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Post subject: SAG,Bias and Gain Controls
Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2019 3:42 pm
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Hobbyist
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Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2019 5:55 pm
Posts: 9
Good Morning,
I have a Fender GT40 with the current Version 2.0.25 update. I like an extremely clean sound and use the Dual Showman and Twin Reverb setting most of the time. I have a question on a couple of the controls and settings to be able to achieve this.
Could anyone give a brief description of the SAG and Bias controls work and how they should be set to get the cleanest sound possible? On these two settings I currently have the SAG set to MATCH and the Bias set at the factory default of 0.0
How should I set the GAIN control on the amp in relation to the regular volume control for the same clean effect. I know the Master volume controls the overall volume of the amp
I read through the manual and I’m still having trouble understanding all of this. This is my first digital amp. I contacted Fender Support but it’s been awhile and I have yet to hear back
Thanks in advance! dad roadie


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Post subject: Re: SAG,Bias and Gain Controls
Posted: Tue Feb 05, 2019 3:27 am
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Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2018 3:56 am
Posts: 50
dad roadie wrote:
Good Morning,
I have a Fender GT40 with the current Version 2.0.25 update. I like an extremely clean sound and use the Dual Showman and Twin Reverb setting most of the time. I have a question on a couple of the controls and settings to be able to achieve this.
Could anyone give a brief description of the SAG and Bias controls work and how they should be set to get the cleanest sound possible? On these two settings I currently have the SAG set to MATCH and the Bias set at the factory default of 0.0
How should I set the GAIN control on the amp in relation to the regular volume control for the same clean effect. I know the Master volume controls the overall volume of the amp
I read through the manual and I’m still having trouble understanding all of this. This is my first digital amp. I contacted Fender Support but it’s been awhile and I have yet to hear back
Thanks in advance! dad roadie


Sag is a term for how the power supply of some amplifiers drops voltage under load. More sag will tend to lessen the attack of loud notes, and may also change the characteristics of overdrive clipping, making them softer or smoother.

Bias refers to the amount of idle current the output devices, usually tubes. More bias means closer to Class A operation which is associated with less distortion but less power available. Too little bias makes an amp sound cold, and more bias makes it sound warmer.

For cleanest sound, use the minimum gain you can work with. This means turning the volume up a lot more, even maxing the volume and then using just enough gain for the level of sound you want.


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Post subject: Re: SAG,Bias and Gain Controls
Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2019 9:47 pm
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Joined: Fri Jun 28, 2013 7:41 am
Posts: 9
First of all, I highly recommend dropping the tone and volume on your guitar itself. It depends on make and model, but if I want a cleaner tone on my Ibanez, I'll cut the volume and tone pots down to 5-6 on the guitar.

My advice ampwise would be to keep sag at matched for a real subtle compressor effect, maybe turn the bias to -5% and set cabinet modeling to none, bright switch off, high gate, low gain.

I have a gt200, but it may work on your 40: sometimes it's good to drop the volume on the preset and gain stage it that way, boosting the master.

Removing cabinet modeling and basically just emulating the amp's electronics improves transience, and it's probably my favorite way to use the amp.

In all honesty though, my biggest recommendation is to ditch the showman and twin and use the British Watts and recently added IIC+ Clean.

The HiWatt DR103 was David Gilmour's go to amp during Pink Floyd. It's clean, detailed, and LOUD.

The British Watts has additional controls for presence and emulated master volume, allowing you to gain stage for cleaner tones.

The IIC+ clean has a ton of parameters not on other models (presence, 5 band eq, emulated master knob, bright, treble shift, bass shift, and deep)

The downside to the IIC clean amp model is that because it is so complex, you can't add as many/certain pre/post effects, and you can't utilize the Mustang's capabilities as much as with the British Watts.

If you really want to go crazy, I recommend picking up an MXR 10 band pedal for 129. Not only does it have eq for 10 different frequencies, but adjustable input gain and output volume, which can knock out a lot of background noise. Sure it's not a noise gate like the BOSS NS2, but for 30 dollars more, you can get the MXR, really sculpt your tone, and work it as a makeshift noise gate.

Hope this helps!!


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Post subject: Re: SAG,Bias and Gain Controls
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2019 6:14 pm
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Roadie
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Joined: Mon Apr 10, 2017 2:19 pm
Posts: 270
Thanks for sharing your information.
Lots of things to make use of and test.
I also like the HiWatts. I have an ART tube/digital
effects rack for times I want variations, so clean
setup on the GT lets that get through to the outputs.

Have you considered putting one of the GT200
speakers in a separate cab, to separate the stereo more?
Cheers


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