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These Go to 11 - The Guitar Amp Thread


dcbc

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1 hour ago, G650 said:

Unpossible.

 

 

Weber makes speaker cable leads, you just insert it between the speaker out and the speakers. Can use it with any conventional attenuator.

I was going to mention putting dummy loads on a couple of the speakers as well.  As the test went, on 3, the dogs stayed in the room.  On 4, they left.

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2 hours ago, G650 said:

 

Well, I play mine between 5 and 7 so I may not be the best person to ask. But you can check out attenuators!

you have been driving earth movers and pile driving foundations for too many decades.  it has killed your hearing. ;) 

 

1 hour ago, Goredho said:

@sidis, if there is a cable between the amp and the speaker, like you would have between a head and external cab, you could insert an attenuator in there as @G650 suggested to let you crank it and saturate all the tubes but keep volume low.  Back when I was recording with real amps, the universal audio ox box was a decent attenuator with a lot of great capabilities for recording.  I ultimately went back to modeling with the AxeFX3, but not because real amps + ox box sucked, but more because I was spending too much on amps.

Have also heard good things about the Suhr reactive load IR box, and it is significantly cheaper, but without as high level an interface for recording.  Like you are working at a lower level with impulse responses with this, but it sounds great in various vids I've seen and was recommended alongside the ox box.

I gravitated towards those because recording was important to me, as I know it is to you.  Both will allow you to crank the amp, but lower the output to the speaker to keep volume down to non-dangerous levels. But you are getting set up to mic cabs and such, so if you are going that route, you might be able to get a straight attenuator with none of the recording features of these at a cheaper price than both.

 

28 minutes ago, dcbc said:

it_might_get_loud_t.jpg?k=8a0b8f1ef7

 

Attenuator probably is your best bet.   You can also run it on 12 if you leave either the power cord or guitar cable unplugged. 

 

I can play mine on 3 and not shake the room, but they are big, loud, 3-D sounding amps, and the LTD (as I mentioned above) is among the louder ones for whatever reason.  You can try running the tone knobs lower . . . maybe?  Plug into the #2 input on whatever channel you're using?  I just play mine loud, honestly.

 

Here's a video of it at what I consider a very reasonable volume.  It really isn't loud at all.  But it starts to wake up at 4. :)  Last trick.  Crank the amp, roll back the guitar volume.

 

Normal channel.  V-3, T-6, B-3, M-12, P12

 

 

thanks guys.  i was being a little hyperbolic but god damn, when i plugged it in the first time, let the tubes warm up, and fired away at 5 and 5, it was a bit uhhh, jarring.

i think a 4 normal, 3 bright, and 5 on the guitar is about the right balance for a clean even tone that fills the house but doesn't get me arrested...but i've only gotten about an hour to mess around thanks to dumbass work.  i'll figure it out this weekend.  the klon klone through it should be interesting.

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1 minute ago, sidis said:

you have been driving earth movers and pile driving foundations for too many decades.  it has killed your hearing. ;) 

 

 

thanks guys.  i was being a little hyperbolic but god damn, when i plugged it in the first time, let the tubes warm up, and fired away at 5 and 5, it was a bit uhhh, jarring.

i think a 4 normal, 3 bright, and 5 on the guitar is about the right balance for a clean even tone that fills the house but doesn't get me arrested...but i've only gotten about an hour to mess around thanks to dumbass work.  i'll figure it out this weekend.  the klon klone through it should be interesting.

Good luck.  I played a 1,200 seat auditorium full of screaming kids with a full band (unmic'd) and, if I recall correctly, I was running into the bright channel with the channels bridged at 5 bright and 4 Normal.  Bass was on 2, and everything else was up past noon.  It was plenty loud.  Kicked on a pair of drives for leads, but, otherwise, it was just guitar and amp.

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  • 1 month later...

That's what I thought. I've been thinking lately I need to add a Vox flavor, I have truckloads of Marshalls and Fenders.

 

Did you play any of the 15 watt Matchlesses or just the 30?

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I played a dc30 at guitar rez I think, but that was it. I do like both channels - I forget the names but like the lightning and the nighthawk (or one of the other 15 watt guys) are the channel 1 and 2 of the amp. And I pretty much always have it on the 15 watt mode, even on Warped Tour or Dallas House of Blues or wherever. It’s loud AF. Heavy AF too. The Swellers borrowed it once and switched it to 30 but he’s more punk rock than I am.

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2 hours ago, Celery Man said:

I played a dc30 at guitar rez I think, but that was it. I do like both channels - I forget the names but like the lightning and the nighthawk (or one of the other 15 watt guys) are the channel 1 and 2 of the amp. And I pretty much always have it on the 15 watt mode, even on Warped Tour or Dallas House of Blues or wherever. It’s loud AF. Heavy AF too. The Swellers borrowed it once and switched it to 30 but he’s more punk rock than I am.

 

Gotcha. I was eyeballing a Laurel Canyon or Lightning. I really love 6V6 amps, but I worry it will lose too much Vox ness that way. Most people say it still chimes but I'm not super confident.

 

I have a hard time believing anyone is more punk rock than you my friend.

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I don’t know a ton about tubes/amps really but I think 12ax7 for top boost, and ef86 is the old school ac30 pre amp tube from the first run of ac30s. That’s channel one and 2 on the Matchless, powered by EL84.

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4 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

I don’t know a ton about tubes/amps really but I think 12ax7 for top boost, and ef86 is the old school ac30 pre amp tube from the first run of ac30s. That’s channel one and 2 on the Matchless, powered by EL84.

Yeah that's the configuration. To my mind, the Vox sound lies in the power section, which is why I think the EL84 is the important part. You really had to get AC30s ripping.

 

There's definitely a school of thought that leans hard on the EF86s though.

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Posted (edited)

the thing about ef86 is supposed to be that they are finicky and highly susceptible to becoming microphonic. Haven’t had a problem with mine yet. I think o have a spar set of tubes, I hopes that still exists somewhere….

one note from chatter in that group, including from Phil Jamison, is that to the degree that there is any “magic” to the Sampson era Matchless amps it is from better tube quality/tube matching.

Edited by Celery Man
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2 minutes ago, Celery Man said:

one note from chatter in that group, including from Phil Jamison, is that to the degree that there is any “magic” to the Sampson era Matchless amps it is from better tube quality/tube matching.

I can definitely buy that. The early 90s really still had a legit stock of tubes. Nowadays not so much. I read something not long ago that something like only 20% of purchased tubes passed screening in the Fender factory.

 

I actually have an a couple EF86 preamps, one's a pretty cool little stand alone that my old friend made for awhile. I think I linked his stuff before, but he still makes a really good clean boost/preamp which is also EF86 based. https://www.nightowl.industries/edison-preamp

 

 

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7 minutes ago, tbone_ said:

On the AC30 discussion, just wanted to add that Brian May has some of the best guitar tone ever produced.

In other news, the sky is indeed blue.

D_7ve6oVUAABCyw.jpg

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