|
That looks to be a very good option although I'd have to opt for the higher model as my amp is 50 TOOB watts.
|
#
?
May 1, 2017 04:55
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 24, 2024 20:04 |
|
|
syntaxfunction posted:That looks to be a very good option although I'd have to opt for the higher model as my amp is 50 TOOB watts. I have the Mass Lite on the way (not the mini mass as I had stated earlier) for my 50W combo. Doing about the same exact thing as you. The bonus is that I can use it as a silent load box or actually attenuate and crank my pre+power amp with a lower volume going to the speaker.
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2017 05:03
|
|
|
I've had good results with the Rivera Recording attenuator, though they aren't cheap.
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2017 07:57
|
|
|
Just got the Attenuator in and unfortunately I'm not that impressed. I have no previous experience with attenuators and minimal experience with cranked tube amps and the supposed "Sweet spot" to run them at. The construction is solid as gently caress and it looks well made. Even has a speaker inside (with no cone) that acts as the load. Pretty nifty. It even sounded great attenuated. I'm not knocking the attenuator here. The thing that didn't wow me was my amps cranked volume. Personally, my amp sounded just fine with the volume on 2-3. I didn't feel like I was robbed any precious tones. Its probably the amp too because I've played a blues JR that didn't sound as great at low volumes. The drive channel on my amp was really touch sensitive even at low volumes so I feel I'm pretty much covered. I'll be selling the Mass Lite if your interested Syntax. 
|
|
#
?
May 1, 2017 22:51
|
|
|
Long-rear end effortpost about attenuators, skip if you don't give a gently caress. I've used a couple different ones (Hot Plate, Rivera Recording) on a bunch of different amps. Whether an amp needs one or not depends a lot on the amp and the sound you're trying to get out of it. In general, the more an amp is built to use preamp distortion, often the less you'll need an attenuator. Amps that I've found this to be true include Laneys, Orange Thunderverbs, various Engls, Mesa Mk III. All are built to give lots of control over the gain and I've found attenuators to make them a little friendlier, but not enough to be worth bothering with. These amps are all (mostly) about preamp distortion. My guess is your Carvin is pretty well-behaved and controllable (that's what I remember of the one I tried) and might not benefit that much. And I know my Laney AORs don't sound good with the volume over about 8. Amps built to be balanced around preamp gain can be fussier. That said, you can still get poweramp distortion out of them with an attenuator and the right settings. Other amps that don't really need attenuators: tube amps you intend to play clean. For me this includes all Fenders I've tried as well as an Orange OR-120 that I just prefer the sound of clean (with a low-gain tube in V1). Using these as pedal platforms, an attenuator is of minimal help, though they will help you get past that really awkward thin sound some have at low volumes. Fenders in particular can sound like rear end below a certain level, though it works pretty well to just turn it up, then run a volume pedal in front of it to keep it from being too loud. Amps that do get great benefit out of attenuators, I've found, are ones that you're not getting preamp distortion from, because either they don't have a preamp gain and master volume control setup, or because you're running the master flat out and using the preamp as a volume knob. In this case you're after power tube saturation, and an attenuator will be useful. I have this experience on Marshalls (2204 with the master on 10, 1959 which is non-MV). I'd probably give that a shot on your Carvin before you dump the Weber, just to see. Use the clean channel or keep the drive low on the soak channel, let the power tubes do their thing. As an example of what I'm talking about, at least on an EL34 Marshall, consider AC/DC as the general sound of preamp distortion, and the opening to this as poweramp distortion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8C-DP18-6g I'm not sure what the corresponding comparison is for EL84s like in your Nomad. tl;dr: your amp probably doesn't need an attenuator, but the clean channel might sound pretty cool with one.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2017 01:18
|
|
|
Gorgar posted:Long-rear end effortpost about attenuators, skip if you don't give a gently caress. I've used a couple different ones (Hot Plate, Rivera Recording) on a bunch of different amps. Whether an amp needs one or not depends a lot on the amp and the sound you're trying to get out of it. Nice post man. Interesting stuff. I tried the poo poo out of the Carvin with the Weber just to see if there was any reason I should keep it. Definitely tried the clean and drive channels on max and and everywhere in between it still didn't give me anything better to my ears than the drive channel did on its own or my Zvex Distortron pedal did in front of the clean channel. I'm definitely more about having a nice loud clean to run some pedals through occasionally so an attenuator probably wasn't right for me from the start. It was