How many of you are volume pot riders?

[dsouza]

When it comes to tube amps how many of you prefer to keep the gain and master high on the amp and ride the volume (low to clean it up, higher for lead tones)?

And how many of you prefer to keep the volume on the amp clean (edge of breakup), master set for the room, and use Overdrive Pedals for kicking in lead tones?

Which method is better?

 

[Joe Bfstplk]

When it comes to tube amps how many of you prefer to keep the gain and master high on the amp and ride the volume (low to clean it up, higher for lead tones)?

And how many of you prefer to keep the volume on the amp clean (edge of breakup), master set for the room, and use Overdrive Pedals for kicking in lead tones?

Which method is better?

Horses for courses. Each is better at some things and worse at others....

 

[Greg Ferguson]

When it comes to tube amps how many of you prefer to keep the gain and master high on the amp and ride the volume (low to clean it up, higher for lead tones)?

I do this now.

And how many of you prefer to keep the volume on the amp clean (edge of breakup), master set for the room, and use Overdrive Pedals for kicking in lead tones?

I used to do this but I got tired of having to drag around a pedalboard, and, though I liked the pedals I had, the drives didn’t react or sound like a real amp, the amp’s natural distortion from the tubes is so much better. I seldom use a drive pedal in front of my Amp blocks in my presets too because the Fractal amp models sound so good.

 

[dsouza]

I do this now.


I used to do this but I got tired of having to drag around a pedalboard, and, though I liked the pedals I had, the drives didn’t react or sound like a real amp, the amp’s natural distortion from the tubes is so much better. I seldom use a drive pedal in front of my Amp blocks in my presets too because the Fractal amp models sound so good.

Bet you replace your volume and tone pots quite often? It's also a lot of guesswork. You have to guess quickly what volume you're lowering your pot to or approximate it. With a pedal it's set and fixed unless you change it.

I agree an amps natural gain sounds great and it's very pleasing. Just gotta watch damaging the guitars pots. Just wondering how high do you set your gain and master on the valve amps since you use the pots to control them? Is there a good rule-method?

In my condo if I set my AC10's gain and master to 10 and forget to turn the volume pots down I could break a window or get evicted!

My AX8's presets all use drives; and they're all built into scenes. Especially all the custom ones I bought. So I don't mess with the pots when using the Fractal.

 

[MisterE]

I've been doing it since like forever.
I started out on a Strat and that's why I don't blend with LP style geetars.
I like to have the volumepot at my pinky and control the gain and use it for violin swells.

 

[dsouza]

I've been doing it since like forever.
I started out on a Strat and that's why I don't blend with LP style geetars.
I like to have the volumepot at my pinky and control the gain and use it for violin swells.

I ride the volume pot all the time for my ambient guitar related work (volume swells).

I seriously wonder if we're damaging our guitars compared to getting a volume pedal?

 

[Aivoryuk]

If I'm recording I like consistency so tend to set up the tone I want with tone and volume on 10

 

[Greg Ferguson]

Bet you replace your volume and tone pots quite often?

Nope. They’re designed to be used and using them helps keep them from getting noisy. My oldest guitar is a well used 2008 and its pots are fine, and I have another from 2010 that also is fine.

It's also a lot of guesswork. You have to guess quickly what volume you're lowering your pot to or approximate it. With a pedal it's set and fixed unless you change it.

There’s no guessing, you can hear it quite easily, and once you’re used to doing it then you know how far to roll them without any trouble. Even with my guitars with separate volume knobs for the neck and bridge and both pickups enabled I can roll both down and back to where I want, with one hand keeping them balanced.

Just gotta watch damaging the guitars pots.

That’s a major stretch; The pots are made to be turned and you don’t damage them by doing so. I’ve never worn one out. I have had switches attached to pots that break but they are typically really cheap switches.

With a pedal it’s fixed, yes, and if it needs to be changed we have to go to the pedal to adjust it, we can’t do it with a little adjustment on the guitar where we’re standing.

Just wondering how high do you set your gain and master on the valve amps since you use the pots to control them? Is there a good rule-method?

Two of my amps are non-master volume amps so the “master” is at 10 always, and I run the gain between 8-10 depending on the guitar. My other amp has a master and it sits at about 5 on the master. But numbers for the master means nothing without knowing the speaker efficiency, the wattage of the amp, the number of speakers and the size of the room.

 

[GuitarChapPappa]

When it comes to tube amps how many of you prefer to keep the gain and master high on the amp and ride the volume (low to clean it up, higher for lead tones)?

And how many of you prefer to keep the volume on the amp clean (edge of breakup), master set for the room, and use Overdrive Pedals for kicking in lead tones?

