Request: VARIAC on amp models

[Smilzo]

Excuse me T_F, but I don't understand.

I do know the result of increasing B+ caps, on real life amps or in axefx model. It make sag less prominent, bass more define, sound snappier.
If it does change sound, then it must change the waveform.

I do know the effect of variac. You change DC and points of work for tubes.
Why do you speak of AC?

 

[barhrecords]

Excuse me T_F, but I don't understand.

I do know the result of increasing B+ caps, on real life amps or in axefx model. It make sag less prominent, bass more define, sound snappier.
If it does change sound, then it must change the waveform.

I do know the effect of variac. You change DC and points of work for tubes.
Why do you speak of AC?

Variac is a General Electric brand name for a line of their variable automatic *ac* transformers.

They are / were used to lower the ac input voltage to guitar amplifiers.

The variac became more mysterious / sought after when Eddie Van Halen talked about using one on the first VH album:

http://mr5150.vhvault.com/evh-brown-sound.html

Richard

 

[Tone_Freak]

if this is true then alot of the dots revolving around the mystery of the stolen Dino Cazares JCM 800 hotrodded amp head that was an amazing ideal in metal tone - are now starting to being connected since he was going after the early Van Halen sound when he initially started with all his amp mods.

 

[Smilzo]

Why do you speak of AC?

They are / were used to lower the ac input voltage to guitar amplifiers.

Now I got it. You don't need to lower virtual AC voltage; you (Cliff) could lower each virtual DC voltage.

 

[barhrecords]

Google around and you can see all the different opinions on what the variac does or doesn't do to the circuit and tone.

 

[VegaBaby]

A bit late to the game, but I'd definitely like to have a virtual Variac in the advanced section. Perhaps even a range that would be unhealthy to a real amp . Loving the Bias parameter already and that together with a Variac option would be killer.

 

[barhrecords]

There is a sweet demo of a '68 50 watt Marshall with a Variac from this years LA Amp Fest

It's in here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdDg--o8FxU

I watched the setup vids, it doesn't say whether or not they are running the Variac to lower the US standard 120 volts to 110 (or 100) to get to the standard input voltage that the amp was designed for vs. running at the 90 volt (myth?) voltage

Friedman's advice was to dime it and back off the presence and treble just a hair.

Richard

 

[VegaBaby]

There is a sweet demo of a '68 50 watt Marshall with a Variac from this years LA Amp Fest

It's in here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdDg--o8FxU

I watched the setup vids, it doesn't say whether or not they are running the Variac to lower the US standard 120 volts to 110 (or 100) to get to the standard input voltage that the amp was designed for vs. running at the 90 volt (myth?) voltage

Friedman's advice was to dime it and back off the presence and treble just a hair.

Richard

Yep, a really nice example of a variac'ed Marshall

 

[Tone_Freak]

Thanks.

But what boggles the mind even more than those tones is how many people there are in this community who simply do not understand the nature of what the mod does. I question how they even ended up with a high end piece of gear like the Axe in the First place.

In addition, there is not only the need for this, but it would also to be able to control the parameter with an expression pedal. Speaking of which - does anyone know why there are many parameters in the Axe that currently can't be externally controlled?

 

[yek]

Tone_freak,
If you want to insult me, be a man and do it in public, instead of sending me a PM like you did tonight.

 

[mark_melling]

Tone_freak,
If you want to insult me, be a man and do it in public, instead of sending me a PM like you did tonight.

Did you get his emails as well? He emailed me with his threats, I'll do this and I'll do that..lowlife, scumbag Irish people was his basic message..but considering I'm English doesn't really make his insults too valid.

Seriously, how long is this nonsense going to be tolerated on here..it was amusing for a post or two, now it's just pathetic!!

 

[Jack Napalm]

I hope someone boots his ass if he is making threats to people. WTF?