still cool as poo poo to try. The clean channel maxed through the attenuator gave a different flavor of drive altogether but it wasn't something I was crazy about. It was kind of in that "Spirit in the sky" area. I'm not chasing any specific tones but I definitely like the general AC/DC sound better than the other clip you sent so it seems like preamp gain is more my cup of tea anyways. I got into this whole attenuator thing thinking I would get a better feel with the tubes cooking and on the verge of breakup but the dynamic character of it wasn't greatly improved enough to justify the $160. Plus I bought the Weber before the amp arrived thinking there's no way I can get good sound at room volumes with a 50 watt amp, but that totally wasn't the case with this particular amp. Loving the Carvin so far btw. Totally different feel than my Roland. It's nice to be back in guitar zone. I feel like my roland jc was making me play more like a bass player. It sounded great with thumpy, staccato lows but not so great on higher notes with any sustain. I might try a speaker swap on the Carvin to get a fuller range sound and some more headroom out of it. Thinking an EVM-12L might fit the bill. Going to give myself more time with the stock speaker in different settings (and try it with a band a handful of times too) before I move on anything. Will be keeping an eye out for deals though!
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2017 02:25
|
|
|
Appreciate the offer on the Weber but I lack funds right now to do anything. Interesting posts on it though, I always assumed (because internet) that running power tubes cranked always sounded better. The more you know. What's the deal with that Carvin by the way? I probably missed the conversation. Based on anything in particular? Looks like it's going for a tweed sort of thing.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2017 03:11
|
|
|
philkop posted:Loving the Carvin so far btw. Totally different feel than my Roland. It's nice to be back in guitar zone. I feel like my roland jc was making me play more like a bass player. It sounded great with thumpy, staccato lows but not so great on higher notes with any sustain. I get that, though I also find the JC good at transients, sort of like a Martin guitar. With the chorus on, anything you do that's in key and in time will sound really nice. More notes = more better. Add delay. It's not so much the amp for wailing leads, though a sustainy guitar helps, and so does a fuzz. Anyway, glad you're happy with the Nomad. Sounds like a pretty decent amp, and a good change, especially if out of the box it does a lot of what you want to do.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2017 03:22
|
|
|
syntaxfunction posted:Appreciate the offer on the Weber but I lack funds right now to do anything. Interesting posts on it though, I always assumed (because internet) that running power tubes cranked always sounded better. The more you know. even preamp gain focused amps with clean power sections like mesas and 5150s sound better when they're pushed a little. mesas in particular kinda sound like poo poo at anything less than window rattling volume, that just happens to be about 3-4 on the master
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2017 03:58
|
|
|
syntaxfunction posted:What's the deal with that Carvin by the way? I probably missed the conversation. Based on anything in particular? Looks like it's going for a tweed sort of thing. From what I've read its kind of a sound of its own, not voiced fendery or anything else for that matter. Great cleans though. I haven't played enough of the classic amps to tell you first hand what it resembles. Its got 4 EL84 with 512ax7s if that means anything. I spend most of my time playing clean with a loop pedal and do a lot of layered guitar stuff. It handles it really well without getting muddy. I have a bass rolloff knob on my guitar though so that really helps me take off a huge amount of low end or high end when I want to and sort of mix myself in the moment. I'm currently limiting myself to a one pickup guitar and really exploring the differences you can get just by altering your playing style and technique (and of course my two band eq + volume knob on the guitar.) Not sure how long I'll spend with this setup but I'm really like the psuedo bridge sounds I can coax out of it by scraping near the bridge or the thick neck pickup like sounds I can get by fingerpicking above the fretboard. I was looking for an amp that helped with that kind of subtlety and its doing a great job so far.  The pickup is some gold foil that I only tried because it was 1/4"thick and I could surface mount it onto another guitar build I was working on at the time. I'd never really heard of or cared about gold foils. Turned out to be one of my favorite pickups so I built this guitar around it. I really dig how microphonic and almost acoustic like it is. I've tried all kinds of piezo configurations for years to get that kind of acoustic quality but this pickup brought me there quicker than anything else. The Carvin has an "acoustic presence" knob on the back that's said to open up the frequencies well up to 12K. It is subtle, but it helps the cleans get a little extra shimmer. philkop fucked around with this message at 04:30 on May 2, 2017 |
|
#
?
