Can You Crank Your Amp?

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

How many of you guys have an opportunity to really open up your amp's volume and hit the sweet spot without the use of an attenuator? I can't do it at home, because my family and neighbors would kill me. I can't do it at the rehearsal space, because I'd drown out everyone else.

(The one exception is my lovely Celtic amp.)

The likely solution for me is a low-wattage amp, but can you really get Marshall/Bogner/Mesa tone from something little like that? Attenuators only reduce the volume slightly before they start squashing tone, so that doesn't strike me as a practical alternative.

Are a lot of you playing big gigs that allow you to blast your Marshalls (or whatever amp it is you're using)?

Frustrated,

Keith

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

Never seen what mine can really do - but my speakers start bottoming out before I get to volume 4 of 10

 

[krall]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

I get to crank it when the wife's not here..Like right now! I cranked my Marshall about an hour ago..It's quite fun..But my ears are still ringing,haha!

 

[lpmarshall]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

I would say I probably top out around 1-2, but that is pretty damn loud. Between 1 and 2 is pretty much the sweet spot, luckily I have an understanding neighbor, who can put up with all the band noise (even though he says he can barely hear it).

 

[ErikH]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

At home, no. With the band, when my Marshall was up and running, I was able to hit the sweet spot regularly, which is about 4-5 on mine. Plenty loud not to drown anyone out yet be heard. Even 3 - 3.5 sounds sweet.

An attenuator is worthless at home because by the time you crank the volume down to usable home levels, it changes everything. An attenuator is best used in a band situation with NMV amps that need to be opened up to give up the goods yet not squash it down so much that it changes everything.

 

[krall]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

I would say I probably top out around 1-2, but that is pretty damn loud. Between 1 and 2 is pretty much the sweet spot, luckily I have an understanding neighbor, who can put up with all the band noise (even though he says he can barely hear it).

I top out at around 4 on the master, any louder the speakers bottom end starts to fart out and I have to decrease the bass to compensate..But I must add that at 4 it's just monstrously loud!

 

[Kac]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

yeah i get a chance to turn mine up quite often. I dime out the master and turn the volume knob to about half and then its ready for whatever with feedback very much available.

Rock On ~ kac

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

Oh, and please mention your post the amp you're using, the wattage, and where you're playing (e.g., bedroom, rehearsal space, garage, amphitheater, etc.).

 

[Kac]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

Fender Blues Jr. w/ Jensen P12N speaker playing in my nice big basement

 

[Tom M]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

I have a Mesa Studio 22, a 22w EL84-powered 1x12 combo from the mid-late '80s. There was once a time I could crank it, and it was a beautiful time. Then my mom stopped working and generally only leaves the house for about an hour a month, when I'm usually in school. So it's been all POD playing for me ever since. It makes me sad, because the amp is awesome. But, being a Mesa, it's a little too loud for everyone's well-being. Sure, I can play it on 1, but its fizzy and flubby and the channel volumes are grossly imbalanced. Once it gets past 3 on the volume, it really opens up.

It's a shame, too. None of the neighbors care how loud I play during the day.

 

[YJM_Rocks]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

When I'm playing with my band, the classic 30 gets up to about 3/4 volume, which means the cleans are no longer clean.

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

Oh, and please mention your post the amp you're using, the wattage, and where you're playing (e.g., bedroom, rehearsal space, garage, amphitheater, etc.).

Blues Junior - Decent amp for the bedroom but it's really riding on the back of the overdrive pedal. In rehearsals it's the perfect amp and will handle gigs without issue. At worst it needs to be miced.

Trace Elliot Velocette - Cut down to Triode and with an overdrive in front of it the amp's still a little big for the bedroom. Depending on things I've used it in both Pentode and Triode in rehearsals. The OD pedals act more like a boost in those situations. Live it rarely needs anything much more than to be on a chair or milk crate.

Deluxe Reverb Reissue - I love this amp but God help me, it's almost totally worthless unless it's in a gig or I'm totally in love with an OD pedal at the time. But man....it has tone for days.

