How loud could a fully upgraded amp get??

[Quencho092]

I was just wondering. If you rigged an amp with very efficient speakers, and the most efficient transformers possible, how much louder could it get?

Like say a deluxe reverb rigged with all the biggest trannies and a Celestion Alnico Gold. Could this kind of amp contend with 2x6L6 and 4x6L6 type amps? This is a theoretical type question. An amp like this that sounds good and is that loud could be a godsend for anyone with a bad back and needs the juice.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: How loud could a fully upgraded amp get??

You have to keep in mind that a deluxe reverb is already running just about as hot as possible and adding a SS rec is just pushing a bit more...if you want "more" you really need to look at another amp.

You could put bigger trannys in a Deluxe Reverb, like say the trannys out of a Bandmaster, put in 2 6L6's and a higher powered speaker and have a 35 or so watt Deluxe Reverb or a 1x12 Bandmaster w/ verb...whichever way you want to look at it.

What speaker are you running now and what do you want to make the amp do that it's not doing right now?

 

[Scott_F]

Re: How loud could a fully upgraded amp get??

If you look at the circuits, there's not much difference in our favorite fender blackface era amps. It's all about different speaker configs and different output sizes.

If you took a DR and put a larger set of trannies in it, then you'd be able to run 6L6/5881 type tubes. Guess what. You're now in Pro Reverb territory.

As illustrated in the thread about a potential Tremolux clone I started, once you get away from those 6V6's and their very characteristic melt-down, you get away from what you love about your Deluxe Reverb! (or in some others' case... the beloved tremolux)

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: How loud could a fully upgraded amp get??

All true...thats why I am wondering what Quencho is really looking for...

If you just want more clean headroom and volume to be honest the best thing to do is let go of the Deluxe reverb and get a higherpowered amp...like I said in my post a Deluxe Reverb is running about as hard as possible in stock form.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: How loud could a fully upgraded amp get??

It's not so much what it's not doing, but making what it's currently doing better. (if that makes any sense!) I dig the sound, i dig the headroom...the only thing that i'm not digging is how hot the amp runs, literally.

It'd be nice to know that the amp is not running close to meltdown ALL the time. I'm not doing this as a 'tone mongering quest', i just need the amp to work within safe limits so i could gig with it and rehearse without the damn thing melting, and if upgrading those things results in a tighter, stronger sound, so be it.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: How loud could a fully upgraded amp get??

Different transformers are gonna make little difference in the heat issue...Im gonna be honest...running a SS rec is just not a good idea on those amps. A Deluce Reverb runs over 400 volts on the power tubes as is with a tube rec...running a SS rec is gonna make those voltages ever higher making the amp run even harder.

If you want to make the amp a little louder a more efficent speaker could help...what's in there now?

 

[Scott_F]

Re: How loud could a fully upgraded amp get??

A speaker that is just 3 db more efficient can make a 22 wtt amp sound like a 40 watt one.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: How loud could a fully upgraded amp get??

A speaker that is just 3 db more efficient can make a 22 wtt amp sound like a 40 watt one.

Thats the point I was gonna make...and thats one of the reasons that a G12H30 in a Deluxe Reverb is a GREAT speaker...it has fuller mids than most american speakers, it has added bottom that a 1x12 often lacks plus it fairly efficent at 100db's. All that together makes for a killer 1x12...

 

[Quencho092]

Re: How loud could a fully upgraded amp get??

C12K, and i am a BIG advocate of the speaker efficiency issue. It came stock with the amp, and the sensitivity is about 98db.

Anything that can produce a good clean sound, at a high sensitivity is in my ball park. I like the concept of the neo speakers by celestion, but they are damn expensive, and many say that they sound sterile. The problem is that i cant try out the speakers before i buy them, so i need to hit the nail on the head. as long as it's not an 'instant breakup' type of a speaker, I'm good for anything that sounds good.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: How loud could a fully upgraded amp get??

Some guys like the NEO speaker but IMO they sound like crap.

The jensen is a good speaker but a G12H30 or a Vintage 30 n that amp woudl fill out the mods a bit and both of those are rated at 100db...it's only a 2db differnece but it'll help make you a tad louder. If yuou are gonna crank the amp most if not all the time I would opt for the Vintage 30 as it's rated at 60 watts...

 

[Rich_S]

Re: How loud could a fully upgraded amp get??

If you're looking for maximun volume out of your Deluxe, the Eminence Wizard sound a lot like a G12H-30, but is is rated at 103 dB.

 

[the guy who invented fire]

Re: How loud could a fully upgraded amp get??

...103db's! WOW!!!

 

[Scott_F]

Re: How loud could a fully upgraded amp get??

The difference between 98 and 103 is staggering. Now, the question then becomes if we trust Emminence's rating system. But, it's a relative gauge for their stuff and that might be what counts.

 

[Quencho092]

Re: How loud could a fully upgraded amp get??

woazers that is pretty intense.

Im surprised that a speaker like the commonwealth 12 with that huge of a magnet can't touch that efficiency. Does magnet size affect a combination of efficiency and HEADROOM? This is a difficult choice all of the sudden!

And yes, at that efficiency, it sounds like one hell of a deal, but does it break up early enough to compromise my clean sound?