May 2, 2017 04:20
|
|
|
  was practicing when my preamp just stopped working totally. That cap is on the preamp board so I am guessing that is the issue? I have never seen one melt like that, they usually just bulge right?Plugged straight into the power section and it works fine so the Issue is definitely before that stage. Going to order a replacement cap today but I have no idea what could have caused it to melt like that
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2017 13:15
|
|
|
Smash it Smash hit posted:I have never seen one melt like that, they usually just bulge right? Usually, but stranger things have happened.
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2017 21:50
|
|
|
Yeah, well i teated the cap and it seems to be holding a charge and drain slow. I haven't messed with the preamp tubes because seeing that it was my first inclination. Hopefully that will fix it, either way I have a new cap otw
|
|
#
?
May 2, 2017 22:42
|
|
|
So I'm going to be getting a new guitar and amp. I think I like the Vox AC15VR and AC30VR amps. Both are potentially in my price range, but obviously the 15 is more so. I'm not going to be playing any shows or recording at least not any time soon, so is the 15 a good bedroom amp?
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2017 16:00
|
|
|
Tbh, if I were going for a new Vox around that price range. I would try and go for one of their all-tube offerings (i.e. the AC4 series or the AC10). I haven't really heard any anecdotes of somebody being satisfied with a hybrid amp that didn't use modelling as well (e.g. Fender's Super Champ X2). Plus the AC4 series should be more managable at bedroom volumes; since the AC4TV has a built in attinuator, and the rest have master volumes. I have personal experience with the AC4C1-BL (aka the one with the blue tolex) and it's a genuinely good amp. I can manage the volume well, and I love it's driven sound. Only issue is if you're planning on using it as a clean pedal platform, since it wants to colour your sound a lot. That said, I like using pedals with it so take that with a grain of salt. Some people seem to like the AC4C1-12 (aka the one with a 12" speaker) better, but it depends on how much you value bass or "oomph" in your tone. If you want more reccomendations, feel free to give any details. Things like genres you're planning on playing, features you want or need, price, or whether you're planning on using pedals to shape your sound.
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2017 21:37
|
|
|
Thanks for the input, I'm not really married to Vox either so if there's something around a similar size and similar price range I'd be down for looking into it. I've been playing a lot of nirvana, but in general I'm into any sort of rock and wouldn't mind learning some blues or anything really. Id like to keep it around $500 with maybe a pedal or 2. I have a Boss DS-1 pedal right now and I'll be buying an HSS MIM strat. Stupid Post Maker fucked around with this message at 21:59 on May 3, 2017 |
|
#
?
