Dave da Dude Posted June 27, 2004 Share Posted June 27, 2004 I finally got an all tube amp (last year actually) at the urging of everyone on the forum. Now I've seen (several times) reference to the "old" NON Master Volume tube amp. Mine is an a/b channel (clean/dirty) with Gain adjustment on the PreAmp / Clean? (all the way to the left), a volume next to it and alll... the way to the right another volume (which I assume to be the "Master" Volume. What's the difference between the two volume knobs? Why is a NON Master Volume better? Or is it? Any help in my understanding will be "much 'preciated". Dave Gotta' geetar... got the amp. There must be SOMEthing else I... "need". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DIAMOND DUST Posted June 27, 2004 Share Posted June 27, 2004 All of my tube amps have one vol. They have a stronger tone, if that makes any sense. They also (in my mind) bring out the qualities of a pedal much better. I'm sure somebody else could explain the technical aspects in more depth. I have had alot of tube amps, and most of the time the non-master amps have more "pure tube" tone. http://b-cordova.dmusic.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Tom Posted June 27, 2004 Share Posted June 27, 2004 A master volume is a signal-cut control that is right in front of the power tube section. Turning it up all the way is the equivalent of a non-master volume amp, as it is not cutting the preamp's signal at that point. The purpose of it is to be able to drive the preamp tubes into some distortion, and turn down the power amp to where it is not so loud. Generally speaking, power tube saturation and distortion sounds better and is more dynamic, etc., but to get that sweet cranked amp tone it is going to be loud. Very loud. Unless you use an attenuator. The master volume simply adds a little versatility to the amp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker Posted June 27, 2004 Share Posted June 27, 2004 Like most things "guitar", it's a matter of taste. I've heard tube amps I wouldn't spit on and solid-state amp that kick serious butt. BB King plays an all solid-state amp, and who around here's gonna argue with him about tone? But one thing I have found to be a VERY handy gadget is a master volume. If you ain't carrying a honkin' big monitor system with you, it can mean the difference between hearing yourself with your favored tone, and either not hearing yourself or having to play with a tone so clean you can't make things you usually do work. Small amps with no master can be turned up to get some crunch, and I agree with the people that say that kind of distortion sounds best. But, if you are up against another guitarist and amp, drums, keyboard and amp, bass and amp, maybe even a percussionist, sometimes you just ain't gonna have the juice you need to be heard, not only by yourself but by anyone who came to hear the band. So you mike the amp, or run a direct box to the PA, and that is great, unless your monitors can't handle your guitar and vocals all at the same time, or the drummer wants less of you in the monitor mix and there is only one monitor mix and you can only sorta hear yourself the way it is. Well, you could get another small amp and run two at a time. But that is a question of money, and how much you have to haul around, and hooking things up so you don't get excessive hum from ground loops, and if you are using pedals how to make that work, etc etc. It gets so complicated. In all honesty, I would love to run two 15 watt Princeton amps (or something similar) with some boxes on the floor, and if could afford it, I probably would. But I have found that one amp of 30-100 watts with channnel switching is the most versatile set up I can afford. I traded a bunch of stuff for a MArk III Boogie, and I ain't looking back. The bands I have played with have always been very eclectic in terms of style; we might do a straight-ahead blues shuffle, followed by a country rock tune, go from there into a heavy rocker, then to a folkie sort of thing, and after that a pop rocker, and end with a slow jazz tune. I need an amp that will give me at least an approximiation of the sort of tones you hear from all those sorts of music, and the Mark III works great for me that way. I should add that I tried the digital modeling thing for a while because it seems so practical, but the sounds were almost always just far enough off of what I wanted to hear that it set my teeth on edge. It was wrong for everything except the tunes where I wanted mondo over-the-top distortion. It did that one thing very well. But that didn't get the job done. A master volume amp may not be the best of all possible sounds; it must be admitted that there are tonal compromises involved in getting your amp to scream at lower volume levels, but until you have big bux and are playing big enough gigs that you can have everything the way you want it onstage and off, a master volume channel switching amp is probably the most widely applicable tool the average working guitarist can have. And now you know the rest of the story... Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bbach1 Posted June 27, 2004 Share Posted June 27, 2004 My Mesa has a master volume and then seperate volume, gain, and tone controls for each of the six channels. It pretty much allows you to dial up as much or as little distortion you may want without blowing the windows out of the house. Basically, that's what I see the main function of the master volume. Glass is expensive these days. bbach Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperFreak Posted June 28, 2004 Share Posted June 28, 2004 Master Volume is a must if you have tubes and don't want to deal with the noise police! Things sure have come a long way from EVH using a light dimmer switch years ago! How can we fight ignorance and apathy? Who knows! Who cares! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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