Which method is better?

Both ways, there is different ways to make sound and reach the goal so both ways works fine.

 

[skolacki]

I ride the volume and tone. Don’t care if it wears them out and pots are cheap anyhow.

 

[rcm78]

Bet you replace your volume and tone pots quite often? It's also a lot of guesswork. You have to guess quickly what volume you're lowering your pot to or approximate it. With a pedal it's set and fixed unless you change it.

I agree an amps natural gain sounds great and it's very pleasing. Just gotta watch damaging the guitars pots. Just wondering how high do you set your gain and master on the valve amps since you use the pots to control them? Is there a good rule-method?

In my condo if I set my AC10's gain and master to 10 and forget to turn the volume pots down I could break a window or get evicted!

My AX8's presets all use drives; and they're all built into scenes. Especially all the custom ones I bought. So I don't mess with the pots when using the Fractal.

Pots are usually very robust and can handle decades of use. They need to be cleaned occasionally but that very easy with a can of Deoxit.

Any player that uses the volume pot will develop muscle memory. I can lower my volume without looking and it's right where I want it.

 

[Rex Rox]

The guitar I play the least has the noisiest pots. I have to roll them back and forth several times before I play that one. As others have said pots are cheap and easy to replace unless its on an ES 335. That is exactly what this guitar is - but I'll get around to replacing the pots one day - until then rolling back and forth until the static goes away works fine until the next time I pick it up.

 

[dsouza]

Two of my amps are non-master volume amps so the “master” is at 10 always, and I run the gain between 8-10 depending on the guitar. My other amp has a master and it sits at about 5 on the master. But numbers for the master means nothing without knowing the speaker efficiency, the wattage of the amp, the number of speakers and the size of the room.

This is the predicament I'm currently having with the valve amp (I don't have this problem with my AX8 as I use scenes and drives and leave the vol at max all the time on my guitars):

1) How do you get louder clean sounds, and quieter, highly distorted sounds while riding the volume pot? Assuming my gain is set to max on my AC10 and master set to 1 out of 10 in a small room that plenty of grit for me at vol 10 on the guitar but when I ride the volume pot lower to clean it up ,the clean sound doesn't sound voluminous enough like it does when I have the master volume set higher. Like I said I can't increase the master higher in a small room. I'm using master volume of 1 out of 10 on the AC10 so to me that sounds like a max of 1 watt. 1-2 watts in a condo/house is fine.

 

[Rex Rox]

This is the predicament I'm currently having with the valve amp (I don't have this problem with my AX8 as I use scenes and drives and leave the vol at max all the time on my guitars):

1) How do you get louder clean sounds, and quieter highly distorted sounds while riding the volume pot? Assuming my gain is set to max on my AC10 and master set to 1 out of 10 in a small room that plenty of grit for me at vol 10 on the guitar but when I ride the volume pot lower to clean it up the clean sound doesn't sound voluminous enough like it does when I have the master volume set higher. Like I said I can't increase the master higher in a small room. I'm using master volume of 1 out of 10 on the AC10 so to me that sound like a max of 1 watt. 1-2 watts in a condo/house is fine.

You bought the wrong amp. The easiest way is with a 2 channel amp with a master volume.

 

[dsouza]

You bought the wrong amp. The easiest way is with a 2 channel amp with a master volume.

The AC10 is a great amp for the money. I can easily recitify this problem by adding a simple overdrive pedal with vol gain controls. I was asking how to do it by only altering the volume knob on the guitar and not touching the amp. The same can be said for reverb on the amp. How can one alter the reverb without touching the amp or using pedals? Sometimes I play ambient, sometimes hard rock. I won't always have the luxury to manipulate the amp itself during a gig. I feel with any tube amp without pedals you'll run into these type of problems. Remember the AC10 is meant as a simpler and less expensive small gigging solution to my AX8 and Elis 8's. I'm not expecting all the bells and whistles of a full blown pedalboard with it (for that you have to dish out more cash) or comparing it to my loaded FAS.

 

[Rex Rox]

The AC10 is a great amp for the money. I can easily recitify this problem by adding a simple OD pedal with vol gain controls. I was asking how to do it by only altering the volume knob on the guitar and not touching the amp. The same can be said for reverb on the amp. How can one alter the reverb without touching the amp or using pedals? Sometimes I play ambient, sometimes hard rock. I won't always have the luxury to manipulate the amp itself during a gig. I feel with any tube amp without pedals you'll run into these type of problems. Remember the AC10 is meant as a simpler and less expensive solution to my AX8 and Elis 8's. I'm bot expecting all the bells and whistles of a full blown pedalboard with it or using my FAS.