May 3, 2017 21:57
|
|
|
Stupid Post Maker posted:Thanks for the input, I'm not really married to Vox either so if there's something around a similar size and similar price range I'd be down for looking into it. jet city jca 2212c
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2017 22:44
|
|
|
You should check out an Orange OR15 I've been in love with mine for years. It's like a Vox/Marshall hybrid with the usual Orange flavor. It's a super straightforward simple amp with no frills, just great tone. 7/15 watt option and sounds fine at bedroom volume but can get ridiculously loud for 15 watts. e: it is a head only by the way, I realized you're probably looking for a combo
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2017 01:34
|
|
|
Something that's towards the high end of your budget is the Orange CR60C. It's solid-state, but it has been really well received; it's high-gain sound is kinda fuzz-y which is good for grunge, but the lower gain sounds will still work well for classic rock and blues. Plus the clean channel is also great so it'll definitely handle whatever kind of music that you'll want to put through it. Plus it looks hella cool. 
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2017 03:23
|
|
|
Stupid Post Maker posted:Thanks for the input, I'm not really married to Vox either so if there's something around a similar size and similar price range I'd be down for looking into it. Fender Super Champ! Granted mine had some weird issues recently that fixed themselves but I still never figured out what they were. Great sounding amp you could find used for less than $200. Great clean channel and some nice flavors of drive on the dirt channel. The clean channel takes pedals well too. If your going full on bedroom/practice mode, the Yamaha THR series amazing for a little desktop amp and it gets louder and fuller sounding than you think. Great for spur of the moment couch jams! I just wish it had a line out. philkop fucked around with this message at 16:54 on May 4, 2017 |
|
#
?
May 4, 2017 16:51
|
|
|
I have a quick pedal/chain question that's more of an amp question. I'm putting together a pedalboard some pedals that will run into the front of the amp and some that will go into the fx loop. Is there any actual reasons I shouldn't run some effects in the loop? I have a compressor I'd like to run in the loop so its after my amps drive. Hell I'd even like to throw my wah pedal in the loop because I like that "filter everything" sound. I've heard of people blowing out the power amps, but from what I gather as long I keep the levels about unity, I should be ok right?
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2017 19:05
|
|
|
philkop posted:I have a quick pedal/chain question that's more of an amp question. There's no reason from a safety standpoint as far as I'm aware that you can't run everything in the loop if you keep gain at safe levels. I've run small boosts or volume pedals there fairly successfully. I don't generally use compressors in the effects loop though, because guitar amplifier distortion already causes plenty of compression for me, and if you want to use it as tool to shape your distorted sound, you want it pre-distortion. I play high-gain music though, so you probably have something else in mind as a goal. If for instance, you want your clean and dirt tones at the same volume on a single channel, running effects-loop compression will do what you want.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2017 19:19
|
|
|
You should be ok. I've run distortion, eq, volume, boost in the loop to change the character of the amp. Wah in the loop is a new one on me, but effects in the loop are more pronounced, so you should get what you want out of it. I might have to try that. Of course, this assumes a series loop. Lately I've been getting into the parallel loop on my OR-120, which lets me use pedals that normally change my sound too much, but in parallel they just add to it and don't take over so much. Works really well with the MXR Sub Machine.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2017 20:12
|
|
|
Octatonic posted:If for instance, you want your clean and dirt tones at the same volume on a single channel, running effects-loop compression will do what you want. That sounds cool. Like a master limiter. I actually have a dynacomp at the front of my chain as a boost into my drives. I use it more of an effect and less of an actual compressor though. Its fun to really get the drives saturated and almost into fuzz/synthy territory but that's not usually what I use. What I am hoping to achieve, or rather, trying to avoid is having a compressor in front of my amps drive channel limiting the dynamic range of my distortion. The hope is that running it in the loop will be much like running comp after a drive pedal. I can still pick harder to drive harder but the overall levels will stay kind of similar. Giving it a more dynamic feel. Def going to play around with it when I get home. Just wanted to confirm it wouldn't gently caress up my power amp. I'll try to keep the gain around the same with or without the pedal.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2017 20:18
|
|
|
Gorgar posted:Wah in the loop is a new one on me I listen to a decent amount of electronic, and while its not quite the same, my natural inclination for filters to be post everything. I like that club pumping down the street low pass sound. Wah at the end feels like that sometimes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yca6UsllwYs plus in a mix it acts almost like a volume pedal/wah pedal since you kind of loose the sound of the wah in heel position. Just a fun and different way to approach wahs. Even with loads of drive. It's cool because the wah kind of softens the drive when you get lower so coupled with the perceived (and possibly actual) dip in volume, you get some neat vocally swells. Oh and you can leave the wah cocked in different positions to get that really notched drive sound. Almost like a band pass.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2017 20:28
|
|
|
Capacitor is working. When I run premap into another amp it works. When I run another amp's pramp into the power amp it works (though about half power but it was doing that before the amp stopped working). If i plug striaght into the amp there is absolutely no sound. Any ideas? I am thinking the problem is probablys where near the EFX loop?
