Gain, Bass; Mid - Mesa/Boogie BASS STRATEGY Eight:88 Owner's Manual

THE CONTROLS
GAIN
This control determines the overall character of the sound along with input gain and sensitivity. The lower regions of the
control (below 12:00) offer the cleanest sounds and greater headroom with a scooped, brighter personality. The upper harmonics
B A
R C
I T
G I
H V
T E
NORMAL
INPUT
GAIN
band, you will discover a world of old-school tones. Tiny increments here produce subtle, but important differences in the attack
characteristic, which in turn, can feel like changes in the time domain.
By experimenting with the setting of the GAIN control, you can actually voice the amp to feel as if it bounces just ahead of the groove
(10:30 – 12:00)—or lays back a little deeper to produce a more 'Fatback' feel with tube drive (12:30 – 2:00). The difference in attack
and sustain produces striking results as to how the bassist - and in fact the whole band - perceives things in the time domain.
BASS
This control is responsible for the basic mix of low frequencies in the tube pre-amp. The BASS control is an "active" control
- as opposed to a "passive" style control. This means that a center "Q" point has been chosen for this control that allows you to either
BASS

MID

gradually to the edges of the broad Q's bell-shaped curve from 20Hz on the low side, all the way up to 321Hz on the high side. At
5:30 on the bass control a +6db increase in gain is possible. As the BASS control is dialed below 12:00, 55Hz and all associated
harmonics are reduced and eventually notched almost completely out of the signal path. This lower range of the control delivers a 6db
per octave "cut" centered at 55Hz going down to 20Hz with an overall "cut gain" of -10db possible as the control reaches 7:30 (off).
This type of active rotary control makes it possible to achieve bass control and characteristics far beyond that of a conventional pas-
sive type control. It can increase the low end to an almost absurd level and then, with a flick of the wrist, dip it to near transistor radio
skinniness. Needless to say, with any control this powerful a certain amount of finesse must be applied to achieve musical results.
MID
This is the only passive style control in the string of rotary tone controls. This scheme was chosen for its inherently musical
blend and for the way the passive style midrange control—with its wide footprint and smooth taper—fills in the "holes". Unlike the
BASS MID
come through more prominently in this area of the control making the top end sound more transparent
and crisp. This region is especially useful for funkier stuff when thumbing is in order. It keeps the rubber-
band feel intact in the lows and mids while voicing the snap just high enough to avoid harshness, or the
dreaded "gak" when the G string is plucked.
As the GAIN control is increased past 12:00 a richer, "well-rounded" and more blooming voice becomes
dominant. Headroom starts to diminish in increments until eventually, a tube overdrive sound appears
as the 12AX7 input preamp tube is driven into saturation.
The region between 12:00 and 2:30 is where classic, warm tube sounds reside. Within this narrow
boost or cut a range of low end centered on that frequency. While there is a specific frequency that the
Bass control "centers on", the frequencies and harmonics on either side of this center Q point are af-
fected in a diminishing "bell shaped" curve as you sweep it one direction or another.
The BASS control is actually a gain and frequency control all rolled into one with the "Q" center at
55Hz. As mentioned above, though it is centered here, frequencies (harmonics) in both low and high
directions are affected because of its broader-band nature. Twelve o'clock (NOON) on the BASS con-
trol delivers a basically "flat" response (no boost/no cut). As the BASS control is increased past 12:00
(NOON), it produces a 6db per octave boost in gain starting at the center point of 55Hz and tapering
BASS, this control is a cut only, and while it can competently remove this broad spectrum of midrange
from the mix, it cannot provide the extreme focused attenuation of an active style control.
You will find that this passive, broad-band control works really well for shaping the midrange frequen-
cies and imparting a natural earthiness and character that is the perfect counterpart to its active style
neighbors. It's hard to dial wrong with this more forgiving approach as it gives you the ability to punch
through a mix or sweeten and smooth out the sound by adjusting just one control.
Another useful property of the Passive MID when used above 12:00 is that it starts to impart a furry,
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