PEAVEY TNT 130 BASS AMP SETTINGS

[riot100]

Hi, I now own a Peavey TNT 130 Bass Amplifier inherited from my father. Great amp.
My question is regarding all the settings concerning Volume Levels, (Pre / Post) and EQ (Low, Mid/Freq/Bandwidth, High, Presence).
For band rehearsals I am playing a Fender Precision Bass straight into the amp, no effects.
I would like to obtain an ordinary "Rock bass sound," but (even using the manual suggestions) I still cannot dial in a warm bass Rock sound, only a trebly Punk tone.
Could please advise on the Vol and EQ Settings to use?
Should I turn my tone dial which is full on the bass guitar, to less treble?
Many thanks, I also appreciate guitars, amps, players are all different and one glove does not fit all, just needs setting examples to try.

 

[sears]

how about Mid to 1 (o' the clock), Shift to 9 and bandwidth to 3? Not too much Pre, get your volume from Post and don't pull those volume knobs unless you have to. See if that gets you anywhere. And definitely use the tone knob on your bass.

 

[Al Kraft]

Hi, I now own a Peavey TNT 130 Bass Amplifier inherited from my father. Great amp.
My question is regarding all the settings concerning Volume Levels, (Pre / Post) and EQ (Low, Mid/Freq/Bandwidth, High, Presence).
For band rehearsals I am playing a Fender Precision Bass straight into the amp, no effects.
I would like to obtain an ordinary "Rock bass sound," but (even using the manual suggestions) I still cannot dial in a warm bass Rock sound, only a trebly Punk tone.
Could please advise on the Vol and EQ Settings to use?
Should I turn my tone dial which is full on the bass guitar, to less treble?
Many thanks, I also appreciate guitars, amps, players are all different and one glove does not fit all, just needs setting examples to try.

It's hard to say precisely as choice of strings, your hand position and whether you play with a pick or your fingers also make a difference, but I have a few suggestions that might help. I would try these suggestions with the bass tone control full on and then full off...you may not want to want to lose all of those upper frequencies that give your tone some lift and definition.

First, on the amp turn the high (treble) and presence controls back to between 9 and 10 o'clock and be sure you don't have the pre gain high boost function on (knob pulled out). I would see how you like the punch control function (post gain pulled out IIRC) to start. Set the post gain high like 3 o'clock and leave the pre gain fully turned down for now. Set the bass control around 1 o'clock, the mid at 2 o'clock, the mid shift down in the lower frequency region (between 150 and 300 HZ) and set the bandwidth fully clockwise (widest effect).

With your bass volume full on start to bring up the pre gain to you preferred volume and see how you like the tone. The settings you have on the amp will be very low and low mid focussed. You can then start to add in additional upper end to provide a better definition to your sound.

That's all I got. Hopefully it will get you closer to that bigger authoritative rock bass tone you're looking for without the trebly and thin sound aspects.

 

[riot100]

Thank you for your replies, really appreciated, will try this at my next rehearsal. I did have both Pre/Post at approx 5 Volume.
Yes, I have Roundwound Strings and play with a Pick.

 

[Al Kraft]

Thank you for your replies, really appreciated, will try this at my next rehearsal. I did have both Pre/Post at approx 5 Volume.
Yes, I have Roundwound Strings and play with a Pick.

If you play closer to the neck than the bridge and you will get a deeper less mid/treble centric tight kind of sound. Also, run the post gain higher and try controlling your output volume with the pre. IIRC that amp used the pre control to set your input gain to the preamp and post control sort of throttled what went to the power amp section. If you run that post on the lower side you need to push the pre amp harder and you lose some valuable headroom on the power amp side...I said that poorly, but I think it makes the point.

IIRC that punch control boosts in the 120HZ range which will give you a little more meat in the upper low end and lows mids. By also adding some meat to the 150-300 HZ area with the broad mid setting you will be filling out the low mids even more. I think you'll find these changes will get you a much fuller bass rich voicing.

I like round wounds, but they can be a little bright especially with a pick. Dialing your tone control back on the bass can help some with that. Good luck and let us know how the changes work out.

 

[basscooker]

Def make sure the "pull bright" is not on. The (instrument) tone knob sounds fine even all the way off; I use it way back more often than way up, personally.
Use "master " as overall volume control, use gain as input volume. Other than that, it's really just tweak until you sound better.

 

[riot100]

Many thanks for your prompt replies, very much appreciated.

 

[1n3]

The TNT130 had two speaker options: an OEM Eminence 15 or a Black Widow 15. Those sound quite a bit different, so EQ recommendations would differ by speaker. Think I've also seen a few with a Scorpion 15, but never played through one.

For me, the real power of that preamp was in the parametric midrange controls. I recommend that you spend time playing with that. Set for a strong cut or boost, then sweep the frequency to find what you like or don't like. Then adjust level and bandwidth to suit.