You can always put your amp in an enclosed area(closet, laundry room etc) that is quieter with a Shure 57 going directly into your interface. Outstanding video.
I play a vintage Super Reverb in an apartment bedroom. Seriously. I use this same approach and make sure the volume doesn't go much above 75 dBl at the adjacent wall with my neighbors. I have never had a complaint. Of course, I also know when they are gone and I can crank the amp. At the same decibel level, this amp sounds better than all my smaller, supposedly apartment friendly, amps.
This is one of the most helpful and understandable lessons I’ve ever had. I mainly play my fender deluxe reverb so it’s especially relevant. Great stuff!
I have a Princeton non-reverb I love, they also made a Deluxe non-reverb, but I haven't heard one yet. The brown Deluxe and Princeton didn't have reverb, but had glorious tremolo, the larger brown amps even better with the "harmonic tremolo" (Concert, Vibroverb).
Turn the amp up and just use the volume on your guitar, try the 50s style Gibson and Fender wiring that helps keep the tone clear when you lower the instrument vol. If not get a vol pedal. Avoid using too many gizmos cos it will eat your time and money and patience away and drive you nuts. The way to good tone is to keep it simple.
Great video, I talk about these properties all the time. You need one more thing you aren’t getting- you preserved the natural eq of the first stage by fixing the volume knob where you like it - and dial back the signal strength with the volume pedal downstream of a buffer of course. One thing you need to add is a compression pedal - you aren’t getting the natural compression by actually having a big signal going through the preamp. A compression pedal will make up for this.
Kinman Treble bleed circuit on your volume pot solves guitar volume knob. I highly suggest it. Crank the amp and control the gain with your guitar. As simple as that.
I've the '68 deluxe reverb and it sounds great pretty much anywhere on the dial. I play it at home all the time just barely cracked open its like television volume, if i want dirt i just kick on a tubescreamer.
That’s what I did with my twin reverb. Everyone says they are to loud ( and they certainly can be lol) but I just kept it turned down and it did fine. Used to play it at night with family in bed. I couldn’t turn it up past 2 but for clean classic country it sounded fine. If I wanted some drive I just cranked the tube screamer up and kept the twin turned down
I have an acoustic as well but its a different thing. I also have other smaller so-called "bedroom" amps - a Vox AC4 and a Spark mini, but I think the larger speaker and headroom of the Deluxe just gives a bigger, punchier, more satisfying experience, even when run really quiet.
If you have 50s wiring in your guitars, turning the volume down on your guitar will roll off less highs. It's strange, but if you have your guitar volume on 5, there's more treble in the signal if you also turn your tone knob down (at least with 50s wiring)
I use an Xotic SP compressor and power it with 18 watts to get lots of headroom and decrease the volume with the volume setting on the compressor. The downside is the volume is down when it goes through the effects. I really like your volume pedal at the very end of the effects chain. That's very elegant. I also bought a tube that decreases the output on my Fender Blues Jr IV so that it doesn't jump from 0 - 2 anymore, but I'm not sure if it's done anything to give me a better tone. But I think at the end of the day, like you said, If you're not getting the amp up to a volume to pump the speaker cone, you're not getting the benefits of a tube amp. That's when it starts feeling right and sounding right. The volume needs to be at least that high.
Worked for me. Totally diff amp. But 100% the same problem and I never thought to move my volume at the end. Brilliant. Saved me from buying an attenuator.
Honestly the best solution is a master volume or a switch to internally lower the volume next to a ground resistor before it hits the phase inverter. Edge of break up at any volume.
I like my 65 Blackface Fender Princeton Reverb Amp "Spanky Clean" ( like Prince or Nile Rodgers ) and I use: (3) gain stages: Barber Gain Changer > OCD > Thorpy Muff = killer tones.
I have the exact same amp (with some NOS tube replacements) and placed a volume pedal between the end of the effects chain and the amp input. BAM! Low volume bliss. I keep the amp ~5 or so. Tone is exactly the same at all volumes and that's the best part! Plus, great for you to point out how the volume pot treble cap affects this amp at low volumes WITHOUT this process. (Why Fender thought this was a good idea baffles me.) Any tube amp is going to be too loud without this method. Also completely agree about attenuators being basically useless - even the best ones. Waste of money.
I have the 64 reissue, and I lowered the bias and changed the first tube to AT7. It sounds so smooth and quiet at low volumes but still has the chime - and I can still use an overdrive pedal to make it rock.
Excellent, thank you! I have a Hot Cake, which is transparent when drive and presence are at 0. Its level is now effectively a master volume for my DRRI. Sounds ace!
Just came across this video - and my neighbors are going to thank you for this. The Reverb is such a nice amp. But boy does it want to push some air even at lower volumes. Add some boost and it wants to raise the roof off lol. So thanks - I'll have to give this a shot.
Cool video man. I bought a 65 drri brand new about a year and a half ago. With a store coupon it was a bit over $900. I just saw today they’re now going for $1400!! I still have mine, and I absolutely love it. Great tone, easy to dial in, takes pedals really well, has the most amazing sounding reverb and a really nice tremolo at slow speeds. I put a vintage 30 in it, and it’s my favorite amp that I own. I cherish this thing. With that said, it’s definitely not worth $1400 dollars. I can see if maybe they put the reverb and trem on both channels, put the bright cap on a switch, or added a high quality alnico speaker or something, but no way in hell is this amp worth $1400. It used to be $1100. That’s about a 27% price hike. Fender did the same with the Super Reverb. Was $1550 (i think) now $1800 and the twin. I forget the price of the twin. I think $1400? Now it’s $1700. Fender is out of their minds. This is absolute highway robbery. EDIT: forgot to ask, what kind of board is that? Looks like the perfect size.
What I used since the 80s is a variac. Eddie Van Halen did this to get great tone from a tube amp. It allows you to turn the amp up to nicely breakup and have the volume at a lower volumes.
Never had a problem with my attenuator, the toneking Iron Man 2. Works great with both my deluxe reverb and jtm50. Cool video tho, and this is another way to control volume:)
Note that on many Fender amps, and definitely the Deluxe Reverb, input 2 has less gain than input 1...I think I read either -3 or -6db. I also read that using input 2 will load your pickups differently, so worth experimenting anyway (source Telecaster Discussion Page Reissue forum)
Yep! There's a resistor on the input jack for input 2! It's conceptually the same as having a volume pedal right in front of the amp permanently set on ~5-7. Like you say, without a buffer that will interact with your pickups. With one it should mostly just drop the volume.
I’m no equipment junkie but I’ve played the same Carvin 100w tube head and 4x12 cabinet for years at home and in clubs. I don’t understand the electronic theory but I agree, (and found by trial and error) that a passive volume pedal AFTER the pedal board works best. The amp has a 25/50/100% power switch on the back and that gets me in the ball park and the volume pedal does the fine adjustment. I tried power breaks and several configurations on the board/volume pedal but I think what you’re showing here is spot on. You can have whatever tone you want at whatever level you need. I will add I have an old Yamaha R-100 reverb processor (intended for keyboard I believe) that has a volume knob on the front, when it’s in the effects loop, it magically changes volume without much effect on the tone or distortion. It plays well with my other small/inexpensive transistor practice amps also. Even inline with the signal path, you can roll the volume back and keep the sizzle you have dialed in the amp. I don’t know why it “acts” like that but it’s noticeably different than a pedal. I have been using it many years because it has an excellent delay built in.
Very insightful and loved the technical breakdowns. I'm on the second floor of an apartment unit and I'm determined not to let the volume and bass frequencies stop me from upgrading to a DRRI. I am hesitant to use attenuators so this video gave me much more confidence.
