F1-X with SF-2 SuperFilter Help!

[David Houck]

Esa; I'm assuming you are coming straight out of your bass and into the F-1X; no effects in between them.  If you are using an Alembic bass, you might want to check the gain pots inside the control cavity; if they are all the way up, you might want to turn them back some so you're not sending too much signal to the preamp.
 
My recollection from several years ago is that my rig then was F-1X > Compressor/Limiter > SF-2 > Power Amp.  (I think I might have had a reverb/delay unit in the loop.)  And my recollection is that I had the chain set up for the purpose of maintaining a good control over the gain structure.  So I would suggest you keep working with different combinations until you find something that sounds great and works well.  (I'm using an F-2B now, and my volumes are at 4.5 and 5 on its two channels.)
 
So my suggestion would be to try backing off the internal gain pots on your bass, then into the F-1X, then from the full range out into the compressor/limiter, then on to the SF-2; and keep experimenting until you find the right combination of gain settings to get the tone you want.  And as others have suggested, you might want to also experiment with having the SF-2 first just to see if that opens up some tonal possibilities that you might find appealing.

[esa]

Thanks, Dave.
 
You are correct in assuming that I have no effects between the bass and the F-1X.  I have three basses (one Alembic), and none of them have a very hot output - the problem definitely came from the output of the F-1X, or the input of the SF-2.
 
I had put the whole thing out of my mind yesterday, but I came back to it today, and just started over - something very curious happened:  I plugged the SF-2 into the full-range output of the F-1X, and there was no clipping.
 
I can now run the F-1X volume up to 5, and the SF-2 does not clip any more.  I tried this a dozen times during the week, and I consistently got clipping once I passed 1 on the F-1X volume knob...  but now it's gone.
 
I have no explanation for this - same basses, same cables, same player, same gear all-around, but the problem is gone.
 
Any ideas on why that might have happened?
 
I'm now running: bass > F-1X > SF-2 > compressor > power amp  ...and it's working fine.
 
I am tempted to put the SF-2 into the F-1X loop again to see if that problem has vanished, too, but since I prefer the SF-2 after the F-1X, and I don't want to screw it all up again, I think I'll leave it as it is.  This is the set-up I was gong for all along.
 
If the problem rears its head again, I will just swap the compressor and the SF-2:  bass > F-1X > compressor > SF-2 > power amp
...but I'm hoping that this current configuration will continue to be problem-free.
 
Thanks to everyone for all the input and suggestions - it's good to know that we have a community of Alembic brethren out there who will help when problems arise!

[elwoodblue]

Whew. good news,
   
 
have you read this ?
http://club.alembic.com/Images/16271/16301.html?1107539284
 
let us know if anything changes,
elwood