Lo-watt Tube Overdrive? Or how to tame a big amp?

caz · Post by **caz** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 10:30 am

TapeOppers,

What is the best way to have a Fender Twin break-up/distort without blowing away the nasty ol' lady that lives down the street? i remember reading about replacement tubes and special gadgetry, but does anyone really use this stuff for recording? Does it work? I normally use small combo amps like a Vibro Champ or my lil' 60s Gretsch Dual Twin amp, but I'd like to get some different overdriven flavors from my bigger amps without having to crank them.

Any one?

{csmr}

dynomike · Post by **dynomike** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 4:43 pm

Fender breakup is all about a pretty clean preamp and some power tube breakup/transformer saturation - I don't have one yet, but I totally can't wait to get a THD hotplate / Weber mass for my Musicman, which sounds killer at high volumes (that sound you're looking for, I'll recon).

Mike

jrsgodfrey · Post by **jrsgodfrey** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 5:08 pm

I have a Weber MiniMass, and that does the trick.

I highly reccommend it.

http://www.tedweber.com/atten.htm

Cheers.

r0ck1r0ck2 · Post by **r0ck1r0ck2** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 5:45 pm

ok....what's this nonsense about pulling one or 2 of the output tubes...
is that just plain insanity...???

anyone???

KennyLusk · Post by **KennyLusk** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 5:55 pm

Godfrey has the right idea.

You need an attenuator, like what he posted. Or a Marshall power brake or THD Hotplate.

soundguy · Post by **soundguy** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 9:14 pm

if you have an amp with a push pull output and 4 power tubes, you can pull thhe inner pair or the outer pair and get less power out of the amp, however this really aint gonna get you down to bedroom levels, it will cut your power but not by a really usable level imo for the bedroom jam, its more of a tone thing. A 5w single ended amp plugged into a 4x12 can be too loud for many circumstances.

dave

r0ck1r0ck2 · Post by **r0ck1r0ck2** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 9:28 pm

well lets say were dealing with studio levels..not bedroom levels...
for that matter....isn't it true that cranking a 100w into an attenuator and then bringing it down to bedroom levels will drastically alter the overall tone? it seems like you have to use these lightly....
what about a speaker isolation box?
i'm just saying.....
those twin are insanely loud and to get them into a nice overdrive will damage your offspring
so will my yba-1a.....
push pull...hmmmm
ganna have to look into that one....i gonna wanna yank me a tube!

Gebo · Post by **Gebo** » Sat Nov 12, 2005 9:51 pm

I use a THD Hotplate with my plexi and it works awesome. As far as it effecting tone, its not bad. The more you use it (to turn the vol. down), the more it effects the tone. Used correctly its awesome. If you turn it up(down?) to "bedroom" volumes, it gets pretty weak.

jrsgodfrey · Post by **jrsgodfrey** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 9:10 am

To be a little more thorough in my recommendation...

I find the mini mass (25 watt version) pretty transparent w/ my Pro Junior and my Deluxe Reverb, which I realize don't put out too much to begn with, so I don't know about using it with more powerful amps. It sometimes even takes out a little "crispiness" from the tele/amp combo in a good way.

Good luck.

luckybastard · Post by **luckybastard** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 9:26 am

i used to have the original mass about 2-3 years ago. it was good at certain levels but severe db reduction resulted in a lot of high end loss. just my experience. it was with a bedrock bc-75 btw...

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Sun Nov 13, 2005 11:12 am

I use an old Power Soak on my Boogie Mark II and rather like it.

Don't forget about THD "Yellowjackets" as an option; google for them.

caz · Post by **caz** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 11:21 am

Does anyone know about the Carl's Custom Shop Volume Box?

https://www.carlscustomguitars.com/disp ... tegoryId=1

kayagum · Post by **kayagum** » Mon Nov 14, 2005 12:54 pm

All the information you could stand on this topic:

http://amptone.com

Also, ZVex NanoAmps are great for this: http://zvex.com

E Baxter Put · Post by **E Baxter Put** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 8:58 am

I have never been able to tame a massive amp for bedroom level playing. But I did get a Vox ToneLab for playing at night with headphones. It sounds surprisingly good, and is a fun toy. As with anything digital... erase all of the presets and make your own sounds.

r0ck1r0ck2 · Post by **r0ck1r0ck2** » Tue Nov 15, 2005 9:49 am

Speaker Isolators Anyone?

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Lo-watt Tube Overdrive? Or how to tame a big amp?

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