Keep in mind he has a special attenuating speaker that is no longer being made. A volume pedal alone is going to just kill your amp tone. Believe me, DRRIs are far too loud for apartments
@Coma White those things are pretty awesome for their price. Sure you lose so much tone but in a situation where you can't be loud, it's hard to beat for a hundred bucks. Mine died after about a year but it was worth it. Just be careful not to use for too long at any given time because they can do big damage to your circuit board with all the heat being generated at pushing the amp for long sessions. It's not really the attenuator doing the damage directly, but the more volume you have going on with the amp the hotter it's gonna get inside. I used a bugera with my marshall for 6 months in an apartment and had to change tubes twice in that time, which started to get expensive so I just eventually got an active attenuator. A friend of mine recommended wiring a powerful PC fan and It really helped to keep the board and tubes a little cooler. Definitely recommend some kind of cooling mechanism if you don't already do that.
What I learned from this video/demo is that if I want to play my DR quieter, I need to spend more money on a speaker and pedals, or just buy a small, awesome Vibro Champ, which is not cheap anymore. Good information regardless. Wahi' Valleys
Silver faced fenders are volume amplifiers. Black faced fenders are designed for increased tone sound. Jimi hendrix and fender built a special cable to allow the fender low impedance signal to work in the high impedance marshall amplifier. Gibson humbuckers were originally high impedance pickups. Your fender amplifier accepts signal from low impedance pickups- tone controls. Your Jimi hendrix pedal requires a fender tone control low impedance signal travelling through the JH coil cable.
So use a booster or fuzz or distortion pedal basically. I live in a remote area and my kids are grown and gone, but when the wife is in town this will help. Im getting one of these DRRI amps.. I think im paying $650, its brand new, from a collector never played. Still got the tags on it. Ive got some old 70s Marshalls ive been using for 40 years, 50 watt 2204s, and i love the master volume heads best. I played through the Deluxe in May, and im gonna make some changes, the speaker for one... I liked yours- But its a very different sound, as a Fender should be . Im gonna record with it. So im learning all i can about these amps and your technical expertise was a big help. Thanks
So I tried this today. I can definitely hear a slight improvement in touch sensitivity with the volume pedal. I was using a dr z brake lite with my DRRI. It works pretty well, and might still be a better solution for driving the amp harder, but for clean, it's nice having that finger/speaker interaction. I didn't realize what I was missing until I went and grabbed the Dunlop mini volume pedal today. I run it after my pedal board, which has a Boss CE2W at the end (pretty good buffer I think). Anyways, thanks for the video!
There is a reason Fender has added built in attenuators to their amps. Using an attenuator to reduce volume makes way more sense. The tubes are still being driven the same when using an attenuator so adjustments do not change the tone like this method does. With this method, you hear a clear difference and adjustments have to be made on the pedals/EQ to compensate. With an attenuator, you may hear a little treble loss, but everything else is the same. A slight tweak of the tone knob of the guitar is all that’s needed to get that back. By all means, add a volume pedal, they are very useful but they go first in the signal chain. If achieving the same tone was as easy as turning the volume down the knob in the amp would work that way, but it doesn’t. The Bugera PS1 is an amazing attenuator and cost less than a volume pedal.
These particular amps were designed such that when they are turned down to bedroom levels, you lose bass. So when you turn them down you simply up the bass to balance tone. They were designed to simply turn up the bass at lower volume levels (and vice versa). Voila! As mentioned in this video, the bright cap keeps the same treble at any volume, but not the bass. I have an FDRRI, and it is simple. Turn it to 1.6 - 1.8 , and then simply turn up the bass. I have a Kingsley Harlot V3 tube distortion pedal, so I get actual tube break up/od/distortion at any volume level. Sure, not as full as over 2.5, but a great tube sound for bedroom volume levels.
After reading an online comment, years ago, I took out one of the two power tubes of my 68 Custom Deluxe Reverb. It was nice before, but now, naturally attenuated, it sounds great without pedals. On 3 to 4 it's only pleasantly loud and breaks up (enough for expression) nicely when played with a stronger touch, but sounds like "glass" when played with a light touch. Though still too loud (usually) for others in the house or to play at night at home.
Are you sure you took out a power tube? I don't think your amp would function (and indeed it might blow something up). Maybe you took out the V1 preamp tube from the normal channel which will gain up the V2 powering the effects channel? You can take 2 power tubes out of some amps with 4 power tubes, but with a class AB amp where you need one tube pushing while the other pulls, I don't think you can get by with an odd # of tubes
@@adjustablebias Yes, I'm sure. My '68 custom reverb is a little different than the standard reissue, but basically the same, I took out 1 6V6 power tube tube, the one right next to the 5AR4 rectifier tube, though I don't think it matters which one is taken out. I have played it that way for years, without any issues and it sounds fantastic. Though there seems to be some general debate, whether this is possible or not. My tremolo does not work right now, but I think it may be a broken foot switch.
EDIT: No offense to this person, it's the people who are suggesting these silly mods that are off base. Geez, this is a hilarious situation...the blind leading the blind. First of all its possible to run you amp in this manner but completely ridiculous. It always boils down to using the right gear, drastic measures like you are doing means this amp is not right for your home use. Here is some technical information: 1) Class AB (push pull) power amps like the deluxe utilize two out of phase signals to drive the speaker (coupled by the output transformer). This is a balanced system that requires one power tube on each side of the transformer primary. 2) If you remove one power tube thus unbalancing the transformer primary the sound and function will suffer...reduced power and distortion and hum! 3) Why does the amp still function? This is because of the class of operation AB, which mean class A plus class B. 4) Class A = tube operating 100% of the cycle, Class B = 50%, Class AB = more than 50% less than 100%....Soo at very low signal levels (volume) the tubes are operating in Class A and this small area is where both tubes are working 100% and where you can have an unbalanced system still amplify somewhat cleanly. Note this is a very small margin at low low signal levels. Now when the signal level increases the tubes go into Class AB and start trading off the work...with only one tube installed now this tube is driven into near Class B and will become extremely asymmetrical...this results in huge amounts of distortion and harmonic content and also HUM! 5) A final note, it takes 6db reduction to equal a perceived loudness reduction of 1/2. So people who are pulling power tubes from there amp in hopes to achieve some great reduction in volume are not experiencing what they think they are...mostly the difference that will be heard is the chance in impedance, voltage, feedback and interaction with the speaker(s).
@@nikkisimpson1835 No offense taken. But it's not exactly a mod, just an experiment in attenuation, that is easily reversible. And I was not really suggesting it, so much as reporting my experience.The truth is my Deluxe actually sounded good with one tube. Though the Deluxe sounds great with two tubes, of course, I pulled the second tube, not so much for lower volume, but increased distortion and better tone at lower volumes. The sound I got was very musical, not really any more noisy than usual. This being said, you are right that a different amp is better suited to what I was using it for. I mostly play a tweed Champ, with and without a Tumulus pedal, which sounds great at the ridiculously low volumes at which I am forced to play it. The Champ is also much nicer to carry around.
@@danschoenharl3856 Understand. I meant the people on the internet suggesting these actions. And of course its a Mod...the design has been modified, right?! The distortion is full of second order harmonics, you can achieve this effect with many pedal options...or better yet get a single ended class A designed amp which produce the harmonics you like and you only need one power tube! It's your amp to do as you will, I just don't want people to be misled with this crude action of attenuation. You should try a tweed style Champ or Princeton (same as champ plus a tone control)...these circuits are perfect for what you a describing...connect it to a 12" speaker and add an outboard reverb and you are set!
