signal making you crank up the gain, distorted sound... unless you have a passive bass that would be my best guess.[/quote]

Absolutely the first call,,,,,open it up,,,,chances are you will find a dying 9v battery,,,,they cause distortion when dying...best of luck with it.. :)

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[quote name='charic' post='963148' date='Sep 21 2010, 11:34 AM']Tempting but no thanks :rolleyes: I think it was when they were only just starting to go :)[/quote]

You could DIY a hook up of your bass's DC-IN to an external power supply with voltage regulation (by an expression pedal) and control the amount of energy feeded to your bass causing the distortion you like on the fly!
Just a crazy thought! :lol:

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