There are at the … There are at the moment only two solutions if you want great natural power tube break up at low volume and those devices are
Aracom prx150 attenuator or
London power Power Scaling
if you haven’t tried them already you will be blown away,i promise!
@diego2888 a 15 … @diego2888 a 15 watt amp like the Blues Junior is about the smallest amp that you can use in a band setting. But even a 3w or 5w amp can get pretty loud when you’re standing right beside it. Most amps are between 15 and 60 watts, but there are some amps that are 100 watts or higher. Those are way more powerful than what most people need.
If there’s no other … If there’s no other knob marked as input volume then yes. But on some amps, they have a separate input volume and gain knob, in which case the gain knob is like another volume stage before another preamp tube.
Aha…your logic is … Aha…your logic is correct, but the catch is…there is no volume after the power tubes. That’s it. From the power tubes, the signal goes through the output transformer and straight to the speaker. The only exception is if you use an attenuator, which I’ll talk about in the next video. An attenuator is kind of like a volume control for your speaker, but it usually has a detrimental effect on your tone.
Based on your 5 … Based on your 5 videos, if one wants a power tube distortion but can’t crank up the volume to extreme levels, what makes logically sense is to crank up the volume before a power tube BUT THEN have another volume and power tube “after” that to keep the volume level at a manageable level.
Am i making sense? Is there such a thing?
haha, ok you’re … haha, ok you’re right about that just thought I would give a tip about other options… btw about attenuators… right now the best bang for the buck seems to be Alex’s attenuator, he doesn’t have a website but can be found on thegearpage. It’s supposedly as good as UA and only 350$, although aracom and phantom are best (800$ lol)
Aside from using … Aside from using attenuator you can also go a power scaling route! Moding requied but it’s really usable and some amps sound way better with it than with most attenuators. Some amps have a power scaling on them stock, but those tend to be really boutique. The VVR mod is very usable and pretty cheap and easy to do, does basically what power scaling does – lower the voltage in the amp so you can actually dial in lower wattage. Also you can add different kinds of master vol.on the amp like PPIMV
Attenuators are … Attenuators are great things to have for higher wattage amps, but they’re not cheap. The components of any given attenuator costs about $20, but they go for $250+
I highly recommend the Dr. Z Air Brake if you want to go in that direction. I tried using the Hot Plate, but it really muddies up the tone at lower volumes. I sold mine a week after I got it.
Great! Thanks and … Great! Thanks and btw I am enjoying your lessons and videos. Just what I was looking for as I’ve been trying to get the sound and technique down on my own for a while. It helps to have someone who already has it down to help.
@cduggerct1 That’s … @cduggerct1 That’s exactly the problem i was describing. For that type of amp, there’s no master volume and your only control over distortion is the input volume. This simultaneously drives the preamp and power tubes harder, resulting in massive volume before you hear any distortion. You will need a pedal to generate any usable distortion at low volumes, or an attenuator, which I’ll talk about in the next lesson.
I have a twin reverb reissue, with no gain, only volume on the clean and reverb channels. I know I can get distortion through an effects box but without going deaf, how do I get this am to distort? Just guitar volume to max and am volume to 1??
Love the amp but unsure how to deal with the lack of a gain adjustment.
April 22nd, 2010 | 
Author: 
http://www.oldtonezone.com – Part 5 in this series is all about volume and how your preamp and master volume settings affect the volume of your sound.
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so where do tone …
so where do tone controls (both on the guitar and some amps) fit in?
Nice vid
Nice vid
There are at the …
There are at the moment only two solutions if you want great natural power tube break up at low volume and those devices are
Aracom prx150 attenuator or
London power Power Scaling
if you haven’t tried them already you will be blown away,i promise!
@gr8bluesgtr what …
@gr8bluesgtr what about a 40 wtt amp, i was looking at the marshall haze, you think that would be appropriate for an apartment?
