Thomas Wilburn Posted April 3, 2004 Share Posted April 3, 2004 On the advice of several people on the board, and because it was dirt cheap, I just bought a Digitech BP8. I really like the sounds of the preamp in it, so I tried running it into the FX return jack on my combo (a Fender Bassman 200). That worked fine for setting up patches, but today at practice I was having to crank the output on the BP8 very high to get equivalent levels to the built-in preamp on the combo. I have the limiter engaged, so I shouldn't be clipping the power amp at all, but will it hurt anything to be running it this high? Should I keep the limiter engaged, or is it okay to run this arrangement flat out? Thanks for your help. Four String Riot the myspaces, we hates it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chromos Posted April 3, 2004 Share Posted April 3, 2004 I've got a bp8 that's sorta collecting dust in the closet at the moment (the metal band's run ended; now i'm playing funk & blues). Minimalist that I am, I was using it almost solely as a preamp to crank certain frequencies in an attempt to better my tone (the effects themselves were neglected for the most part). I had my bass running into the bp8, then straight to the instrument input on my head. Only had the bp8 at about half volume on both input and output dials...sounded fine. If you haven't tried running it straight into your amp's input (instead of the fx loop input), give that a whirl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Wilburn Posted April 4, 2004 Author Share Posted April 4, 2004 I'm trying not to use the amp's preamp if possible. I like the tone that I get straight out of the BP8, so I'm trying to avoid coloring it any more or messing with the effect levels I've set. I also don't want to worry about driving the combo amp preamp with signal on some patches, which can happen depending on how I EQ just the bass, much less various distortions and modulations. It's a solid state amp. I'm not sure how much difference it will make. There shouldn't be a lot of coloration if its EQ is set flat, but there's always some. Four String Riot the myspaces, we hates it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted April 4, 2004 Share Posted April 4, 2004 You probably know this already, but there are a lot of places that levels get set in the BP8. There's obviously the master level (0-100), but there are also level/gain settings on the compressor side, & settings on the tube preamp side to help you get a constant level whether the preamp is engaged or disengaged. So do some poking around. Also, where are you actually setting the dials? I've found that I'm happiest with both dials at around the 10:00 to 12:00 positions (that's running into the amp's input, btw, fwiw). On a related note, would it be possible to run the BP8 into a power amp & from the power amp into a cab? I.e. could you use the thing as a plain old preamp? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fig Posted April 4, 2004 Share Posted April 4, 2004 On a related note, would it be possible to run the BP8 into a power amp & from the power amp into a cab? I.e. could you use the thing as a plain old preamp? Hey dcr, I'm using a Digitech BP200 directly in a power amp, then to a cab(s). It works great. I'm not familiar with the BP8, but I imagine it should work just fine. Bassplayers aren't paid to play fast, they're paid to listen fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73 P Bass Posted April 4, 2004 Share Posted April 4, 2004 Originally posted by dcr: On a related note, would it be possible to run the BP8 into a power amp & from the power amp into a cab? I.e. could you use the thing as a plain old preamp?Probably; I've heard of players running their on board active pre-amps directly into a power amp, so I bet it would work. "Start listening to music!". -Jeremy C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Wilburn Posted April 5, 2004 Author Share Posted April 5, 2004 Originally posted by dcr: You probably know this already, but there are a lot of places that levels get set in the BP8. There's obviously the master level (0-100), but there are also level/gain settings on the compressor side, & settings on the tube preamp side to help you get a constant level whether the preamp is engaged or disengaged. So do some poking around. Also, where are you actually setting the dials? I've found that I'm happiest with both dials at around the 10:00 to 12:00 positions (that's running into the amp's input, btw, fwiw). On a related note, would it be possible to run the BP8 into a power amp & from the power amp into a cab? I.e. could you use the thing as a plain old preamp?Well, I already went and reset all my patch levels, and the master volume's at 100. I'm actually trying the second suggestion--running it as a preamp into the combo's power amp input. I'm just having to crank the output pot up awfully high to reach the same kind of performance I got out of the combo before. I guess technically it can't hurt anything--after all, that's how Fender recommends hooking two of those combos together--but I just wanted to get some input from wiser heads online. Four String Riot the myspaces, we hates it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomas Wilburn Posted April 5, 2004 Author Share Posted April 5, 2004 Not to be rude and bump my own thread, but I know TAFKAGB has had some experience with doing this, and I was kind of hoping for his input. So I'm going to be rude and bump my own thread. Ouch. Sorry. Four String Riot the myspaces, we hates it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted April 5, 2004 Share Posted April 5, 2004 dcr - that's what greenboy did. Thomas - I'd try getting the setup to work clean ("you don't need no stinkin patches"). And I'd stay with going into the instrument input - just set the combo preamp flat. Do you have the manual? When I was considering one of these beasts, I downloaded it from Digitech and found it to be a complete lesson (I have no "separates" experience). Give it a good read if you haven't - you will find answers. Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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