From now on i’m going to point friends to this video instead of trying to explain some of these concepts myself, very well and succinctly expressed in a way that shows how all of these things interact. Thanks!
I like you, Nerd! I thought I would be bored but your style is great for someone who really wants to understand this stuff, especially those of us Deluxe Reverb fanboys. I shall subscribe!
Hi, I also have the dirty little secret, and next to it I have the 5F6 pedal and I used to use the formula 55 like you. I can get anything I want with those two. You have great taste.
I fitted Yellow caps to my amp. Lowered the output level to 40 watts in total. I mixed them with 2 normal tubes. Yep, it has changed the sound a little, i have a sound that's like a cross of a Fender and A Vox. I am able to keep the old beast thou as i no longer gig! Not sure i am going to part with my mid 1990's beast just yet!
I played a Twin Reverb for years at home. For clean country stuff it did just fine at home played quietly. If I wanted some drive I just kicked the tube screamer on and left the amp turned way down. I couldn’t turn the amp up past 2 but it sounded fine lol 😂. But to be fair it’s impossible to make a twin reverb sound bad.
Great educational video! I appreciate your knowledge on this subject. I will pass this on to multiple people I know that use their DRs in their house or apartment.
Deluxe Reverb, the best all-around amp I've had. Liked it so much, I bought and sold one twice... Still too loud for home. Just using an old Champ these days.
Wow. Guess I need a volume pedal now. Never saw much use for one, not doing any swells or anything, but this I would use. And maybe I’ll start doing swells too..
Man o man A speaker change makes a HUGE HUGE HUGE CHANGE I was gonna send it to a amp mod shop for all this expensive mojo and these vintage tube but before I shelled out $600 I decided to try a eminence Ga-sc64 Wow man It gets rid of every issue Like the ice picks, the boomy bass The farty distortion and the weird artifacts But the amp sounds exactly like it did before Just with no issues I cancelled the work order and have been happy since I highly highly Recommend it You will not regret it one bit
Makes me wish I didn’t sell my DD-8 and Dirty Little Secret pedals for my 69 deluxe reverb!!! I have a love hate relationship with gear and decided to go the fractal fm3 route but damn I miss pedals! Awesome video!
this is a great tip that i will certainly try. however, despite your original comment about attenuators would you consider the Tone King IronMan mini to be an exception to the rule? i have one for my 68DRRI and it seems to do a great job of preserving tone. it's praises have been sung by many. that said i still want to try this trick to compare. thanks for the video!!!
I've never tried the standalone unit, but I've used the built in one on several Tone King amps - Falcon Grande, Sky King. First off, Mark Bartel (the founder of Tone King and designer of all their amps) is a mad genius. He's one of the few amp designers out there with both an opinionated ear and the technical chops to go after the sounds he wants without purely rehashing or recombining classic designs. If you aren't already following him and his new company Bartel Amps on Facebook, you should check him out just to see how meticulous he is in every single aspect of amp design. His new amps are incredible, but justifiably expensive given the quality work he's doing custom building so many parts mostly by himself. As far as the Iron Man goes, I think it sounds really great as a way to drive the amps into breakup at low volumes, and it was pretty innovative at the time it was released for introducing Fletcher-Munson curves to increase the highs and lows as you reduce the volume to keep the perceived eq the same. Personally, I still think it introduces a little wooly-ness that's most noticeable if you use it when the amp is mostly clean. Don't listen to me though! If you're using it and it sounds great to you and feels great to play, that's the important part! No one ever went to see a band play or listen to a record and said, "Man, that sounded great, but I wish the guitar didn't have an attenuator on it!" Will be interested to hear your thoughts if you try the post-buffer volume pedal approach on what the differences are!
Can I achieve this affect with the DLS and a volume pedal? I got the DSL already, I'd just need a volume pedal. I would not want to replace the Jensen speaker in my Princeton though. Thanks!
While you are using the DLS, you can just use its master volume knob to control the volume, but when playing with it off, it's a true bypass pedal, so no buffer. Instead, you can either get an "active" aka "buffered" volume pedal, a buffer pedal with a volume control, or just a buffer + a passive volume pedal like mine. Have fun and let us know how it goes!
Oh, and I just saw you have a Princeton, which doesn't have a bright cap across its volume pot in its schematic - in that case you can probably just use its volume knob - if that's not working out for you to get quiet enough, you can still try this approach, or, you could try replacing the first 12ax7 (far right when looking at the back of the amp) with a 12ay7, which effectively reduces the first amplification phase in the amp so it'll be quieter on the first few ticks of the knob
@@adjustablebias I do have a tumnus on the board which (I believe) always has a buffer even if the pedal is not engaged. So there's that? I am just wondering if the EQ I prefer is not being engaged by the Princeton if the volume is at 3. I under the assumption the EQ profile changes depending on volume.
@@apereed44 if the Tumnus has an always on buffer, then you've got essentially the same setup I have and should be good with just a volume pedal! As to whether it makes a difference without a bright switch, try it and let us know! My guess is it won't make a huge difference, especially if you're already say 3.5 on the volume, but you never know!
In fact because volume is on a logarhytmic scale -3 dbA is -50% of the volume. If 2 trumpets play at a volume of 80 dbA, 77dbA is the volume of 1 trumpet playing and 83 dbA is the volume of 4 trumpets playing. BUT… in terms of accoustic apreciation, it is true that -10 db feels more like half volume. It is more of an accoustic-brain trick. Technically -3 db is half volume is correct but your feel is correct also in a more sensitivity way. Just sayin
Great video, thank you. I'm curious about where you measured your sound pressure levels. At 85 -90 dB, you said it was talking level. I find that 85 dB measured w an iphone dB meter app at my ear is my normal limit and at 90 dB, depending on the music, I'm bordering on painful. were you measuring right at the speaker cone? Thanks again.
It was in the digital display unit you see by the pedal board - on the floor probably a meter or so in front of the amp and just off to the side. I think you're right that it would be different off axis at ear level, and honestly it was a super cheap internet purchase - no idea how calibrated it is other than giving a good relative sense of the volumes in the video
They key point here is at 10:50 - moving the volume down will "take away any od you are getting from your amp". Isn't that the whole point of a tube amp? Hit the front end hard and get the preamp tubes cooking? Pushing up the amps volume control should eventually bring in some power stage od. If all you want is to hear od from a pedal why use a tube amp?
There are lots of people who use tube amps for a clean tone and pedals for their overdriven sounds. David Gilmour of Pink Floyd specifically uses Hiwatt amps because they stay clean even when turned up very loud. Most people who play a Fender Twin Reverb use it because it is clean even turned up really loud. I have a 1966 Fender Princeton Amp - Not the same as a Princeton Reverb Amp - which stays clean with single coils even turned to 10, and will only barely start to break up with humbuckers.
That bright cap can be removed. When you turn down the volume on the guitar, you are putting a resistance on the pickup signal, so not all the frequencies remain operable. A "buffer" (misnomer ... anything that buffers, acts as a wall to diminish something) is a preamp of sorts, which can boost the signal.
I have a vintage 66 that had never had parts changed. Found it in late eighties for $500. I use a Butler Real Tube distortion pedal that has volume control. If I turn the amp up to 5 or so them turn the pedal down low, am I accomp!ihing the same thing? Tuff to play with 3 cats in small condo. The pedal has an Au7tube is it?
