couple silly questions

[youdoofus]

Ive been reading about bass knobs in general, and there seems to be some conflicting info that ive happened upon. Some of the posts ive read were pretty old, so i just wanted to clear this up. Do remote bass knobs attenuate from within where the gain on the amp is set? Or does it bypass the gain on the amp and supplant it?

This might sound really dumb, but i read somewhere that in certain amps, the knob overrides the gain, which sounds pretty dumb. Ill see if i can find the posts, but it was on kicker amps that this was stated to be the case. I would hope that the knob just attenuates within the parameters of the gain and not the other way around

Secondly, does anyone remember the zeb (ending in b, as in bravo) car audio equipment site? It just popped into mind as i was reading about Zed amplifiers.

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[BOOMINGRANDPA 5,000+ posts]

don't know zed. i haven't have remote that boosted bass freqs or passed gain set on amp.. but i've heard others say some do.. i don't think they override amp gain but maybe some do..

 

[youdoofus]

don't know zed. i haven't have remote that boosted bass freqs or passed gain set on amp.. but i've heard others say some do.. i don't think they override amp gain but maybe some do..

it was "thezeb" but we are talking over a dozen years ago, kind of a SQUIRREL moment.

But the meat and taters of the OP is buggin me, ive seen that some amps seems to have "remote gain control" and some are supposed to control a parametric eq parameter. The one that i got on my SQ2200 has a clipping light and when the level is down, the clipping light never comes on, when its all the way up and the deck is cranked, ive seen it flash for a fraction of a second before. So, it would stand to reason (provided that the light on the control is accurate), that the knob attenuates below the gain set on the amp

 

[DarkKnightSM]

Ive been reading about bass knobs in general, and there seems to be some conflicting info that ive happened upon. Some of the posts ive read were pretty old, so i just wanted to clear this up. Do remote bass knobs attenuate from within where the gain on the amp is set? Or does it bypass the gain on the amp and supplant it?
This might sound really dumb, but i read somewhere that in certain amps, the knob overrides the gain, which sounds pretty dumb. Ill see if i can find the posts, but it was on kicker amps that this was stated to be the case. I would hope that the knob just attenuates within the parameters of the gain and not the other way around

Secondly, does anyone remember the zeb (ending in b, as in bravo) car audio equipment site? It just popped into mind as i was reading about Zed amplifiers.

I cant speak for all amps but the bass knob on my jl audio 750/1 appears to overide the gain. For instance, if memory serves me correctly, my gain is set set to about 5/8 to max. Before i got the knob, majority of songs played just fine, bass was fine, deep and low, no audible distortion as long as im reasonible. Now i added a bass knob, for the songs where bass notes were recorded at a lower volume or whatever. And with the knob all to the left, or off the sub does not move or reproduce sound whatsoever. Infact theres a point as im turning it to the right and more right, all of a sudden, bAss! So roughly halfway turned up i get bass back, usually i have the knob between3/4 max and fully maxed. Its also very easy to distort with this stupid knob. But its mostly used for lower listening volumes for when the bass volume would naturally be lower. If im at the 3/4 volume at my HU and i crank the knob to far up, its very very easy to distort. Same or similar as gain.

So with this said, it appears replace the gain on the amp. WHICH leads me to my next question, if gain is voltage match with voltage, but voltage can equate to being louder, then in a way the gain, please dont shoot me, is indeed a form of volume control. Is it the correct and safe volume control? Probably not, other then matching voltage id like for someone to go more on details about that. Because im guessing that that bass knob adjusts voltage, same as a gain knob, effectively being a volume control

 

[kr15 5,000+ posts]

The crappy ones are "bass boost".... the better ones attenuate line voltage

 

[youdoofus]

The crappy ones are "bass boost".... the better ones attenuate line voltage

if attenuating line voltage, it would be below the gain set on the amp, right?

 

[BOOMINGRANDPA 5,000+ posts]

it was "thezeb" but we are talking over a dozen years ago, kind of a SQUIRREL moment.
But the meat and taters of the OP is buggin me, ive seen that some amps seems to have "remote gain control" and some are supposed to control a parametric eq parameter. The one that i got on my SQ2200 has a clipping light and when the level is down, the clipping light never comes on, when its all the way up and the deck is cranked, ive seen it flash for a fraction of a second before. So, it would stand to reason (provided that the light on the control is accurate), that the knob attenuates below the gain set on the amp

oh i know about old stuff i resemble that stuff lol but SQUIRREL.., sorry happens to me too.. oh old stuff., u remember kove, i laugh when i hear old sub name brands., i had some subs called mean dogs they ripped off rf specs exactly even logo looked like rf..

 

[youdoofus]

oh i know about old stuff i resemble that stuff lol but SQUIRREL.., sorry happens to me too.. oh old stuff., u remember kove, i laugh when i hear old sub name brands., i had some subs called mean dogs they ripped off rf specs exactly even logo looked like rf..

oh man, Koves were pretty awesome! Another odd name was Oz audio, but those things thumped!!

 

[BOOMINGRANDPA 5,000+ posts]

if attenuating line voltage, it would be below the gain set on the amp, right?

yep

 

[Krave]

I was never sure myself so I bought an inline knob that is a line in RCAs from my HU and RCAs out to my amp. Complete line attenuation (all analog) and is way more reliable than the digital phone line versions that plug straight in to the amp.

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

I don't think it overrides the gain...Think of it as a "2nd gain" rotary knob. But controls how much bass your subs put out out rather than messing with the amp.

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Found this article to be readable/useful

https://www.mtx.com/library-external-bass-controls

 

[macsdad 10+ year member]

If I am not mistaken; if it is an actual gain adjust and not a bass boost, once you set your gains properly, the max on the knob should match with where ever your amp gain is set at. At least that is how it has been with the last few amps that I have used; sundown saz1500v3, crescendo bc2k, and my current amp the IA 20.1. Hope this helps.

 

[sfall]

I don't think it overrides the gain...Think of it as a "2nd gain" rotary knob. But controls how much bass your subs put out out rather than messing with the amp.

Its not a 2nd gain. For that you need active components. He just put a passive volume control between 2 components. It attenuates signal volume generated by up active circuitry upstream.

 

[Boomin_tahoe 5,000+ posts]

Its not a 2nd gain. For that you need active components. He just put a passive volume control between 2 components. It attenuates signal volume generated by up active circuitry upstream.

Never said it was. It acts like one tho. Think about it....