The LOW GAIN MODE
The gain control of the AMP1 has a "treble bleed", i.e. the more the gain is reduced, the more treble the sound gets (detailed information about treble bleed and bright caps can be found here). For some players, depending on the guitar used, the treble can quickly be too high. Then the LOW GAIN MODE helps, because when it is activated, you can turn up the gain again and get a warmer tone.
In LOW GAIN MODE, the maximum gain of the AMP1 is reduced to a factory-set, fixed gain value by default. With the help of the REMOTE1 you can also individually set this value yourself for each channel. We call this INDIVIDUAL CHANNEL GAIN: To set the desired maximum gain for a channel, hold down BOOST on the REMOTE1 until the switch starts flashing and then use the rotary knob on the REMOTE1 to set the desired maximum gain for the current selected channel.
"Zero” Gain
If you now turn the potentiometer on the REMOTE1 or on the 1CONTROL all the way back to the left, you get what we call "Zero Gain". The extreme reduction of the maximum gain gives you a completely new world of sound, through which the AMP1 goes into overdrive less quickly (or not at all, depending on the channel). This is particularly helpful when using the internal boost or when using pedals.
With the AMP1 Mercury Edition you get a very jazzy, completely overload-proof clean sound by using the zero gain method in the CLEAN channel, the VINTAGE delivers a clean sound “on the edge of break up”, and the CLASSIC channel comes along in a classic SRV manner.
Notice
The term "zero" gain refers to the position of the potentiometer on the REMOTE1, which is fully left, i.e. in the zero position. The actual gain value is then of course not zero, because then no signal would go through at all. In fact, the level is reduced by about 23dB in the zero gain position.