I still would have gone with the Supro Delta King 12 for $100 more. While it isn't a 2 channel amp it does have a couple builtin boosts including a FET boost and a Pigtronix FAT hi gain mode. The AC10 only has a treble boost - no spring reverb.

I have played both amps and it would have been no contest for me. The AC10 sounded harsh and way too bright for my ears. The Supro was warm and toasty. Very versatile with the footswitch for the boosts.

 

[dsouza]

I still would have gone with the Supro Delta King 12 for $100 more. While it isn't a 2 channel amp it does have a couple builtin boosts including a FET boost and a Pigtronix FAT hi gain mode. The AC10 only has a treble boost - no spring reverb.

I have played both amps and it would have been no contest for me. The AC10 sounded harsh and way too bright for my ears. The Supro was warm and toasty. Very versatile with the footswitch for the boosts.

The AC10 does have reverb built in. Not sure if it's spring or plate but it sounds fabulous.

 

[Greg Ferguson]

How do you get loud clean sounds, and quieter highly distorted sounds while riding the volume pot? Assuming my gain is set to max on my AC10 and master set to 1 out of 10 in a small room that plenty of grit for me at vol 10 on the guitar but when I ride the volume pot lower to clean it up the clean sound doesn't sound rich enough like it does when I have the master volume set higher. Like I said I can't increase the master higher in a small room. I'm using master volume of 1 out of 10 on the AC10 so to me that sound like a max of 1 watt. It shouldn't be the AC10 is too loud for home use as well as small to med gigs. I don't feel that at all.

• All my guitars are equipped with a treble-bleed circuit, so reducing their volume keeps the guitar’s sound clean and clear instead of turning muddy. “Rich” can be accomplished by switching to a different pickup or pickup combination, or rolling back the tone control.
• With gain on 10 and the guitar’s volume at 3 there’s not enough signal to drive the preamp tubes to saturation, let alone distortion. At the same time the amplification in that stage is not enough to overdrive the power-amp, so it remains clean too, so the amp’s sound is clean. By experience I know how much guitar volume is clean, how much is crunch and how much is distortion.
• As a non-master volume amplifier moves from just below full saturation, where its still clean, into crunch then full distortion, the output volume doesn’t change much or at all, because it is just below the tube’s saturation point. There’s still some dynamic reserve initially. Roll up the volume and the reserve is gone and clipping begins. Roll it up further and the volume doesn’t increase, only the clipping and distortion does.
• If you want to have a hugely distorted sound at a lower volume than the preamp and power-amp are set to, then you need a pedal. I never wanted, or want, that situation or sound. On stage I want my volume to be pretty consistent, to match the volumes of the other instruments. If we need to reduce the volume for a passage in a song I either adjust the guitar volume or simply don’t play as hard, and the volume drops. Yes, the guitar’s sound cleans up at that point, but that’s the sound of rock and roll and electric guitars.
• Scaling the tube amplifier’s output and power to the room is always important. A small amp dimmed sounds much better than a big amp that is turned down so low that the speakers can’t move efficiently or generate the sound that is needed. I have a 12 watt amp that sounds like a 100 watt amp in a small room, except it doesn’t overpower the room. I can drop a mic on it and let FOH do the heavy lifting if I need to carry a large room or outdoors. I have another that is 22 watts that works for larger rooms, and again, I can also add the mic. My largest amp is ~35 watts and it can get a lot louder than I want to be on stage, so I adjust the gain so it sounds like I want when the guitar is on 10, then turn the master up until it is pushing the power amp to saturation. If I need less volume I can reduce the wattage, as that is an option, or on other amps I’d had I’d pull two of the power tubes and accomplish the same thing.
• Fractal modelers have an advantage because the master-volume doesn’t affect the sound volume the same way that the level control does. Tube amps don’t have that granularity, adjusting the master will affect how the power-amp works. I treat my modelers as if they are my tube amps and they react similarly. That’s because Cliff made the models behave accurately, but other brands are not able to do that correctly because they didn’t invest the time in their models to make them accurate, and that was what pushed me to going with Fractal.

 

[Rex Rox]

The AC10 does have reverb built in. Not sure if it's spring or plate but it sounds fabulous.

So you obviously didn't play the Supro or you played both the Supro and the AC10 and liked the AC10 better?

The AC10 does not have spring reverb. The reverb on the AC10 is digital. Plates are huge room sized things.

 

[Vhalen50]

volume pot guy here. only gripe i have is that i like a good treble bleed circuit. But im more often on 10 than not, but when i roll back..i want it cleaned up. Lately ive done the suhr 680pf/150k in parallel and its been good.