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more dominant, and that compression gives way to "cut," and dynamic peaks jump out with startling speed and
accuracy, unleashing the Badlander's wilder side.
Clean sounds in Channel 1 can generally benefit from slightly higher settings (10:30 – 12:30) than sounds that
have overdrive involved in their makeup.
Once saturation begins, the frequencies carried in the PRESENCE control need to be administered with care,
as too much top end applied in the power section can create edgy, unpleasant, or even painful sounds. Set too
high, it starts to separate the high frequencies from the rest of the notes, resulting in a buzzy, detached Tone
...something you probably don't want!
Overdriven chording sounds can tolerate higher settings (10:30 – 12:30) better than single notes, which usu-
ally want to roam the zone below 11:00 to stay round, focused, and sound as big, wide, and vocal as possible.
At the top end of the control (2:30 – 5:30), an aggressive blend of upper harmonics dominates the sound, and
this region can be somewhat dangerous to balanced Tone if it's not applied in small measures. Higher notes
will slice and dice even the bravest of ears, and we suggest using this region mostly in the studio for recording
heavy crunch rhythm parts, and even then, on parts that feature mostly the lower strings. This region – especially
when coupled with the inherent curve of many of the microphones typically used in P.A. (sound reinforcement)
applications, can be truly punishing to both bandmates and audience alike.
It's especially important in terms of PRESENCE settings to check the "line of fire" if you are standing very close
to and/or in front of your Cabinet(s)!
Remember, the aggressive highs you may want to dial up with the PRESENCE in an attempt to hear yourself
"cut through" that are hitting only your legs will be hitting microphones and/or the audience directly. What you
hear standing right over your Cab when you've got the TREBLE and/or PRESENCE set high will be WAY differ-
ent - and less punishing - than what hits the mic's diaphragm and the audience's heads and ears.
NOTE: In the name of great and balanced Tone, we'd like to humbly suggest putting your head down by your
speakers now and then (but not for too long!) to ensure your Tone is really what you think it is.
So often, in small to medium Venues, the tendency is to dial in WAY more brightness than you really need
because you're often standing almost on top of your Cab. More times than not, that means you aren't hearing
all that extra top end you might think you need. It may take some getting used to at first, but you can learn to
hear a darker, warmer sound found lower on the TREBLE and PRESENCE controls, and your sound will be FAR
more pleasing and balanced at the Front of House and in the first few rows of the audience.
The lucky few playing mostly large venues are more apt to learn this early, as their greater distances from their
cabinets on big stages help reveal the excess top end quickly. And if they don't, the Front of House Engineers
help out in short order. The rest of us performing in small to mid-size venues tend to learn this the slow way
or need to get the tip-off from veteran associates or adept FOH Engineers. Either way, your audience, your
recordings, and even your own ears over time will benefit from this more respectful, tasteful approach to top
end in your Tone.
MASTER
This control determines the overall output level of each Channel and is located at the very end of the circuit,
just before the Driver stage. By using it in combination with the GAIN control, any amount of preamp signal
strength – gain – (within a Channel's parameters, of course) can be achieved at any playing volume. Once you
have dedicated the Channels to their respective sounds, you can then balance the volume levels of the Chan-
nels using the MASTER controls.
For general applications and to get the best performance out of the Channels, we recommend MASTER set-
tings in the 9:00 – 12:00 range, with most people settling in around 10:00 – 11:00 for average playing volumes.
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