who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

  • i keep them all on 10 too

    Votes: 3 10.7%
  • i adjust the EQ and other settings

    Votes: 25 89.3%

  • Total voters
    28

esandes

Well-known member
call me crazy but every single amp i've used i kept the knobs all at 10, except for say pre-amp gain and master volume.

i'm under the opinion that reducing the settings from 10 just takes away from the tone.

discuss.
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

It depends on whether the amp has:
passive eq
active eq
pre preamp eq
post preamp eq
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

The last time I did that, a drummer told me my guitar sounded like a dying cat. But that could have been the Peavey Century sold state head from the late 70's I was playing.
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

depending on what the amp is, there is alot of validity to what our canadian bro said. on most amps the eq causes a serious drop in level 30 dB or more in blackface/silverface fender type amps for example. i often run the controls as high as possible, with the bass control being the exception on fender amps, too high and the bottom end gets indistinct which i cant stand.
when i still had my marshalls i did the "marshall roll" and pinned everything. bass, middle, treble, volume all on 10. you have to be a little careful since this can cause some parasitic feedback/noise problems on the older plexis. the presance works in the neg feedback loop so its a little different, in general i dont like presance controls and neg feedback has its place but more times than not i prefer the tone without it.

getting back to the fender thing, i modded my deluxe reverbs normal channel by bypassing the eq and just shelving up the bass so it isnt farty and even though it has only two gain stages vs. the vibrato channels three it sounds way gainier (and fatter and thicker oh my!).

putting the eq full up causes the least amount of loss in most passive circuts, especially those with fewer gain stages before the eq. many of the more modern designs use the tone controls in an interactive manner with the volume so if you have the eq set low and volume high you can still get a cleaner tone while raising the eq significantly will push the gain considerably
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

I usually start with the knobs in the middle and adjust to taste from there. If some of the frequencies are being cut, so be it, I still go by how it sounds and if I like that or not. I've never gotten a satisfactory result (to my ears) with all the knobs up full-blast.
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

getting back to the fender thing, i modded my deluxe reverbs normal channel by bypassing the eq and just shelving up the bass so it isnt farty and even though it has only two gain stages vs. the vibrato channels three it sounds way gainier (and fatter and thicker oh my!).

Could you please expand on this? I have bought a FM212R which is one of Fender's cheap solid state blackface type amps. I bought it because I was no longer going through the house system at church, so I needed a bigger amp, but couldn't afford the one I really wanted.:blackeye:
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

One of my favourite POD XT presets that I made is a Matchless DC-30 with every knob dimed. With a teeny bit of Tube Screamer, it is an awesome blues or rock lead tone! My solo on the Forum Blues in A thing from a while back was done with that tone.

I don't think I would ever do that 100% of the time though. I like the ability to sculpt the tone.
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

On Marshalls...NMV or 2203/2204....diming everything is a glorious thing! Great sound and the way ALOT of guys play/ed them. On a 2203/2204 it really "tightens up"...But I wouldn't do it with certain speakers.

On my 1987x I used to set the Volume up around 2-3 oclock. Mids around 1. Bass around 11, treble and presence around 1-2 oclock..plugged into the bright/high gain input. Then goosed it for leads.

Yeah..it was loud :laugh2: at home I used the powerbrake.

On everything else I tend to go with neutralish settings and then just dialing in a little with everything where it needs to be...pends on the amp.
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

Could you please expand on this? I have bought a FM212R which is one of Fender's cheap solid state blackface type amps. I bought it because I was no longer going through the house system at church, so I needed a bigger amp, but couldn't afford the one I really wanted.:blackeye:

on the normal channel basically from the input jack the signal goes to the first gain stage, then the volume control then to the second triode of the first preamp tube then to the driver and output section. i use a .01 mallory 150 for the bass shelving cap if i remember correctly and i upped the values to get a little more juice ala matchless in their preamp design.

i dont think you could do this on a solid state amp but im sure you could on a pc board tube amp
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

I'm able to do that with my Matchless Chieftain, and it really brings out the harmonic content and gain, even though I usually just turn knobs till the particular guitar sounds it's best.

On the Bogner Ecstasy, it's designed almost like a mixing board. 12 O'Clock is the prime spot for every knob on the amp. From there, you're adding or subtracting. If I did the "Marshall roll" (diming everything with a sweep of the hand) on that amp, it'd sound like a bass amp ready to explode.
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

Depends...I deal with a lot of solid state stuff..

On my Marshall MG head, everything sounded great on 10 but on my peavey transtube...well..somehow the sound was more natural for rhythm with treble and mids at 0 and bass at 5.

My main sound now, From my Rocktron Rampage, needs to be adjusted, It's great sound but There's just TOO MUCH if everything is on 10
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

My NMV volume amp, Volume = Full, Bass = Noon, Treble = 3/4 to full. Its a simple amp, and I love it.
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

I dimed the controls on an old Marshall 50 watt 2x12 I had and it sounded good.....I would never do it on a Boogie.
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

I usually start with the knobs in the middle and adjust to taste from there. If some of the frequencies are being cut, so be it, I still go by how it sounds and if I like that or not. I've never gotten a satisfactory result (to my ears) with all the knobs up full-blast.

+1 This is my M.O.

Or sometimes, I'll knock them all to 0 & then one at a time, start increasing them just to see how much of a difference each makes.

Then trim to taste :D
 
Last edited:
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

I am so gonna do a Marshall roll next time the missus goes out. :smokin:
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

Depends on the amp. Therefore I'm forced to say (yet again) that this poll is pants. :13:
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

I have bass around 3, mids around 7, treble around 7 always. Gain at whatever it needs to be at. My amp is WAY to bass heavy though, so even 2-3 is a lot. I like mids though, and I don't play loud enough for the treble to get annoying.
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

+1 This is my M.O.

Or sometimes, I'll knock them all to 0 & then one at a time, start increasing them just to see how much of a difference each makes.

Then trim to taste :D

i think there are two types of sound production (even applied to producers)
1) start 0 and increase
2) start 10 and decrease

either way sounds completely different from eachother.
 
Re: who else keeps everything to 10 except maybe volume?

Presence = 10
Bass = 10
Mids = 10
Treble = 10
Volume = 10


...and I wouldn't have it any other way :)
 
Back
Top