USING THE TONE CONTROLS
To get the most out of the Tone Controls of your Workingman’s 10, it would be best to first understand how the Aural Enhancer
works, and how it interacts with the Bass, Midrange and Treble controls. Think of it as a variable tone curve, changing with its
position. As you raise the control from “0,” or the fully counterclockwise position, you are elevating the whole range of sound
(lows, mids, and highs) at frequency points different than those selected for the individual Tone Controls. This remains true up
to about the “2 o’clock” position, at which point the mids start to drop off. The curves involved here are gentle, as opposed to
the very extreme curves you can create with the Tone Controls. Most significantly, the Aural Enhancer will raise the low end at
a point lower than the Bass control itself.
For a typical 4-string bass, the Bass control itself will suffice. For the 5-string player, the Aural Enhancer will help bring out the
fundamentals of your instrument (in the 30-60 Hz range). Discretion should be used when doing this without an extension cabi-
net. True low fundamentals (one of the sonic signatures of all SWR amplifiers) require lots of headroom and air motion. That’s
why we recommend that 5-string players use an extension cabinet to increase the power output of the amplifier and get more
air moving.
BASS CONTROL
The Bass control, as stated above, works in a range that will be useful under most “normal” conditions. Its musical use might
be thought of as a “fatness” control. Leaving the Aural Enhancer in a position lower than 12 o’clock will not boost the extreme
bottom so much as to make indistinct the working of the Bass control. The overall “punch” of your instrument, from your low E-
string on up about two octaves (midway up the G-string), will be determined with this control. With passive instruments, this will
be straightforward. With active instruments having bass-boost controls, more exploration will be worthwhile. (Some active tone
circuits have boost-cut controls, while others have straight boost controls).
MID RANGE CONTROL
The Mid Range control operates in a crucial area for most instruments. Many basses, particularly those strung with round-
wound strings, can have a very “honky” or nasal sound. Dropping the Mid Range control can go a long way toward smoothing
out your tone. We suggest, though, that what sounds best when you’re listening to your tone by yourself may not be what
works best in a band or on a recording. Sometimes that objectionable quality may be just the right “hair” on your note to still
have an audible presence in the track or on stage.
TREBLE CONTROL
The Treble control operates in a tonal area that extends through and beyond the usual Treble control range. It may be thought
of as a “transparency” control. Boosting the control will open up the sound of a dull instrument, particularly in conjunction with
the piezo tweeter in the Workingman’s 10. However, this is also the range of string rattle, finger slides, pickup clicks, etc. Again,
we recommend you experiment with the control alone with your instrument while finding your tone, and listen again in a band
context, both near to and away from the Workingman’s 10. Qualities such as punch, fatness, presence and bite can be fairly
well spread out. Treble, despite the broad dispersion of the piezo tweeter, is a very directional quality. Spend some time explor-
ing what you hear in this area as you move around.
EFFECTS BLEND
The Effects Blend control mixes the signal coming from your instrument with the sound coming from your effect. With the Blend
control fully counterclockwise, no signal from your effect will be heard. As you turn this control clockwise, more of the effect can
be heard in the overall sound. When the Blend control is fully clockwise, no dry or unaffected signal is heard other than the output
of your effect device.
This type of control and patching arrangement is very effective in reducing noise caused by effects devices and in maintaining
a more natural sound. If your effects device has a similar control, we suggest leaving it set to its maximum effect/minimum dry
signal position and using the Effects Blend control for this function. Please read the “Effects Loop” section for more informa-
tion.
WORKINGMAN’S COMBOS OWNER’S MANUAL • 3