More or less - I'm not familiar with that pedal, and it sounds like it will add some color which you may or may not want, but what you're doing well effectively set the amps eq to what it would be at 5 (less treble), drop the volume and distortion the amp might provide, and leave you with whatever is coming from the pedal - give it a try and see if you like it better than keeping the volume low on the amp!
So does this act as a volume control in a way…say I set my tone king to 6 breakup to bypass bright cap. Then use this to turn down the volume like on my guitar. Would I go from the break up, back to lower clean tones as I got from 109% to 25%. Kind of looking for that as a set and leave it Vs a mod. I am ready have the iron main built in which is unique because it comes before the speaker and interacts. I can shave off a few db as my master. Then use a volume pedal to reduce from the loudest 6/7. To bypass bright cap, and then dial back in my clean with pedal down?
Yeah, that's the basic idea - with the volume on the amp at full, you've fully bypassed any bright cap, and by backing off the volume on the volume pedal, you'll go back to clean. You can the dial in the eq you want by backing off the amp volume which will progressively increase the effect of the bright cap to whatever level you prefer, just interesting volume on the pedal to hit the overall level you prefer.
Makes sense…I just needed a simple set it and leave it. The bright cap wasn’t bad at 2-3 on OD. But Fuzz and distortion I need it past noon always. So without having to fidget with pedal volumes on my distortion and guitar…this makes since. I have a old V1 Jekyl and Hyde red second in chain as my buffer pedal. So volume pedal last after the dirt pedals, and proably before effects, would be most natural. For me it’s not about low home volumes, as it is clean sound to break up and bypassing the bright cap…without having to constantly readjust everything. So seems the volume pedal solves all this, as a set it and leave it on the amp. On my Tone King the highs are already on 3 and bass at 7. It’s similar but a bit different. Also using GE 5751 tube in V1 has helped a lot with fine control before breakup and higher levels on amp. Thanks! Looks like I got everything but a volume pedal to do this. Which you recommend out of the passive ones?
Interesting video. You explained some interesting concepts I hadn't come across. A small note on decibels ... a 3 dB decrease in volume is a halving in volume when measuring power [W], only. In dB SPL 6 dB would be a halving in perceived loudness since SPL is calculated using 2log10 and when it comes to human perception SPL is the most accurate scale.
What about the mod I've been reading up on. You pull the v1 and two of the power tubes, then disconnect a speaker. It's supposed to cut the volume while retaining the tone.
I’m not sure I follow, you don’t like attenuators because they change the sound but you are ok changing the speaker? The point about the eq is a good one though. Unfortunately the feeling at low volume will always be a compromise with these amps…
Standard Princeton Reverb amps do not have a bright cap, which is one of the things that makes DR sound strange at very low volumes, making a lot of this less necessary. That said, if you are trying to adjust volume at very low settings, it can be a bit easier to use a volume pedal
Awesome, and you did it all without mentioning impedance once! I'm off to ebay to buy a Volume Pedal! Actually, just to let you know, I use a loop pedal and put any buffered pedals in that, because I can definitely feel it loses some sparkle when a buffer is on. However like you I like to practice with my real amp (Custom Deluxe 68), so this is a great choice for really low practice volumes, I can include it in my 'buffered' loop for practice. Thanks for the vid!
I actually like a bit of bright cap, especially with certain darker humbucker guitars - makes the sound a bit more sparkly than say a Princeton Reverb. The volume pedal / volume pot on the amp combo let you dial in how much shines through while still controlling the overall volume. I do like the idea of the mod they did for the 64 custom where they include reverb + trem on the normal channel, or the option of putting in a switch or push/pull pot to bring it in or out, but internal modifications to the amp are a bit scary compared to just hooking up a pedal in front!
I got a one watt BlackStar amp head. Problem solved? Nope, that little bastard is still too loud for the house when cranked. Still has pretty good sounds using clean volume. Easier to get distortion using the guitar volume control. It works pretty well for bedroom jams...
I've found with a few less expensive attenuators you lose a lot of the sound. I bet some of the higher end ones might work great, but not for the price of a volume pedal or even a low efficiency speaker!
Very interesting information on this subject. I'm very keen on getting a Deluxe Reverb soon. I have a 59 Bassman which sounds nice, but it's Deluxe Reverb sound that I'm after. I want the 64 handwired Deluxe but they are hard to find right now. I use a Boss Tube Amp Expander as an attenuator, that doesn't affect the tone of the amp.
Get the ‘64 Custom Deluxe! I did and got rid of my DRRI. Having reverb and tremolo in both channels is great, and the overall tone quality is heavenly! You’ll not regret it.
My route 66 compressor gives it a clean boost that kicks it into sweet tones without crazy volumes. I've tried many other comps, but nothing does what the Visual Sound Route 66 does !!!
Between the speaker upgrade and amp-in-box pedals you could just buy a nice bedroom tube amp. The Marshall DSL5cr is $500 new and sounds great at 1 watt and could almost play live at 5. I've always been a pedal junkie but I rarely use pedals with this amp because it sounds so nice. I wish fender made a deluxe series amp with half the wattage of the Princeton though!
I actually owned a DSL 5cr for a short period of time, but didn't get along with the sound. I've definitely heard others play through DSLs and sound great though. The one I had also had some serious hiss problems, even with the volume low or off. Ended up trading it in.
Adjustable Bias this is the first Marshall tube amp I've ever played through or owned. It behaves very differently than any other amp I've used. I find a lot of good sounds but changing guitars or adding a pedal changes the amp characteristics way more than expected. It seems like it's sort of a one setting amp, but with a lot of settings, if that makes sense. Great for recording or practicing but I don't think it would make a good performance amp by itself, unless you only need one or two sounds.
If you use an equalizer with a volume control instead of the volume pedal, would you set the equalizer to flat (0) across the board? And at the end of the effects chain? Thanks?
Thanks so much for this video. There was a volume pedal left alone in a corner of my wardrobe for which now I found a reason not to sell it. It works pretty good and I’m switching on my beloved Deluxe Reverb again since this goddamn pandemic is locking it down.
Thanks for your entertainment. One problem though, all Jimi hendrix pedals can't be the same as the original pedal, so they're built as a SET and can't work individually. That's what the original pedal does. The JH fuzz pedal requires the JH wah pedal to complete its old-fashioned style sound. Without the JH wah, it makes a modern distortion or broken distortion sound. The original pedal doesn't make that sound. The JH wah pedal requires 3 JH pedals to complete its old-fashioned style sound. The octavio pedal requires 2 pedals to complete its old-fashioned style sound. And to link the JH pedals to the dunlop brand, the dunlop rotovibe pedal must be at the end of the JH SET of pedals. Anyone can make a pedal so dunlop is better than that. They make sets of mix&match pedals. They compete with multiple effects units from other brands. They don't work by themselves. The company would get sued for exact reproductions. Electrically they're a set of pedals. They can't make the old-fashioned sound by themselves.
Where are your effects? In the FX loop or between the guitar and the amp? I have my FX board between the guit and the amp (Hot Rod DeVille 212), but I put my Volume pedal in the loop. Now I can turn the amp up to around 6 or 7, kick back the VP, and get that nice Fender breakup at a neighborly level. Still trying dif levels between the V knob and the Master V, searching for that "Tone". Thanks for your info. I learned a lot.
The Deluxe Reverb is a vintage reissue and has no effects loop so the entire board is in front of the amp. In your case, by putting the pedal in the effects loop, which typically is after the preamp and before the power amp sections of an amp, I think your effectively giving yourself a second, easier to control master volume.
you all need to try this....turn you amp volume all the way down then up to the point where it just makes sound clearly enough...then take a volume boost pedal and max it out ...when i do this i get a nice gritty clipping sound like overdriving my amp ...but the characteristics of my guitar and amp come through more so than when you use a OD pedal with the amp at normal vol.