Tweed Champ - Bedroom amp only. Cranked it's slightly out of the bedroom but not enough for a rehearsal.

Everyone has different ideas of what is and what is not acceptable for volume levels. To me a digital amp throttled way down is about what I would feel comfortable playing in the house with others there. I run rehearsals pretty quiet as well; it's the only way I find I can get through a few hours of playing and not want to bag the whole idea of playing electric. And for live I'm a big fan of a good soundguy and letting the PA do the heavy work.

I look at someone like Neil Young that gets this huge monstrous nuclear sound but it's from this small old amp that is, quite simply, being just slammed on the front end. Odds are if it wasn't being miced there would be no way you could even hear the amp at the far end of the venue.

 

[MikeS]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

My DSL 50 is in my friend's basement, which is our rehearsal space. The best tone I ever got out of it was volume set to 5-5.5. That's a ton of volume for a small space. It's now attenuated but sounds no where near as good as it once did, and very very rarely do we get the opportunity to really fire up the big amps.

 

[lpmarshall]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

Basement of my house
Splawn Quickrod 100 watt through a 4x12 Marshall Vintage cab

My amp does have a half power switch, but it doesn't sound as full when it is at full power. The actual volume isn't much different either, so I leave it at the 100 watt setting.

 

[GuitarStv]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

I use my little Mustang el-84 tube amp (7 watts?) when I want to crank things at home, and can crank my Traynor (40 watts) on occasion when I'm playing out and jamming with people. I'm on good terms with my neighbours and will occasionally crank the Traynor on weekends (between 10:00 - 4:00).

 

[JeffB]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

No I can't crank my amp. Sometimes during the day I can get some good volume when no neighbors are around (live in a Condo/townhouse). But I got rid of my tube amps because of that. My 1987, my F50, My Rivera...all sold. And I pretty much hate pedals as a distortion channel, so that wasn't an option. Off to modelleres I go.

I first tried the POD XTL/Atomic, and that was decent,tried the Tonelab SE and atomic and that was attrocious...

In the end I went with the Valvetronix AD15VT and it has been a godsend. Cranked Marshall 800 tone at very low levels. Set volume/b/m/t on 10. Gain wherever you like and then use the master to control volume level. Sounds excellent...at 8 oclock on the MV or wherever. Tone controls around 1 oclock sounds good for higher volumes. The 800 model really responds like the real thing when doing the "all on 10" trick. very cool. Goose with a tubescreamer type for extremely low volumes and it sounds great too.

 

[JfromHouston]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

I crank my little bumbox Lead One all the time. Gain at 4-6 and volume around 9 :bigok: It still gets pretty loud for 1 watt though

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

ya i used to be able to crank my 5150 head a fair bit.. some shows outdoors i had it half way open.... ha ha ha.... on 5 it starts to come alive.... makes me wonder what 8 would feel like...

as much as i love buying loud stacks, heads and cabs i really don't get to use them much now i'm bandless

 

[jeremy]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

all my guitar amps are under 30w now, i used to use marshall half stacks and 100w fender twins. they are great amps but since i dont play anywhere i can crank up even a 50w marshall, it doesnt make sense for me to have em anymore.

 

[More-Gear-Than-Skill]

Re: Can You Crank Your Amp?

Well, i have a few amps and they all generally fail to get to their sweet spots.

64 Showman! A weapon that would give the flapping trousers effect at 6 paces. Luckily it sounds so lovely clean from about 1.5. Always yummy, would love to crank it, but they'd not even bother with the police, they'd call the military! I use it in my living room/recording studio, in a house. 85 watts?

Vox, AC15cc1x, Sweet amp, i can crank it a bit, in the day. It rattles the windows. But no, in general, i can't hammer it. 15 watts

H & K tube 20, use it at work. At night when the office is cleared off, i can crank it, and i do. 20 watts, 2 x el84

Ax84 home brew 5 watter, cranked always. Surpisingly loud, home, rattles windows too.

Laney VC15, crankable 10 inch speaker. Nice!