Question for power amp users...

MattACaster

MattACaster

Member
For all you using a power amp with you Axe, I'm curious how you set your volume. Do you run the power amp wide open and adjust your overall level with the output knobs on the Axe or do you deal the output knobs alone and use the power amp's level controls?

Would there be any tonal difference in using one over the other?
 
I use the power amp (SS) wide open and adjust over all volume with the Axe except when I need bedroom volume then I adjust the main volume of the power amp down to taste.

There are two schools of thought with this... 1, is if you run your power amp wide open you have the potential of damaging your speaker(s) if you have a stray signal come through the system between the Axe and power Amp which is very true but not very likely if you have everything done right.

2nd, you run wide open and adjust volume with OP-1 volume on the Axe so you have full power from the amp when you need it. Ether way I don't believe there is too much tone difference ether way (depending on the power amp you are using), though I seem to recall the OP knobs on the Axe were supposed to be above 9 O'clock but that may have been fixed sense then not sure.
 
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I do the former. The only difference would be if you had the Axe output high enough to overload the power amp's input you could get unwanted distortion.
 
Sixstring said:
I use the power amp (SS) wide open and adjust over all volume with the Axe except when I need bedroom volume then I adjust the main volume of the power amp down to taste.

There are two schools of thought with this... 1, is if you run your power amp wide open you have the potential of damaging your speaker(s) if you have a stray signal come through the system between the Axe and power Amp which is very true but not very likely if you have everything done right.

2nd, you run wide open and adjust volume with OP-1 volume on the Axe so you have full power from the amp when you need it. Ether way I don't believe there is too much tone difference ether way (depending on the power amp you are using), though I seem to recall the OP knobs on the Axe were supposed to be above 9 O'clock but that may have been fixed sense then not sure.
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I'm running a Carvin TS100 into a Mesa Recto 4x12 so I don't think overpowering the speakers is an issue.


tubetonez said:
I do the former. The only difference would be if you had the Axe output high enough to overload the power amp's input you could get unwanted distortion.
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I didn't think of that. Although, with the TS100, I've been running OP1 at full blast and I haven't picked up on any distortion. I wonder if something is wrong or maybe the TS100 can handle that...?
 
I run the axe output at noon and control the volume with the power amp.

This is with a Randall RT2 50.
 
With a tube poweramp it could make a difference since there are preamptubes and powertubes inside. It depends on the circuit.
Even with a ss amp it could make a difference when special functions like reactance, resonance, drive, presence, bass, treble or something exist.

Hard to say wich way is better. I'd prefer to have a volumeknob somewhere in reach, that's more important to me than the last 2 percent of sound.
 
My advice would be to try it both ways to see what sounds best to your ears given the equipment you have.
 
I run my sla2 at about 2-3 o-clock and then my axe around 11o-clock. the poweramp runs into 2 412 cabs and i can of course crank the power amp up higher if i need more loudness but I get pretty darn loud at that level.
 
I don't think there will be much tonal difference. The one thing is noise. If you run the power amp wide open you'll have to turn the axe output lower which means the signal to noise ration is going to be worse. What you end up doing is making all the noise louder and the axe less loud in the mix. There is a way to properly set the gain staging to optimize signal to noise but it was a long time ago. Long story short try to get the axe output as loud as you can, within a range you'll typically use it at, without clipping the input.
 
rsf1977 said:
I don't think there will be much tonal difference. The one thing is noise. If you run the power amp wide open you'll have to turn the axe output lower which means the signal to noise ration is going to be worse. What you end up doing is making all the noise louder and the axe less loud in the mix. There is a way to properly set the gain staging to optimize signal to noise but it was a long time ago. Long story short try to get the axe output as loud as you can, within a range you'll typically use it at, without clipping the input.
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Interesting...

I can run the Axe wipe open into the TS100 and I don't hear any clipping. Although, I've been running the power amp almost all the way up (volume knobs at about 3 o'clock) and using the Axe to adjust the overall volume. No additional noise that I've heard but I generally have ear plugs in so maybe I'm missing it...
 
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