 

[barhrecords]

There is a sweet demo of a '68 50 watt Marshall with a Variac from this years LA Amp Fest

It's in here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdDg--o8FxU

I watched the setup vids, it doesn't say whether or not they are running the Variac to lower the US standard 120 volts to 110 (or 100) to get to the standard input voltage that the amp was designed for vs. running at the 90 volt (myth?) voltage

Friedman's advice was to dime it and back off the presence and treble just a hair.

Richard

Yep, a really nice example of a variac'ed Marshall

That one was a sleeper in the LA AmpFest for me... I went back and listened to it a couple of times. I could hear that with some post EQ to get rid of some mud and add a little air + some vintage compression... that is the shite!

Richard

 

[yek]

Did you get his emails as well? He emailed me with his threats, I'll do this and I'll do that..lowlife, scumbag Irish people was his basic message..but considering I'm English doesn't really make his insults too valid.

Haha Priceless!

 

[VegaBaby]

There is a sweet demo of a '68 50 watt Marshall with a Variac from this years LA Amp Fest

It's in here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdDg--o8FxU

I watched the setup vids, it doesn't say whether or not they are running the Variac to lower the US standard 120 volts to 110 (or 100) to get to the standard input voltage that the amp was designed for vs. running at the 90 volt (myth?) voltage

Friedman's advice was to dime it and back off the presence and treble just a hair.

Richard

Yep, a really nice example of a variac'ed Marshall

That one was a sleeper in the LA AmpFest for me... I went back and listened to it a couple of times. I could hear that with some post EQ to get rid of some mud and add a little air + some vintage compression... that is the shite!

Richard

I think a lot of people were surprised how this little head from '68 kicked butt. Ended up being a favourite of many. Would have been interesting to actually hear it without the variac for the sake of this topic.

 

[barhrecords]

Do you know what voltage they were running that '68 at?

Richard

 

[mark_melling]

Did you get his emails as well? He emailed me with his threats, I'll do this and I'll do that..lowlife, scumbag Irish people was his basic message..but considering I'm English doesn't really make his insults too valid.

Haha Priceless!

Anymore emails i am just posting them!!

 

[Tone_Freak]

Tone_freak,
If you want to insult me, be a man and do it in public, instead of sending me a PM like you did tonight.

What insult?

I did challenge you to your face - and in the Axe's Signature Character thread first - but it was deleted by Jay Mitchell because I mentioned there that I believed you were an amateur. So I had to then I send my civilized and valid challenges to your mocking of my very valid variac request in poor taste - by rudely mock my other requests for different new features by inserting a reference to my variac in every request i have even if its irrelevant to the thread. And then the threads get deleted before you have a chance to review my public response.

Then here is a polite challenge to you in public: I have reason to believe you are an amateur because you keep taking cheap shots behind my back instead of doing it to my face. You keep arrogantly bringing up "how bout a variac" to unrelated threads in arrogant sarcasm. Totally irrelevant variac comment stated by you in an effort to agitate me for no reason. You have done this in more than one thread now.

And you're constant derision of my variac request shows that you clearly do not know its importance in significant amp mods, and I severely question how you even ended up with a high end piece of machinery like the axe fx.

And since you somehow find the subject of a variac request funny, then clearly you have no experience with the mod, have no idea how it affects the distortion/tone, then i also take it you would find no use for any of the other internal amp editing mods. Therefore I have sufficient reason to believe a 1st generation Pod Bean is more up your alley and I recommend you sell your axe fx to go back to the bean. Surely it is more towards your interests, as you have constantly shown arrogant stabs to remind people of Tone_Freak's variac request as if its a stupid request.

And by the way, it does not take a man to challenge someone in a forum as you have suggested. Is that your criteria for manhood? :lol: I think a more appropriate criteria for manhood is to see if you can try to attempt your dirty little pokes in person. Didn't think so.

 

[Tone_Freak]

Tone_freak,
If you want to insult me, be a man and do it in public, instead of sending me a PM like you did tonight.

Did you get his emails as well? He emailed me with his threats, I'll do this and I'll do that..

