01-29-2015, 10:57 AM
i might not have explained that very well. There is no default setting... Plenty of Amplifiers come with first gain stages that have cathode bypass caps in them and plenty come without.
While the 0 db setting has more gain than the -9db setting, I wouldn't say that either is better or worse, or that one is the normal setting.
Ampeg gave customers the option of custom tailoring their first gain stage to respond to their guitar. If they had a guitar with some weake single coils, they might use it on 0db, if they also had something with some beefy hum buckers they might put it to -6 or -9. But like I said, most people I know just throw it on 0db and roll. The 9db range doesn't seem that important in the scheme of things.
I know that I took advantage of the -9db setting when I lived in an apartment and couldn't play very loud. The volume controls on the v4 are touchy at low volumes and it can be hard to get it right. The switch gave me more flexibility in that case.
I don't think that was what ampeg had in mind when they designed the amp.
I think it is the only amp to encorporate that function that I am aware of, many modern amps have a pad for active pickups, but thisnt usually used in this way.
While the 0 db setting has more gain than the -9db setting, I wouldn't say that either is better or worse, or that one is the normal setting.
Ampeg gave customers the option of custom tailoring their first gain stage to respond to their guitar. If they had a guitar with some weake single coils, they might use it on 0db, if they also had something with some beefy hum buckers they might put it to -6 or -9. But like I said, most people I know just throw it on 0db and roll. The 9db range doesn't seem that important in the scheme of things.
I know that I took advantage of the -9db setting when I lived in an apartment and couldn't play very loud. The volume controls on the v4 are touchy at low volumes and it can be hard to get it right. The switch gave me more flexibility in that case.
I don't think that was what ampeg had in mind when they designed the amp.
I think it is the only amp to encorporate that function that I am aware of, many modern amps have a pad for active pickups, but thisnt usually used in this way.