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Topic: Tone |
Brick Spieth
From:
San Jose, California, USA
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Posted 23 Nov 2008 12:03 pm |
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OK, here goes...
I have never played through any amp, ss or tube, that could produce a really good tone at volumes that would not travel through apartment walls, say, or disturb others in a house. It seems to me that electronic instruments just need a certain volume to produce the overtones that make for a really great sound. Either that or the needed sound reflecting off the walls. I'm not talking ear shattering volumes, just a healthy amount of air being moved. The closest I've found is a Carr Mercury guitar amp.
My practice amp is a tweed Champ turned up halfway through a 2x12 cab. A pod through a ss PA amp needs about the same volume level to sound really good. I'm thinking that maybe it is the guitar speakers that are designed to operate at a certain volume level that may be the deciding factor. I am well aware that tube amps have a sweet spot. SS amps maybe to a lessor extent. |
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Jonathan Cullifer
From:
Gallatin, TN
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Posted 23 Nov 2008 2:56 pm
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The human ear has a different frequency response curve as volume changes. So does every speaker. Even a lot of solid state power amps sound different at low volumes.
I've done a fair amount of experimentation with miking amps at different volumes in fairly isolated environments, and there is less difference in tone there than there is just listening to the amps. The cabinet, I'm sure, has a lot to do with it as well. |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 23 Nov 2008 4:13 pm
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| Our ears are most sensitive in the mid range, so getting a "good sound" at low volumes is simply a matter of dialing out what our ears are most sensitive to. I've found that to get really good bass and a nice "round" tone at low volumes, you have to have good EQ and a lot of power available. (You don't need the power for volume, you need it to compensate when you cut out large amounts of what we hear so well.) Unfortunately, I've found that only powerful amps with a (5 or more band) built-in graphic EQ can do this. My faves are the Fender Super Twin Reverb, and the Mesa Boogie Mark III-C. |
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Ken Pippus
From:
Langford, BC, Canada
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Posted 23 Nov 2008 6:03 pm
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This is what resulted in the "loudness" control on stereos in the old days.
KP |
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Jim Sliff
From:
Lawndale California, USA
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Posted 24 Nov 2008 8:30 pm
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| Quote: |
| maybe it is the guitar speakers that are designed to operate at a certain volume level that may be the deciding factor |
To a point, but it depends on the match of amp/speakers and how the amp is designed. Most amps don't "bloom" until they reach a certain volume level, and even a Champ is too loud for most apartment playing.
The best low-volume amp I have ever heard...and I bought one on the spot when I first heard it...is the ZVex Nano. It runs about 1/8 watt clean, maybe 1/2 watt with over-the-top distortion - I use mine with a 1x12 Celestion Greenback cabinet, but I've played it with a 4x12 with Vintage 30's (70 watt speakers). It sounds rich, full and the clean tone it tremendous; it's the size of an MXR stompbox - and it's a TUBE amp! I use mine at ;east once or twice a week - even gigged with it for fun on a stage I knew was mic'd.
http://zvexamps.com/amp_view.html
_________________
No chops, but great tone
1930's/40's Rickenbacher/Rickenbacker 6&8 string lap steels
1921 Weissenborn Style 2; Hilo&Schireson hollownecks
Appalachian, Regal & Dobro squarenecks
1959 Fender 400 9+2 B6;1960's Fender 800 3+3+2; 1948 Fender Dual-8 Professional |
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Marc Jenkins
From:
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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Posted 24 Nov 2008 9:41 pm
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| I was waiting for Jim to suggest the Zvex Nano. I've 6-string played through one a few times, and they sound at least as good as everyone says they do. |
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