Forgot How Loud Tube Amps Are

My AC30 sits unused and unloved in storage, a completely impractically loud amp.

Thank God for the Axe.
Cranking an AC30 is not for the faint of heart. Mine can make literal waves in the grill cloth on about 7. Sounds great, but I can’t gig with anything that loud these days. The Ox Box makes the AC30 usable, but the Axe Fx III is just easier at a gig. I actually use the Morgan AC20 Deluxe model for Vox tones... check it out if you haven’t!
 
I used to gig with a Mesa Mk IV combo. I was never able to get the MV above 2 in any rooms we played. And, with MV on 2, it was absolute molten lava death ray for anyone sitting in front of the speaker. I started turning the amp around facing the opposite direction. I don't miss the schlep or the ringing in my ears all night after the gig.

sure, but they’re just so damn tasty!

switching it on at night and trying to find the spot between 0 and 1 where you can actually hear something but don’t wake the whole house is Russian Roulette though...

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Since everyone is going low volume, I've wondered why no one makes super low efficiency speakers that can soak the power but don't actually move much air. Probably wouldn't sound much different than using a load box, I guess.
 
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Someone made an adjustable magnet strength speaker but it didn't take off. Power scaling is cheaper, but most everyone went the attenuator route.
 
I'm good with loud amps. Makes me use my guitar volume and tone knobs. Also helps me develop a lighter touch.

I think Cygnus is giving us more the feel of a loud amp without being so loud, at least it seems that way to me. The Cygnus AC 20 model reacts a lot like my Blankenship Fatboy Jr. now, which is 18w tube. Similar kind of fat bloom. Sounds great with a Fender Strat. After about 6 on the actual tube amp volume, loudness doesn't really go much higher and it mainly gets more compressed and overdriven. Cygnus feels like it is reacting in a similar way. All the notes are popping out nicely, and chords sound clear.

Looking forward to hearing Cygnus when the amp models are fully updated.
 
That was the biggest selling point of the FX3, and modeling in general.

Cranked feel at low volume.

Even the old '69 Ampeg Gemini I,
a measley ~18-22W amp with a 12" speaker is INSANELY loud. Especially if you want grit. Lots of headroom.

I never get to turn it up.
Same with my Vox', can't turn them up.
Seems like a waste.

Thank God for the alternatives.
 
I guess that the problem with most tube amps is not really the power but rather taper of the volume control. I have the impression , that 80% of the volume is between 0-1 on the dial and then the rest being just power amp distortion and little more volume. The matrix is completely different. The volume can be gradually increased till noon, but after that, the beast unleashes. That's the reason why most of us will have it over 1 oclock. Even then you may be just using 60Watts, depending on the signal you feed it with.
 
I almost exclusively use tube amps into a load box or a speaker in an isolation box or room. I finished updating the Blues Jr. today. Probably one of the quieter tube amps made. For yucks I decided to compare it with it's built-in speaker to the Axe-Fx through monitors. All knobs on noon except MV at 3ish.

Holy carp!!! I'd forgotten just how loud even a lowly Blues Jr. can get. And that's with the MV pretty low.

They're actually pretty decent little amps and sound great when cranked.
This is why I bought an Axe-Fx, get all those juicy good tones at any volume 🤘🏻
 
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