At the end of your pedal board unless you want it to modify the signal into any pedals - the important part is that it go after a buffer or drive pedal. Hope that helps!
If you don't have any pedals except a volume pedal between the guitar and a vintage fender amp, thos trick still works or you need a buffer between guitar and the volume pedal?
You need either a buffer or an active volume pedal (which is essentially a buffer in the pedal), otherwise it'll be more or less like just turning the volume down on your guitar (and you'll lose some highs)
So a simple pedal like Boss eq will do the job before a 250k ernie ball jr6180 volume pedal right? (P.S. what about using a vol pedal on the amp's effects send return?)
Yeah, any buffer prior will do, although with an EQ pedal, you could just use the overall level control on the pedal itself. If your amp has an effects loop, a simple pot there will work too, and will also let you get some preamp gain, but the DRRI, like most classic amp reissues doesn't have one.
The HRD with EQ at noon generally has more mids than a typical black panel Fender, so you might look for slightly scooped pedals like a Boss Blues Driver, or the Keeley versions of it compared to mid hump options like Tube Screamers. In terms of designers who target one, I think Wampler might?
Hmmmm.... Never really noticed this and I normally use my giant fender vol pedal first in chain, I'll have to give it a try last. When im wanting to crank it up I will turn it over face down on carpet or move the amps up against the bed facing the bed and it breathes a lil underneath, makes a lot of difference.
Great vid. I have the same amp. Nowadays i use attenuator but i like the breakup and overdrive from the valve amp. I have read input 2 for hambuckers. What about use input 2 plus volume pedal? Can i get the drive from the amp without pedals?
Two channels black face amps. Both channels split the plate voltage on the first gain stage between v1 and v2. If you only use the wet channel and want more front end gain, simply pull the v1 pre amp tube(12ax7) which will disable the normal channel circuit but increase the plate voltage to the v2 pre amp tube for the wet channel. This will push the front end harder and saturate faster. If you only use the normal channel then vice versa, pull the v2 pre amp tube and disable the wet channel. Perfectly safe and has been done by many for years. The wet channel on most blackface amps have an extra 1/2 stage of gain to compensate for the vibrato/tremelo circuit. If you never use the vibrato/tremelo and only reverb effect on the wet channel. Disconnecting it from the circut will fatten up the tone. Also some black face amps have an NFT circuit which can also be wired to disengage which unleashes a more wild or woolly range.
Great information. Thanks for the tech breakdown. I didn’t know deluxe didn’t have bright cap on normal channel. Just got one and learning more about it.
So would a treble bleed essentially do the same thing? But also if I’m not using any pedals at all...no true bypass, no buffer, etc...did this still work? I guess the before and after the pedal board kinda made me think.
A treble bleed is actually kind of the opposite - that's essentially what the Deluxe Reverb has on its volume knob - a treble bypass around the knob where many treble bleed circuits do the same thing but on your guitar's volume knob. If you wanted to do the same thing with no other pedals, you'd essentially want a buffer with a volume knob or an active volume pedal - there are plenty of these out there, many with additional eq controls like the Fender Level Set Buffer. The goal of the approach in this video is basically to have the volume knob set on the Deluxe Reverb where you want it for EQ (since it has a bright cap, the level of the volume knob is actually controlling the ratio of treble to other frequencies), and then control the overall volume a different way that doesn't impact the EQ in any way. A passive volume knob on a guitar will effect EQ by dropping treble faster than bass, while most treble bleeds try to combat this they still also end up affecting the EQ differently, often by overcompensating with the treble or otherwise sound weird. This is particularly important for low volumes because there will be way too much treble when the volume on the amp or on a treble bleed circuit is on low.
Great video, thanks :) i'll add the Mad Professor Orange Evolution underdrive, which could be more practical than a moveable vol pedal, as an always on pedal.
That myth about the passive pickup that makes the volume rollback sounding muddy is not true. What makes a guitare sounding dark when you lower the volume is the fact that the volume is, in a passive pickup guitar, a simple voltage divider. Then, to get lower volume, the pot places a huge resistance in the signal path. Combined with the slight capacitance of a cable, this acts like a low pass filter. A buffer should the be placed, not before, but after a volume pot. It also should be placed before something loading the signal with a certain capacitance (like a cable). And also, the volume on the amp does the same thing! A preamp amplificatiin stage just before doesn't change anything. Just after a volume pot, comes another amplification stage, witch loads the signal with what's called miller capacitance. To aboid a muddy signal their, the amp can have a "treble bleed", or "bright cap". The deluxe reverb have a fixed one. That's what generally makes the difference between normal and bright channel, for the '59 bassman for example
Very good video, my deluxe reverb amp does not have any sound at all between 1 and 2 on the volume knob . Is that normal? My amp is identical to the one shown here. I just noticed this issue after moving
That's pretty normal! The taper (how much resistance there is at what setting) amp-to-amp isn't always very consistent. Older amps sometimes require turning it up even further because of how the pots (the thing the nob turns) were back then!
Well, the thing that puzzles me is you say you want to retain the real sound of the amp, then the fist thing you suggest is changing the speaker which by definition is the single most important part of the amp and will create that biggest sound change... I personally think there are now several amazing attenuators out there that have very little impact on tone and keeps that amp whole with everything you would use on stage in your home rig. But I nevertheless interesting ideas there
This was AWESOME!!!! I bought a 65 DRRI about a month ago and have never owned a tube amp before and struggled with playing it in my apartment initially. Bought the Bugera PS1 on a whim and didn’t love how it sounds. For now I have the amp at 4 and my guitar about halfway and it works for me. Will have to try a volume pedal though, thanks for the tip!
You can always put your amp in an enclosed area(closet, laundry room etc) that is quieter with a Shure 57 going directly into your interface. Outstanding video.
This has to be one of the best explanations of amp and volume control...Well Done!
Step 1: Wear earplugs so you can't hear the neighbors knocking at your door.
Nope, it cut the high ends of tthe amp ;-)
Awesome idea!
✌️🤪🎸🎶🎵🎶🎵
Where are the next steps, please? I've been waiting over 2 years now and had to move 4 times.
This!
Make your neighbours wear earplugs.
Super helpful. Thanks for the detailed run-through and the close-ups on the board.
I play a vintage Super Reverb in an apartment bedroom. Seriously. I use this same approach and make sure the volume doesn't go much above 75 dBl at the adjacent wall with my neighbors. I have never had a complaint. Of course, I also know when they are gone and I can crank the amp. At the same decibel level, this amp sounds better than all my smaller, supposedly apartment friendly, amps.
This is one of the most helpful and understandable lessons I’ve ever had. I mainly play my fender deluxe reverb so it’s especially relevant. Great stuff!
me too..Im planning on getting a dr or a princeton and a volume pedal would really help
@@soofitnsexy yeah expression pedals are my next endeavor as well! Hope you find a great fit 🤘
I have a Princeton non-reverb I love, they also made a Deluxe non-reverb, but I haven't heard one yet. The brown Deluxe and Princeton didn't have reverb, but had glorious tremolo, the larger brown amps even better with the "harmonic tremolo" (Concert, Vibroverb).
Turn the amp up and just use the volume on your guitar, try the 50s style Gibson and Fender wiring that helps keep the tone clear when you lower the instrument vol. If not get a vol pedal. Avoid using too many gizmos cos it will eat your time and money and patience away and drive you nuts. The way to good tone is to keep it simple.
