Monoprice 15W / Harley Benton Tube15 / Laney Cub 12 Volume issue

[Reichbaum]

I just got a brand new Harley Benton Tube15, which is a rebranded Monoprice amp which was a rebranded Laney Cub 12. My problem is when I try to play clean through the amp with the gain turned all the way down I get little to no volume, until the volume knob turned is close to all the way up, and even then it's pretty low. (This is using the 15w "channel") When I turn the gain up to 2 the volume gets much louder, but of course this isn't the clean sound I'm looking for. Is this an issue with the amp or a problem with my specific amp? Any tips?

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Monoprice 15W / Harley Benton Tube15 / Laney Cub 12 Volume issue

This sounds normal, so
The gain is like a preamp power control, at minimum there's just not enough signal going to the power tubes to do anything until you set the main volume knob up high. The volume knob controls the power tubes in a nutshell.

Sounds like a lot of tube amps where the gain from the amp sometimes comes in substantially and suddenly, sometimes it's the taper ofhe potentiometer the used for the control, sometimes it's the circuit, sometimes it's both


Hard to say if it's normal operation for your amp though
When you say low volume, do you mean still like below people talking? Or like loud enough to hear yourself an a small room but not with a band?
Could be you have failing tubes put could be just the normal operation of that amp

My main amp is 12w and by the time I could hear myself with a soft drummer, my humbucker cause it to break up a lot. That's with the only volume knob I have on 3
Nature of low wattage

 

[Reichbaum]

Re: Monoprice 15W / Harley Benton Tube15 / Laney Cub 12 Volume issue

I mean you can barely hear the guitar until the volume is up to 8. Even in a small, quiet room. It definitely seems too low for a 15w amp...

This sounds normal, so
The gain is like a preamp power control, at minimum there's just not enough signal going to the power tubes to do anything until you set the main volume knob up high. The volume knob controls the power tubes in a nutshell.

Sounds like a lot of tube amps where the gain from the amp sometimes comes in substantially and suddenly, sometimes it's the taper ofhe potentiometer the used for the control, sometimes it's the circuit, sometimes it's both


Hard to say if it's normal operation for your amp though
When you say low volume, do you mean still like below people talking? Or like loud enough to hear yourself an a small room but not with a band?
Could be you have failing tubes put could be just the normal operation of that amp

My main amp is 12w and by the time I could hear myself with a soft drummer, my humbucker cause it to break up a lot. That's with the only volume knob I have on 3
Nature of low wattage

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Monoprice 15W / Harley Benton Tube15 / Laney Cub 12 Volume issue

I have my guitar pickups on my Gibson LP
Set a bit high

With the guitar volume cranked I get a nice drive sound
And it cleans up nicely when I roll the volume on the guitar back

Maybe the guitar is distorting the input

 

[FuseG4]

Re: Monoprice 15W / Harley Benton Tube15 / Laney Cub 12 Volume issue

If you just got it and there's any way to exchange it I might try that, that should clear up any doubt
Not the most convenient thing but
Then you'd know

 

[aiaosu]

Re: Monoprice 15W / Harley Benton Tube15 / Laney Cub 12 Volume issue

This sounds normal, so
The gain is like a preamp power control, at minimum there's just not enough signal going to the power tubes to do anything until you set the main volume knob up high. The volume knob controls the power tubes in a nutshell.

Sounds like a lot of tube amps where the gain from the amp sometimes comes in substantially and suddenly, sometimes it's the taper ofhe potentiometer the used for the control, sometimes it's the circuit, sometimes it's both


Hard to say if it's normal operation for your amp though
When you say low volume, do you mean still like below people talking? Or like loud enough to hear yourself an a small room but not with a band?
Could be you have failing tubes put could be just the normal operation of that amp

My main amp is 12w and by the time I could hear myself with a soft drummer, my humbucker cause it to break up a lot. That's with the only volume knob I have on 3
Nature of low wattage

I agree with this. I had a similar issue with a Bassbreaker 007 I had. No sound with gain all the way down. As you start turning up the gain, there's little clean headroom. Cleans were dirty clean. I'm guessing that's the way it is going to be with your amp.

If there's no tube or amp issues, you can change the preamp tubes from 12ax7 to something like a 5751 but you run the risk of changing the sound of the amp in general.

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Monoprice 15W / Harley Benton Tube15 / Laney Cub 12 Volume issue

Gain on a modern amp is the same control as volume on a non-master volume amp. Turn the “volume” or “master” to full, then it’s similar to a non-master amp. Use the Gain as your volume.

I don’t know anything about this amp, but a lot of low wattage amps are marketed for high gain at low volume. If master on full and gain on 2 is still distorted, you might be able to swap out the preamp tube (12AX7) for a 5751, 12AY7, or 12AT7. This should give a little more headroom.

 

[Reichbaum]

Re: Monoprice 15W / Harley Benton Tube15 / Laney Cub 12 Volume issue

If master on full and gain on 2 is still distorted, you might be able to swap out the preamp tube (12AX7) for a 5751, 12AY7, or 12AT7. This should give a little more headroom.

Thanks for this suggestion! Would you replace all 3 preamp tubes, or just V1?

 

[PFDarkside]

Re: Monoprice 15W / Harley Benton Tube15 / Laney Cub 12 Volume issue

Thanks for this suggestion! Would you replace all 3 preamp tubes, or just V1?

I am by no means an expert like others are, I’d grab a few tubes and try them in V1.

 

[Gtrjunior]

Re: Monoprice 15W / Harley Benton Tube15 / Laney Cub 12 Volume issue

I’m also no expert but I would just change V1 as well