|
|
#
?
May 5, 2017 13:34
|
|
|
Smash it Smash hit posted:Capacitor is working. When I run premap into another amp it works. When I run another amp's pramp into the power amp it works (though about half power but it was doing that before the amp stopped working). If i plug striaght into the amp there is absolutely no sound. Any ideas? I am thinking the problem is probablys where near the EFX loop? Low effort suggestion since I honestly just don't know, but: See if the amp has any funky smells like a burnt part. Smell the burnt cap and look for a different burnt smell in the amp. Might be another blown component somewhere in there.
|
|
#
?
May 6, 2017 20:14
|
|
|
Also try running the amp with a patch cable to jump the preamp and the power amp sections Unrelated, I keep switching amps to keep up with my bassist and I'm really hoping this is the last one. JSX 120 (active EQ not working for me) -> Traynor YBA1 (preamp too gainy) -> Carvin x100b (hopefully this is the one)
|
|
#
?
May 9, 2017 05:01
|
|
|
Smash it Smash hit posted:Capacitor is working. When I run premap into another amp it works. When I run another amp's pramp into the power amp it works (though about half power but it was doing that before the amp stopped working). If i plug striaght into the amp there is absolutely no sound. Any ideas? I am thinking the problem is probablys where near the EFX loop? What kind of amp is this again? I can look at the circuit for you.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2017 15:28
|
|
|
Declan MacManus posted:Also try running the amp with a patch cable to jump the preamp and the power amp sections I went through a similar arms race with a band I was in some years ago. Part of the problem was that we were practicing in a huge factory building. I don't know how many square feet, but it was probably around 8,000. Open floor plan. So needless to say, in order for things to sound "right" the amps kept getting bigger and louder. At the end I was playing a '72 SVT and the guitarist was playing the loudest Traynor I have ever heard. The irony was when we played a show it was invariably in somebody's tiny basement or tiny bar, and we'd show up with enough gear to play Shea stadium.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2017 15:32
|
|
|
I think it's a shame that amplifier trends have been the result of a) the now dated but one time essential requirement of more volume needed to fit guitar into a live band and b) the psychological effect of louder giving the impression of sounding better. It's so goofy how there are bar bands out everywhere with half stacks blasting 100 watts. Musicians, specifically guitarists, have always had the most uneven bizarre view of quality.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2017 20:40
|
|
|
"Hot" take here: Lack of knowledge about PA's and house sound often influences said bizarre views.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2017 21:22
|
|
|
Kilometers Davis posted:I think it's a shame that amplifier trends have been the result of a) the now dated but one time essential requirement of more volume needed to fit guitar into a live band and b) the psychological effect of louder giving the impression of sounding better. It's so goofy how there are bar bands out everywhere with half stacks blasting 100 watts. Musicians, specifically guitarists, have always had the most uneven bizarre view of quality. Trends? Everywhere I look I see lunchbox and modelling amps. Sure, they still make 100w amps, but that's not all that's out there. Lunchbox amps that I've listened to are ok, I guess, but sound a little shrill to me. I primarily like the sound of EL34s, so I wind up with 50 or 100 watt amps. Sure, I could sell all my poo poo and get a Tiny Terror or just use a pod* and monitors/house sound**, but I don't want to. It's a hobby. I like the sound of big amps. If you don't have to carry it for me, what's the difference? I don't use 4x12s, though, no room for cabs that big. *I play with a guy who used a pod for a few years. Hated the sound of it, was happy as hell on the rare occasions he'd just plug into a spare Bassman I had lying around. **I did this once with a small Jazz Chorus using the line outs. That amp is a different sound entirely, and if it fit what I am doing now, I wouldn't be averse to doing that. But it doesn't.
|
|
#
?
