FULL OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
FRONT PANEL (from left to right)
PREAMP FEATURES AND CONTROLS
Inputs - Passive, Active
Two jack sockets are provided for inputs to the preamp. These are referred to as PASSIVE
and ACTIVE. The PASSIVE is a high impedance input with minimal attenuation, generally
suited to lower output, passive basses. The ACTIVE input is a lower impedance, attenuated
input that will allow the preamp to accept larger signals before the preamp is overdriven.
Despite the inputs being labelled PASSIVE and ACTIVE it is perfectly OK to insert an
active instrument into the PASSIVE socket if you wish drive either the preamp or the
compressor harder. Some active basses with not particularly high outputs may actually
require this to get the best out of the preamp or compressor.
Preamp Gain I, Bright, Gain II, Level
The preamp on the V8 has two modes, I (normal) and II (overdrive).
In the normal mode GAIN I sets the level of the preamp and also has an effect on the
tone. From low to medium settings the sound will remain very clean but with nice valve
‘warmth’ and ‘roundness’. As it is increased the preamp will be pushed gradually towards
a slightly overdriven tone which responds well to the player’s dynamics.
The BRIGHT push switch operates in the traditional way, increasing high frequencies
as the GAIN I control is decreased.
Pulling out the GAIN II control will activate the overdrive mode. This adds two more
valve preamp stages to the signal path which allows even more valve overdrive to be
dialled in. When selected the red LED will be lit.
The GAIN II control is now active and allows the user to adjust the degree of drive
desired. It starts from where the normal mode left off and gets more extreme the higher it
is set. Although a lot of overdrive is available it is still very responsive to the players
dynamics and use of the volume on the instrument.
The LEVEL control is used to balance the overall volume levels of the two preamp
modes. Usually this would be set so that the user can switch from a clean sound to an
overdriven sound with the same actual volume, but it can also be used to intentionally set
a volume boost or cut when switching modes.
It is also possible to switch to GAIN II using the supplied 2 way footswitch.
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