Author Topic: OVERLOAD ON PERSUADER WITH FATBOYS (Read 264 times)

roberto · « **on:** March 16, 2008, 10:24:37 AM »

Hi Guys!
I recently encounter a problem wth my Persuader6 str.I put on 2 Fatboys and it used to be okay.
But in the last weeks the lower/bigger strngs sound distorted.Iput on new battery and did the following.
1.Plug into a TRace Eliot amp that has light indicators:yellow for more input,green for okay and red means overoad input.
2.I pluck moderately and turn up the volume until the second yellow light ,before the green light,liht up.I notice that the E str and the Low B is slihty louderThe green liht lihts
3.WHEN I PLUCK HARD,THE IST,2ND 3RD AND 4TH STRNGS
MADE THE GREEN LIGHT SHINE BUT THE E STR AND LOW B MADE THE RED LIGHTS SHINES ALL THROUGH THE WAY FAR BEYOND THE MAXIMUM LIMIT.
Does any of you fellas ever experience this?Is ita sign of electronic failure?
I wouldbe very grateful if anyone could share the knowledge and remedy for the problem
Or perhaps Mica could help ?
Thanks
Best regards
robert

dadabass2001 · « **Reply #1 on:** March 16, 2008, 12:13:03 PM »

Hi Robert
Have you tried fresh strings?
You may be hearing an apparent increase in fundamental tones due to reduced overtones.
my .02

Mike

adriaan · « **Reply #2 on:** March 17, 2008, 03:21:47 AM »

As it happens, I've been trying out a Fatboy in the bridge position over the weekend. It is a lot louder than an AXY, with lots more bottom and much reduced highs. It really is a different animal.

Do you plug the bass into something like a compressor and/or a sonic maximizer before the signal goes into the Trace? Turn that off!

Not sure if the Trace indicators are before or after the tone shaping, but it can't hurt to put all the tone controls in neutral, see if that makes a change. If it has a built-in compressor, turn that off too.

What happens if you change the filter control on the Persuader?

Finally, what happens if you adjust the output gain with the trimpot in the Persuader's cavity?

jacko · « **Reply #3 on:** March 17, 2008, 05:32:00 AM »

Why not just lower the B and E string side of the pickups and see what happens.

graeme

dfung60 · « **Reply #4 on:** March 17, 2008, 01:32:53 PM »

I'd agree with jacko's recommendation here. The magnetic response of the strings may be wildly different across the set. If the output level is too high on the low strings, then drop that side of the pickup down to see if it's evened out.

You can also drop the overall output level from the bass at the trimpot, but that won't address the balance problem across the strings.

Good luck,

David Fung

bassman68 · « **Reply #5 on:** March 18, 2008, 04:33:41 AM »

The level indicators on a Trace head are only there as a guide, are you hearing any clipping distortion?
I agree with Graeme, try lowering the P/up. If i remember rightly any built in compression on a trace should also be pre eq as well & if anything should act as a limiter to stop input clipping, you could try boosting the low comp a bit more, but i do think David & Graeme have hit the nail on the head..

(Message edited by Bassman68 on March 18, 2008)

adriaan · « **Reply #6 on:** March 18, 2008, 05:09:13 AM »

I wouldn't trust a compressor to function as a limiter ...

Anyway, the idea of lowering the pickup on the bass side is indeed a good one.

jacko · « **Reply #7 on:** March 18, 2008, 05:11:19 AM »

Steve, I had a trace GP12 SMX for a while and the compression circuit came post eq.

graeme

edit.. just checked the new range and it looks to be the same order.

(Message edited by jacko on March 18, 2008)

bassman68 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 18, 2008, 05:50:32 AM »

I was only guessing Graeme,Stopped using trace in the early '90's before the smx range came out. Worked there for a while, probably why i changed amp brands!

jacko · « **Reply #9 on:** March 18, 2008, 06:00:45 AM »

I think Trace's method is the exact opposite to just about every other amp manufacturer - I now use eden and the compression circuit comes straight after the input gain. I've spoken with other bass players a few times around effects etc and they're all putting compression pedals or rackmount compression units in the input line rather than later on in effects loops.

graeme

bassman68 · « **Reply #10 on:** March 18, 2008, 06:16:17 AM »

I still think you should try that as well Roberto, aswell as dropping the P/up on the bass side. Especially with a six string, should even out the balance of output, altho Adriaan has stated that the Fatboys put out alot more bottom than top.
It's a bit compressor overkill but you can turn the compression down/off on the amp.

roberto · « **Reply #11 on:** March 18, 2008, 11:05:51 PM »

The strings are a month old.The amp is brand new.I plug the bass directly with noeffect at all. inI did lower the pickup at the bass side side and if I pluck gently,the light indicators shows more or less equal input signal volume.But with louder plucking,the lower strings signal goes way way ahead and distorted sound occurs.With my Series 2 and my other Persuaders without Fatboys this doessn't happen.
I agree with adriaan.I did notice bigger low frequency and high frequency loss.
But yhr ovrtload and distorted sound forces me to pluck moderately al the way,without dynamics.
I dnt think this is right.There must be some thing wrong somewhere in the system.I am suspecting the harness.I ll try putting back the original pups back and see what hapens.
robert

adriaan · « **Reply #12 on:** March 21, 2008, 03:53:43 AM »

Did you turn down the trim pot(s) inside the cavity? The output level is also much bigger than with AXYs.

0vid · « **Reply #13 on:** March 21, 2008, 04:06:18 AM »

Hey Adriaan
Do you like the Fatboy? It does have much higher output than the AXY, and this certainly more noticeable at the bridge position.

adriaan · « **Reply #14 on:** March 21, 2008, 05:26:41 AM »

Hey 0vid,

The Fatboy in bridge position is absolutely brilliant for slapping, but for regular fingerstyle I really-really-really miss the clear highs from the AXY ... or at least I think I do. I have to max the Q switch (6dB in my case) and boost the highs on my SWR to get the same brightness as with the AXY, which I can run with zero Q and a lot less boost on the amp. I'm comparing with fairly new DR LowRiders, so I wouldn't think it's the strings.

The Fatboy also overwhelms the AXY in the neck position, no matter what I try with the blend pot. I'll play around with pickup heights and trimpots some more, see if that can improve things. I'll also put on some old strings to see if there will be any highs left in that situation.

Final option would be to see what the Fatboy can deliver in the neck position. Right now, I get more brightness from the neck AXY than from the bridge Fatboy!

I'm wondering if this could be due to the koa top on my Spoiler, which is supposed to be a little less bright than other woods. Perhaps the Fatboy would be great with a brighter top like maple.