"I have to say - this is one fabulous little gizmo! Nice sound, versatile as well. Well done!"
~ Benny Rietveld
(Santana)

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Frequently Asked Questions - Bassbone

   
 

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Here you will find the most frequently asked questions about this product. Many of these questions came from musicians like yourself. If you don't see the question you had in mind, feel free to enter it in the form provided along with your email address so that we may send the reply directly to you (don't worry, we won't put you on any email list). Thanks in advance for your participation!

Q: Can I use any two basses with the Bassbone?
  
A: Yes, the Bassbone is designed for use with all types of basses. You can use both active and passive basses, fretted or fretless and so on. You are not limited to basses either, in fact any instrument with a pickup can be used in your bassbone setup – guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, dobro, etc.

Q: Do I still need a direct box with the Bassbone?
  
A: No… The Bassbone has one built-in! A balanced XLR output is provided to send your post-Bassbone sound to the mixer. This is cool because if you do not have a soundman, the bass EQ and level can be controlled by you. If the sound engineer prefers to get the sound of your bass ‘direct’ before it goes into the Bassbone, one of Radial's fine direct boxes will work best.











Q: Will the Bassbone alter the tone of my bass?
  
A: When using Channel-1 with the CONTOUR switch set to 'Flat', which bypasses Contour entirely, the original tone of the instrument will pass through the Bassbone unaltered.

Q: Can I use the tuner out to drive another amp or effect?
  
A: You could, but it is not really ideal to drive two amps this way. It is best to isolate the 2nd amp with a transformer in order to avoid ground loops.

Q: I have an active and a passive bass. Which should be used where?

  
A: Both can work in either channel. If you are a purist, you may want to have your passive bass in Channel-1 and set it flat. This would allow your amp to control your EQ for this bass. If you want to beef up your passive, then Channel-2 will give you more control.

Q: Can I use alternate power supplies with the Bassbone?

  
A: No. The Bassbone requires a more powerful 15V supply than a typical 9-volt pedal in order to provide maximum power handling and headroom. This is why we include the supply with the unit. You can order additional power supplies from your dealer. Power supply part numbers are on the 'features and specifications' page.

Q: Can I use the effect send to drive another amplifier?
  
A: Technically ‘yes’ but be careful. We produce a device called the Radial JX2 Switchbone that is designed to do this properly. It is outfitted with an isolation transformer that will eliminate noisy loops while the Bassbone does not. Be careful! Some older amplifiers are not equipped with proper U-grounds and could cause an electric shock. Please consult a qualified technician before combining amplifiers.

Q: Can I use the XLR balanced out for another amp?
  
A: Yes, but be aware that this is a mic level output. This means that the impedance and level has not been set for typical instrument inputs.

Q: Is the Bassbone a true bypass pedal?
  
A: No. the Bassbone is a preamp. To work properly, we buffer the signal so the Bassbone can drive two channels, the tuner and the effect loop with no signal level loss.

Q: Can you explain 'true bypass'?
  
A: In real terms, 'true bypass' means that when disengaging an effect pedal, the switch completely disconnects the signal path and PC board from the pedal. The intent of a true bypass switch is to ensure the bass signal does not get affected in any way by the effect pedal circuitry. Although great in theory, true bypass switching generally introduces an annoying pop during the switch process, which can be devastating during a performance.

Q: Is the D.I. out of the Bassbone Active or Passive?
  
A: Answer: The Bassbone's DI output is active! .

Q: Can the Bassbone be used for guitar instead of bass?
  
A: Yes! The EQ on the Bassbone follows the path set by Leo Fender. The
Fender Bassman amplifier was the original amp that lead Marshall and Fender to create all of their wonderful guitar amplifiers and many top guitar
players still prefer to use the original Bassman for guitar sound today. The
Bassbone sounds great with guitar! Very clean and natural sounding!

Q: Can I use a distortion pedal in the effects loop insert on the
Bassbone?

  
A: Yes, you can use the effects loop on the Bassbone for distortion.
But most bass players find that when the add distortion, they prefer to
retain the bass sound and then mix in distortion. We create a devise
specifically to do this call the BigShot MIX. The Tonebone Classic will give
you more of a growl distortion like an old Ampeg SVT while the Hot British
distortion will create more overtones. Mixing in the distortion using the
MIX works really well for this.