Great video, I talk about these properties all the time. You need one more thing you aren’t getting- you preserved the natural eq of the first stage by fixing the volume knob where you like it - and dial back the signal strength with the volume pedal downstream of a buffer of course. One thing you need to add is a compression pedal - you aren’t getting the natural compression by actually having a big signal going through the preamp. A compression pedal will make up for this.
Cali 76 will keep your tone very natural while adding some saturation and thickness. Many comps will take away bass which is no bueno for me.
Kinman Treble bleed circuit on your volume pot solves guitar volume knob. I highly suggest it.
Crank the amp and control the gain with your guitar. As simple as that.
I've the '68 deluxe reverb and it sounds great pretty much anywhere on the dial. I play it at home all the time just barely cracked open its like television volume, if i want dirt i just kick on a tubescreamer.
That’s what I did with my twin reverb. Everyone says they are to loud ( and they certainly can be lol) but I just kept it turned down and it did fine. Used to play it at night with family in bed. I couldn’t turn it up past 2 but for clean classic country it sounded fine. If I wanted some drive I just cranked the tube screamer up and kept the twin turned down
@@JohnnyRebKy we’re in the same page 👍🏻
Is your goal to play amplified at a lower volume than a acoustic guitar?
I have an acoustic as well but its a different thing. I also have other smaller so-called "bedroom" amps - a Vox AC4 and a Spark mini, but I think the larger speaker and headroom of the Deluxe just gives a bigger, punchier, more satisfying experience, even when run really quiet.
If you have 50s wiring in your guitars, turning the volume down on your guitar will roll off less highs. It's strange, but if you have your guitar volume on 5, there's more treble in the signal if you also turn your tone knob down (at least with 50s wiring)
I use an Xotic SP compressor and power it with 18 watts to get lots of headroom and decrease the volume with the volume setting on the compressor. The downside is the volume is down when it goes through the effects. I really like your volume pedal at the very end of the effects chain. That's very elegant. I also bought a tube that decreases the output on my Fender Blues Jr IV so that it doesn't jump from 0 - 2 anymore, but I'm not sure if it's done anything to give me a better tone. But I think at the end of the day, like you said, If you're not getting the amp up to a volume to pump the speaker cone, you're not getting the benefits of a tube amp. That's when it starts feeling right and sounding right. The volume needs to be at least that high.
Worked for me. Totally diff amp. But 100% the same problem and I never thought to move my volume at the end. Brilliant. Saved me from buying an attenuator.
I've done exactly this in a Mesa Boogie - the Maverick is brilliant. Had it in for about 5 years. It's brilliant
Honestly the best solution is a master volume or a switch to internally lower the volume next to a ground resistor before it hits the phase inverter. Edge of break up at any volume.
I like my 65 Blackface Fender Princeton Reverb Amp "Spanky Clean" ( like Prince or Nile Rodgers ) and I use: (3) gain stages: Barber Gain Changer > OCD > Thorpy Muff = killer tones.
I’m considering a 65 Princeton Reverb RI and I was looking for Prince and Nile Rodgers tones. Sounds like it will check those boxes. Thanks!
I have the exact same amp (with some NOS tube replacements) and placed a volume pedal between the end of the effects chain and the amp input. BAM! Low volume bliss. I keep the amp ~5 or so. Tone is exactly the same at all volumes and that's the best part! Plus, great for you to point out how the volume pot treble cap affects this amp at low volumes WITHOUT this process. (Why Fender thought this was a good idea baffles me.) Any tube amp is going to be too loud without this method. Also completely agree about attenuators being basically useless - even the best ones. Waste of money.
I have the 64 reissue, and I lowered the bias and changed the first tube to AT7. It sounds so smooth and quiet at low volumes but still has the chime - and I can still use an overdrive pedal to make it rock.
Excellent, thank you! I have a Hot Cake, which is transparent when drive and presence are at 0. Its level is now effectively a master volume for my DRRI. Sounds ace!
Just came across this video - and my neighbors are going to thank you for this. The Reverb is such a nice amp. But boy does it want to push some air even at lower volumes. Add some boost and it wants to raise the roof off lol. So thanks - I'll have to give this a shot.
Thanks! You helped me realize how to find a good tone not only with my 335 and Deluxe Reverb, but with any guitar and tube amplifier.
Cool video man. I bought a 65 drri brand new about a year and a half ago. With a store coupon it was a bit over $900. I just saw today they’re now going for $1400!! I still have mine, and I absolutely love it. Great tone, easy to dial in, takes pedals really well, has the most amazing sounding reverb and a really nice tremolo at slow speeds. I put a vintage 30 in it, and it’s my favorite amp that I own. I cherish this thing.
With that said, it’s definitely not worth $1400 dollars. I can see if maybe they put the reverb and trem on both channels, put the bright cap on a switch, or added a high quality alnico speaker or something, but no way in hell is this amp worth $1400. It used to be $1100. That’s about a 27% price hike.
Fender did the same with the Super Reverb. Was $1550 (i think) now $1800 and the twin. I forget the price of the twin. I think $1400? Now it’s $1700. Fender is out of their minds. This is absolute highway robbery.
EDIT: forgot to ask, what kind of board is that? Looks like the perfect size.
What I used since the 80s is a variac. Eddie Van Halen did this to get great tone from a tube amp. It allows you to turn the amp up to nicely breakup and have the volume at a lower volumes.
Never had a problem with my attenuator, the toneking Iron Man 2. Works great with both my deluxe reverb and jtm50. Cool video tho, and this is another way to control volume:)
Note that on many Fender amps, and definitely the Deluxe Reverb, input 2 has less gain than input 1...I think I read either -3 or -6db. I also read that using input 2 will load your pickups differently, so worth experimenting anyway (source Telecaster Discussion Page Reissue forum)
Yep! There's a resistor on the input jack for input 2! It's conceptually the same as having a volume pedal right in front of the amp permanently set on ~5-7. Like you say, without a buffer that will interact with your pickups. With one it should mostly just drop the volume.
The input impedance is set differently. #1 is set to give it a peaked mids sound, and #2 gives more of a scooped mid sound.
I’m no equipment junkie but I’ve played the same Carvin 100w tube head and 4x12 cabinet for years at home and in clubs. I don’t understand the electronic theory but I agree, (and found by trial and error) that a passive volume pedal AFTER the pedal board works best. The amp has a 25/50/100% power switch on the back and that gets me in the ball park and the volume pedal does the fine adjustment. I tried power breaks and several configurations on the board/volume pedal but I think what you’re showing here is spot on. You can have whatever tone you want at whatever level you need.
I will add I have an old Yamaha R-100 reverb processor (intended for keyboard I believe) that has a volume knob on the front, when it’s in the effects loop, it magically changes volume without much effect on the tone or distortion. It plays well with my other small/inexpensive transistor practice amps also. Even inline with the signal path, you can roll the volume back and keep the sizzle you have dialed in the amp. I don’t know why it “acts” like that but it’s noticeably different than a pedal. I have been using it many years because it has an excellent delay built in.
Does this apply to a super reverb amplifier.??? As well.??
If you have the bright switch on, yes - if it's off, it shouldn't matter too much!
Very insightful and loved the technical breakdowns. I'm on the second floor of an apartment unit and I'm determined not to let the volume and bass frequencies stop me from upgrading to a DRRI. I am hesitant to use attenuators so this video gave me much more confidence.
