Good job getting that for $399. I lucked into an ebay bin $400 with shipping included for my F1X and I jumped all over it. I think the auction had been up for about 15 minutes when I saw it. Complete dumb luck.
I think the unit is wonderful. The kind of tube that is in the unit has a lot of effect on the sound so my F1X is not going to sound exactly like anyone elses F1X and neither is yours. That's not a bad thing though and if you hunt around here there are a few threads on which tube should I get for my F1X or F2B.
As far as the operation of the unit goes it's a little different that the usual preamp. You can't actually get a completely flat setting because of how the circuit is designed but you can get very close. Charles says 2-10-2 but for some reason I thought it was 2-8-2. Anyways, right around there should be your starting point with deep and bright switches off. The thing to keep in mind with a F1X is that each control effects the other controls. That's what gets people confused. In a normal amp if you turn down treble it only effects treble but in the F1X circuit it will mainly effect treble but it will also effect the other ranges as well. Here's an example. When I want a little more low end without getting boomy I don't turn up bass, I turn down the mid knob just a bit.
I also at least partially subscribe to the don't think about it too much, just play with the knobs until it sounds good mentality.
As a side note, the first time I ever plugged my bass into my F1X I honestly couldn't believe how much of a difference it made. My bass still sounds like my bass, it just sounds better. In the future I may add gear for fine frequency tweaking, like a SF2, but I'll never part with my F1X. Power amps, speakers, even basses may come and go but that F1X is staying exactly where it is.
- Jim
