Markbass Classic 300 - Manual (Page 6)

06
STANDBY
This button (12) is a standby control that puts the amp into low consumption mode, which is useful when the head is momentarily not in use. It is not necessary to start the amp in
standby mode. The amp is automatically muted while it starts up.
FOOTSWITCH
The Classic 300’s optional footswitch has one on/off switch. This is a mute control that interrupts the output signal from your amp, but allows it through to a tuner, should you have
one plugged into the rear panel. This is handy if you need to tune discreetly during live performance.
LCD SCREEN
The 2x16 LCD screen (13) shows a digital VU meter when used in normal mode. Otherwise it shows specific technical parameters, as explained in the Microcontrolled Amp
Management System chapter on page 9.
EQUALIZATION
Markbass amps are designed to faithfully reproduce the natural sound of your bass. If you have a good instrument, very little equalization (EQ) if any should be required. Bass
guitars produce a surprisingly wide range of frequencies from extremely low frequencies that are more felt than heard, to extremely high frequencies that pass through your
cabinet’s tweeter and are barely audible to the human ear. As you experiment with your EQ settings, you will notice that all the different frequency ranges play essential roles in
making up your bass tone:
LOW frequencies constitute music’s sonic foundation-they give power to your sound, physically resonating your listeners’ bodies (and yours!), sometimes even causing people to
move and dance!
LOW MIDs (MID LOW or Mid Frequency Low) make your bass sound loud, projecting the sound over long distances, filling the room.
HIGH MIDs (MID HIGH or Mid Frequency High) convey the pitch of the notes that you play. Clarity of this range ensures that the melodies in your bass lines are heard. If detail is
missing in this range, your melodic contribution to the music will suffer.
HIGH frequencies carry the percussive content of your playing the attack of your notes, the sound of your finger or pick passing over the string, fret noise, and in the case of slap
bass, the ‘tick’ noise produced when the strings bounce off the frets.
If any one of these frequency ranges is neglected or poorly represented by your amp, you are not hearing an accurate representation of the sound that your bass is generating.
Since these amps has been designed to give you clear, detailed and musical sound at all frequencies, when the amp is set flat with all EQ knobs at 12 o’clock you should hear
a very true mirror of the sound of your bass.
However, the following circumstances will require you to use equalization:
1. The signal from your bass is lacking output level in one of the frequency ranges described above.
2. The room or venue you’re playing in has poor acoustics and excites a certain frequency. For example, if you’re playing on a hollow stage, certain low frequencies may
sound disproportionately loud or out-of-control, and you may notice that every time you play a certain note, it sounds much louder than all the others. In these cases
the offending frequency needs to be identified and reduced.
3. You’re seeking to alter the basic sound of your instrument in order to achieve a particular musical effect.