When a person challenges you to try insulting me in person as opposed to behind the security of your own screen with your unsportsmanlike hits from behind - this was not a threat. I just said I'd like to see you try to do that to me in person - but i don't think you can. This was no threat at all. It was a valid challenge to the integrity of your character - which I had sufficient reason to be highly skeptical about based on your severely ill-willed treatment of all my posts. Posts which despite my healthy dose of honest skepticism and questioning - where always polite and civilized. Unlike your displays and responses - which lead me to have to offer you a challenge because you crossed the line on many occasions.

Seriously, how long is this nonsense going to be tolerated on here..it was amusing for a post or two, now it's just pathetic!!

Maybe you can stop taking unwarranted shots at people yourself as you and yek have done in very poor taste and then maybe perhaps no more PMs will come to your inbox to complain about you and your behavior to fellow members.

On a side note, just in general, when I previously did not own an Axe, and thought the Axe sounded no more special than the POD based on some online comparisons between various people posting clips, I admitted I was in error when I finally purchased the axe - but still, I was ganged up on very rudely and impolitely, and in severely disgusting poor taste.

Perhaps a more civilized way for people to have responded would have been for people to inform me that perhaps some of the clips I heard were done on poor quality converters (as I now clearly realize is a true fact now that I have an Axe to go through my apogee and truly hear the quality of).

 

[mark_melling]

Tone_freak,
If you want to insult me, be a man and do it in public, instead of sending me a PM like you did tonight.

What insult?

I did challenge you to your face - and in the Axe's Signature Character thread but it was deleted by Jay Mitchell because I believed you were an amateur. I send my civilized and valid challenges to you and others who mock the variac request or who rudely mock my other requests for different new features, and then the thread gets deleted because i prove valid points.

Then here is a polite challenge to you in public: I have reason to believe you are an amateur because you keep taking cheap shots behind my back instead of doing it to my face. You keep arrogantly bringing up "how bout a variac" to unrelated threads in arrogant sarcasm. Totally irrelevant variac comment stated by you in an effort to agitate me for no reason.

And you're constant derision of my variac request shows that you clearly do not know its importance in significant amp mods, and I severely question how you even ended up with a high end piece of machinery like the axe fx.

And since you somehow find the subject of a variac request funny, then clearly you have no experience with the mod, have no idea how it affects the distortion/tone, then i also take it you would find no use for any of the other internal amp editing mods. Therefore I have sufficient reason to believe a 1st generation Pod Bean is more up your alley and I recommend you sell your axe fx to go back to the bean. Surely it is more towards your interests, as you have constantly shown arrogant stabs to remind people of Tone_Freak's variac request as if its a stupid request.

And by the way, it does not take a man to challenge someone in a forum as you have suggested. Is that your criteria for manhood? :lol: I think a more appropriate criteria for manhood is to see if you can try to attempt your dirty little pokes in person. Didn't think so.

You are under the delusion of your own flawed reasoning..you have obvious emotional insecurities, in that you feel threatened by any kind of contradiction to your statements.


You attack as a means to divert attention from any kind of contradiction to your opinions, which you pass off as "fact"
I will keep this simple for you..5+5=10 but wait 9+1=10 6+4=10 8+2=10


As a last resort you send threatening emails, (says all i need to know about you) while trying to disguise who you are on the forum with an attempt at intellectual civility.


Your threats to me kept me amused and this was some weeks ago and i have never mentioned it to anyone until now.
Yek has given more to this forum than you will do in your lifetime.


You will read this already formulating in your mind your reply before even finishing the sentences you read..it will have no effect on you and is not for your benefit but for anyone caring to read this.


PS. Im sorry if i am making anyone feel uncomfortable with my post. I hate to see this forum degenerate into something like this, but in this case i think its necessary when disagreements turn into threatening emails. As i stated i have not mentioned it before but as soon as i saw yek having the same experience it was time to speak up.