Keep in mind he has a special attenuating speaker that is no longer being made. A volume pedal alone is going to just kill your amp tone. Believe me, DRRIs are far too loud for apartments
@Coma White those things are pretty awesome for their price. Sure you lose so much tone but in a situation where you can't be loud, it's hard to beat for a hundred bucks. Mine died after about a year but it was worth it. Just be careful not to use for too long at any given time because they can do big damage to your circuit board with all the heat being generated at pushing the amp for long sessions. It's not really the attenuator doing the damage directly, but the more volume you have going on with the amp the hotter it's gonna get inside. I used a bugera with my marshall for 6 months in an apartment and had to change tubes twice in that time, which started to get expensive so I just eventually got an active attenuator. A friend of mine recommended wiring a powerful PC fan and It really helped to keep the board and tubes a little cooler. Definitely recommend some kind of cooling mechanism if you don't already do that.
@@LeviBulger Very good point here.
What I learned from this video/demo is that if I want to play my DR quieter, I need to spend more money on a speaker and pedals, or just buy a small, awesome Vibro Champ, which is not cheap anymore. Good information regardless. Wahi' Valleys
Silver faced fenders are volume amplifiers.
Black faced fenders are designed for increased tone sound.
Jimi hendrix and fender built a special cable to allow the fender low impedance signal to work in the high impedance marshall amplifier.
Gibson humbuckers were originally high impedance pickups.
Your fender amplifier accepts signal from low impedance pickups- tone controls.
Your Jimi hendrix pedal requires a fender tone control low impedance signal travelling through the JH coil cable.
So use a booster or fuzz or distortion pedal basically.
I live in a remote area and my kids are grown and gone, but when the wife is in town this will help.
Im getting one of these DRRI amps..
I think im paying $650, its brand new, from a collector never played.
Still got the tags on it.
Ive got some old 70s Marshalls ive been using for 40 years, 50 watt 2204s, and i love the master volume heads best.
I played through the Deluxe in May, and im gonna make some changes, the speaker for one...
I liked yours-
But its a very different sound, as a Fender should be .
Im gonna record with it.
So im learning all i can about these amps and your technical expertise was a big help.
Thanks
Nice sounding setup dude!
So I tried this today. I can definitely hear a slight improvement in touch sensitivity with the volume pedal. I was using a dr z brake lite with my DRRI. It works pretty well, and might still be a better solution for driving the amp harder, but for clean, it's nice having that finger/speaker interaction.
I didn't realize what I was missing until I went and grabbed the Dunlop mini volume pedal today. I run it after my pedal board, which has a Boss CE2W at the end (pretty good buffer I think).
Anyways, thanks for the video!
There is a reason Fender has added built in attenuators to their amps. Using an attenuator to reduce volume makes way more sense. The tubes are still being driven the same when using an attenuator so adjustments do not change the tone like this method does. With this method, you hear a clear difference and adjustments have to be made on the pedals/EQ to compensate. With an attenuator, you may hear a little treble loss, but everything else is the same. A slight tweak of the tone knob of the guitar is all that’s needed to get that back. By all means, add a volume pedal, they are very useful but they go first in the signal chain. If achieving the same tone was as easy as turning the volume down the knob in the amp would work that way, but it doesn’t. The Bugera PS1 is an amazing attenuator and cost less than a volume pedal.
These particular amps were designed such that when they are turned down to bedroom levels, you lose bass. So when you turn them down you simply up the bass to balance tone. They were designed to simply turn up the bass at lower volume levels (and vice versa). Voila! As mentioned in this video, the bright cap keeps the same treble at any volume, but not the bass. I have an FDRRI, and it is simple. Turn it to 1.6 - 1.8 , and then simply turn up the bass. I have a Kingsley Harlot V3 tube distortion pedal, so I get actual tube break up/od/distortion at any volume level. Sure, not as full as over 2.5, but a great tube sound for bedroom volume levels.
After reading an online comment, years ago, I took out one of the two power tubes of my 68 Custom Deluxe Reverb. It was nice before, but now, naturally attenuated, it sounds great without pedals. On 3 to 4 it's only pleasantly loud and breaks up (enough for expression) nicely when played with a stronger touch, but sounds like "glass" when played with a light touch.
Though still too loud (usually) for others in the house or to play at night at home.
Are you sure you took out a power tube? I don't think your amp would function (and indeed it might blow something up). Maybe you took out the V1 preamp tube from the normal channel which will gain up the V2 powering the effects channel?
You can take 2 power tubes out of some amps with 4 power tubes, but with a class AB amp where you need one tube pushing while the other pulls, I don't think you can get by with an odd # of tubes
@@adjustablebias Yes, I'm sure. My '68 custom reverb is a little different than the standard reissue, but basically the same, I took out 1 6V6 power tube tube, the one right next to the 5AR4 rectifier tube, though I don't think it matters which one is taken out.
I have played it that way for years, without any issues and it sounds fantastic. Though there seems to be some general debate, whether this is possible or not.
My tremolo does not work right now, but I think it may be a broken foot switch.
EDIT: No offense to this person, it's the people who are suggesting these silly mods that are off base.
Geez, this is a hilarious situation...the blind leading the blind. First of all its possible to run you amp in this manner but completely ridiculous. It always boils down to using the right gear, drastic measures like you are doing means this amp is not right for your home use.
Here is some technical information:
1) Class AB (push pull) power amps like the deluxe utilize two out of phase signals to drive the speaker (coupled by the output transformer). This is a balanced system that requires one power tube on each side of the transformer primary.
2) If you remove one power tube thus unbalancing the transformer primary the sound and function will suffer...reduced power and distortion and hum!
3) Why does the amp still function? This is because of the class of operation AB, which mean class A plus class B.
4) Class A = tube operating 100% of the cycle, Class B = 50%, Class AB = more than 50% less than 100%....Soo at very low signal levels (volume) the tubes are operating in Class A and this small area is where both tubes are working 100% and where you can have an unbalanced system still amplify somewhat cleanly. Note this is a very small margin at low low signal levels. Now when the signal level increases the tubes go into Class AB and start trading off the work...with only one tube installed now this tube is driven into near Class B and will become extremely asymmetrical...this results in huge amounts of distortion and harmonic content and also HUM!
5) A final note, it takes 6db reduction to equal a perceived loudness reduction of 1/2. So people who are pulling power tubes from there amp in hopes to achieve some great reduction in volume are not experiencing what they think they are...mostly the difference that will be heard is the chance in impedance, voltage, feedback and interaction with the speaker(s).
@@nikkisimpson1835 No offense taken.
But it's not exactly a mod, just an experiment in attenuation, that is easily reversible. And I was not really suggesting it, so much as reporting my experience.The truth is my Deluxe actually sounded good with one tube. Though the Deluxe sounds great with two tubes, of course, I pulled the second tube, not so much for lower volume, but increased distortion and better tone at lower volumes. The sound I got was very musical, not really any more noisy than usual.
This being said, you are right that a different amp is better suited to what I was using it for. I mostly play a tweed Champ, with and without a Tumulus pedal, which sounds great at the ridiculously low volumes at which I am forced to play it. The Champ is also much nicer to carry around.
@@danschoenharl3856 Understand. I meant the people on the internet suggesting these actions. And of course its a Mod...the design has been modified, right?! The distortion is full of second order harmonics, you can achieve this effect with many pedal options...or better yet get a single ended class A designed amp which produce the harmonics you like and you only need one power tube! It's your amp to do as you will, I just don't want people to be misled with this crude action of attenuation. You should try a tweed style Champ or Princeton (same as champ plus a tone control)...these circuits are perfect for what you a describing...connect it to a 12" speaker and add an outboard reverb and you are set!