@diego2888 a 15 …
@diego2888 a 15 watt amp like the Blues Junior is about the smallest amp that you can use in a band setting. But even a 3w or 5w amp can get pretty loud when you’re standing right beside it. Most amps are between 15 and 60 watts, but there are some amps that are 100 watts or higher. Those are way more powerful than what most people need.
when he says “look …
when he says “look for a lower powered amp” what is a lower power amp, i mean what wattage
is considered low? anyone??
like the series but …
like the series but you didnt tune well before this vid
can’t wait for the …
can’t wait for the next vid!
Anthony Very …
Anthony Very informative series,
If there’s no other …
If there’s no other knob marked as input volume then yes. But on some amps, they have a separate input volume and gain knob, in which case the gain knob is like another volume stage before another preamp tube.
Hi Stevie,
would …
Hi Stevie,
would the input volume be the same as the ‘gain’ on most amplifiers? or is it an entirely different knob. thanks
Aha…your logic is …
Aha…your logic is correct, but the catch is…there is no volume after the power tubes. That’s it. From the power tubes, the signal goes through the output transformer and straight to the speaker. The only exception is if you use an attenuator, which I’ll talk about in the next video. An attenuator is kind of like a volume control for your speaker, but it usually has a detrimental effect on your tone.
Based on your 5 …
Based on your 5 videos, if one wants a power tube distortion but can’t crank up the volume to extreme levels, what makes logically sense is to crank up the volume before a power tube BUT THEN have another volume and power tube “after” that to keep the volume level at a manageable level.
Am i making sense? Is there such a thing?
haha, ok you’re …
just thought I would give a tip about other options… btw about attenuators… right now the best bang for the buck seems to be Alex’s attenuator, he doesn’t have a website but can be found on thegearpage. It’s supposedly as good as UA and only 350$, although aracom and phantom are best (800$ lol)
haha, ok you’re right about that
Anyone who …
Anyone who understands what you wrote probably does not need my videos
Aside from using …
Moding requied but it’s really usable and some amps sound way better with it than with most attenuators. Some amps have a power scaling on them stock, but those tend to be really boutique. The VVR mod is very usable and pretty cheap and easy to do, does basically what power scaling does – lower the voltage in the amp so you can actually dial in lower wattage. Also you can add different kinds of master vol.on the amp like PPIMV
Aside from using attenuator you can also go a power scaling route!
3 wolf, I bet you …
3 wolf, I bet you like it a whole lot more now
haha from 4:00 his …
haha from 4:00 his guitar strap comes off the guitar…
I like that wolf …
I like that wolf shirt.
Attenuators are …
Attenuators are great things to have for higher wattage amps, but they’re not cheap. The components of any given attenuator costs about $20, but they go for $250+
I highly recommend the Dr. Z Air Brake if you want to go in that direction. I tried using the Hot Plate, but it really muddies up the tone at lower volumes. I sold mine a week after I got it.
Cheers
Great! Thanks and …
Great! Thanks and btw I am enjoying your lessons and videos. Just what I was looking for as I’ve been trying to get the sound and technique down on my own for a while. It helps to have someone who already has it down to help.
@SCoppersmith I’ll …
@SCoppersmith I’ll be addressing multi-channel amps in a future video.
@ZL1LoVeR Thanks, I …
@ZL1LoVeR Thanks, I just added it to that playlist.
@cduggerct1 That’s …
@cduggerct1 That’s exactly the problem i was describing. For that type of amp, there’s no master volume and your only control over distortion is the input volume. This simultaneously drives the preamp and power tubes harder, resulting in massive volume before you hear any distortion. You will need a pedal to generate any usable distortion at low volumes, or an attenuator, which I’ll talk about in the next lesson.
Anthony,
I have a …
Anthony,
I have a twin reverb reissue, with no gain, only volume on the clean and reverb channels. I know I can get distortion through an effects box but without going deaf, how do I get this am to distort? Just guitar volume to max and am volume to 1??
Love the amp but unsure how to deal with the lack of a gain adjustment.
Thanks