May 11, 2017 23:21
|
|
|
My opinions are well stated here: big amps sound good. 4x12s sound good. 100w is loud, but sometimes neccisarry to compensate for a bad PA or get the required tight low end and sound good. I've built my rig around portability, and I got to try one of those matrix bass ported 1x12s recently that weighs gently caress all and claims to sound like a 4x12 and it's nice but it's still not the same as hearing the real thing thunk behind you. Not every place even has a PA. Some bands end up playing most of their shows in squatted warehouses. massive spider fucked around with this message at 18:51 on May 12, 2017 |
|
#
?
May 12, 2017 18:46
|
|
|
Gorgar posted:Trends? Everywhere I look I see lunchbox and modelling amps. Sure, they still make 100w amps, but that's not all that's out there. wait wait... he chose his pod over a bassman? Literally the genesis of all rock and roll amplifiers?
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2017 21:28
|
|
|
Dang It Bhabhi! posted:wait wait... he chose his pod over a bassman? Literally the genesis of all rock and roll amplifiers? Well, it was a silverface bassman, but yeah. This was for a 12-string playing strictly rhythm. Sounded amazing through the bassman. I've since given him the bassman, but he won't use it, just lets bass players use it. He's since moved on to some Mesa combo with a million knobs and a five band eq. Fiddly gadgets are his thing. The guitar is a Warmoth custom build with crazy custom wiring for using either coil or both of each humbucker in series or parallel, etc. So far I've gigged on guitar a few times with either a 50 watt Marshall or a 40 watt Jazz Chorus, but may start using a 100w Orange OR-120 because it's a nice short head, easy to pack in the car, and I never have to gently caress with it to get it to sound good.
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2017 21:57
|
|
|
Gorgar posted:Well, it was a silverface bassman, but yeah. This was for a 12-string playing strictly rhythm. Sounded amazing through the bassman. I've since given him the bassman, but he won't use it, just lets bass players use it. He's since moved on to some Mesa combo with a million knobs and a five band eq. Fiddly gadgets are his thing. The guitar is a Warmoth custom build with crazy custom wiring for using either coil or both of each humbucker in series or parallel, etc. Also, the OR-120 rules 🤘🤘. I, too, have a parts guitar but it is about as simple as can be. I even bypassed the normal rhythm toggle switch on it (it's a "Jazzmaster"). Also, I like my EQs baxandall, so 2 knobs is all I ever need to EQ. 
|
|
#
?
May 12, 2017 22:16
|
|
|
jwh posted:What kind of amp is this again? I can look at the circuit for you. I was probed for a week so thanks everyone for contributions. It was the literal first Mills Custom atlas ever made ( bassman type circuit) and I asked for the circuit and the guy just said ship it over and he will rebuild it with their new circuit so win win Other news used my gretsch running clean with a seeing reverb and amp tremolo with my sunn concert through my 610/612 with my effects and it sounded dope af
|
|
#
?
May 15, 2017 01:02
|
|
|
Dang It Bhabhi! posted:wait wait... he chose his pod over a bassman? Literally the genesis of all rock and roll amplifiers? Some Bassmans, like the Bassman 10, don't sound very good.
|
|
#
?
May 15, 2017 14:45
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 24, 2024 20:04 |
|
|
I believe this was a '71 Super Bassman. Sounded good to me.
|
|
#
?
May 15, 2017 17:53
|
|