From now on i’m going to point friends to this video instead of trying to explain some of these concepts myself, very well and succinctly
expressed in a way that shows how all of these things interact. Thanks!
I got a master volume mod done on mine at Flynn amps in Glasgow. It amazing now. All at bedroom levels.
I like you, Nerd! I thought I would be bored but your style is great for someone who really wants to understand this stuff, especially those of us Deluxe Reverb fanboys. I shall subscribe!
Agreed attenuators change the tone no matter how good they claim to be
What about an EQ pedal at the end of the board and use the volume on that to adjust to your desired level ?
As long as it's an active EQ, which must are, same effect!
Hi, I also have the dirty little secret, and next to it I have the 5F6 pedal and I used to use the formula 55 like you. I can get anything I want with those two. You have great taste.
Omg I love the 5F6!! So good, right?
I have a Fender DRRI and I've just ordered an Eminence Maverick based on this video. Thanks!
I fitted Yellow caps to my amp. Lowered the output level to 40 watts in total. I mixed them with 2 normal tubes. Yep, it has changed the sound a little, i have a sound that's like a cross of a Fender and A Vox. I am able to keep the old beast thou as i no longer gig! Not sure i am going to part with my mid 1990's beast just yet!
I played a Twin Reverb for years at home. For clean country stuff it did just fine at home played quietly. If I wanted some drive I just kicked the tube screamer on and left the amp turned way down. I couldn’t turn the amp up past 2 but it sounded fine lol 😂. But to be fair it’s impossible to make a twin reverb sound bad.
Great educational video! I appreciate your knowledge on this subject. I will pass this on to multiple people I know that use their DRs in their house or apartment.
Deluxe Reverb, the best all-around amp I've had. Liked it so much, I bought and sold one twice...
Still too loud for home. Just using an old Champ these days.
Wow. Guess I need a volume pedal now. Never saw much use for one, not doing any swells or anything, but this I would use. And maybe I’ll start doing swells too..
dude make more videos on the 1965 deluxe reverb reissue, i was about to give up on mine
Man o man
A speaker change makes a HUGE HUGE HUGE CHANGE
I was gonna send it to a amp mod shop for all this expensive mojo and these vintage tube but before I shelled out $600
I decided to try a eminence Ga-sc64
Wow man
It gets rid of every issue
Like the ice picks, the boomy bass
The farty distortion and the weird artifacts
But the amp sounds exactly like it did before
Just with no issues
I cancelled the work order and have been happy since
I highly highly
Recommend it
You will not regret it one bit
It’s also only like $109 and the speaker makes a much bigger difference than tube brand and build
Makes me wish I didn’t sell my DD-8 and Dirty Little Secret pedals for my 69 deluxe reverb!!! I have a love hate relationship with gear and decided to go the fractal fm3 route but damn I miss pedals! Awesome video!
this is a great tip that i will certainly try. however, despite your original comment about attenuators would you consider the Tone King IronMan mini to be an exception to the rule? i have one for my 68DRRI and it seems to do a great job of preserving tone. it's praises have been sung by many. that said i still want to try this trick to compare. thanks for the video!!!
I've never tried the standalone unit, but I've used the built in one on several Tone King amps - Falcon Grande, Sky King.
First off, Mark Bartel (the founder of Tone King and designer of all their amps) is a mad genius. He's one of the few amp designers out there with both an opinionated ear and the technical chops to go after the sounds he wants without purely rehashing or recombining classic designs. If you aren't already following him and his new company Bartel Amps on Facebook, you should check him out just to see how meticulous he is in every single aspect of amp design. His new amps are incredible, but justifiably expensive given the quality work he's doing custom building so many parts mostly by himself.
As far as the Iron Man goes, I think it sounds really great as a way to drive the amps into breakup at low volumes, and it was pretty innovative at the time it was released for introducing Fletcher-Munson curves to increase the highs and lows as you reduce the volume to keep the perceived eq the same.
Personally, I still think it introduces a little wooly-ness that's most noticeable if you use it when the amp is mostly clean.
Don't listen to me though! If you're using it and it sounds great to you and feels great to play, that's the important part! No one ever went to see a band play or listen to a record and said, "Man, that sounded great, but I wish the guitar didn't have an attenuator on it!"
Will be interested to hear your thoughts if you try the post-buffer volume pedal approach on what the differences are!
I fitted an Eminence Reignmaker speaker to mine, it makes it more useful at home without using a power rake and ruining the sound
Can I achieve this affect with the DLS and a volume pedal? I got the DSL already, I'd just need a volume pedal. I would not want to replace the Jensen speaker in my Princeton though. Thanks!
While you are using the DLS, you can just use its master volume knob to control the volume, but when playing with it off, it's a true bypass pedal, so no buffer.
Instead, you can either get an "active" aka "buffered" volume pedal, a buffer pedal with a volume control, or just a buffer + a passive volume pedal like mine.
Have fun and let us know how it goes!
Oh, and I just saw you have a Princeton, which doesn't have a bright cap across its volume pot in its schematic - in that case you can probably just use its volume knob - if that's not working out for you to get quiet enough, you can still try this approach, or, you could try replacing the first 12ax7 (far right when looking at the back of the amp) with a 12ay7, which effectively reduces the first amplification phase in the amp so it'll be quieter on the first few ticks of the knob
@@adjustablebias I do have a tumnus on the board which (I believe) always has a buffer even if the pedal is not engaged. So there's that?
I am just wondering if the EQ I prefer is not being engaged by the Princeton if the volume is at 3. I under the assumption the EQ profile changes depending on volume.
@@apereed44 if the Tumnus has an always on buffer, then you've got essentially the same setup I have and should be good with just a volume pedal!
As to whether it makes a difference without a bright switch, try it and let us know! My guess is it won't make a huge difference, especially if you're already say 3.5 on the volume, but you never know!
I appreciate your recommendation however, nobody seems to carry this speaker so, where do I purchase one then??
-3dB change represents a halving of power but doesn’t feel like half volume subjectively. -10dB feels more like half volume I find.
In fact because volume is on a logarhytmic scale -3 dbA is -50% of the volume. If 2 trumpets play at a volume of 80 dbA, 77dbA is the volume of 1 trumpet playing and 83 dbA is the volume of 4 trumpets playing.
BUT… in terms of accoustic apreciation, it is true that -10 db feels more like half volume. It is more of an accoustic-brain trick.
Technically -3 db is half volume is correct but your feel is correct also in a more sensitivity way.
Just sayin
Great video, thank you. I'm curious about where you measured your sound pressure levels. At 85 -90 dB, you said it was talking level. I find that 85 dB measured w an iphone dB meter app at my ear is my normal limit and at 90 dB, depending on the music, I'm bordering on painful. were you measuring right at the speaker cone? Thanks again.
It was in the digital display unit you see by the pedal board - on the floor probably a meter or so in front of the amp and just off to the side. I think you're right that it would be different off axis at ear level, and honestly it was a super cheap internet purchase - no idea how calibrated it is other than giving a good relative sense of the volumes in the video
Would a pedal with a buffered bypass work as the buffer pedal? For example, could I just plug in a boss pedal and leave it off?
Yes! A boss pedal left off works great!
This exactly why im getting a TOne Master - with the built in attenuator.
They key point here is at 10:50 - moving the volume down will "take away any od you are getting from your amp". Isn't that the whole point of a tube amp? Hit the front end hard and get the preamp tubes cooking? Pushing up the amps volume control should eventually bring in some power stage od. If all you want is to hear od from a pedal why use a tube amp?
There are lots of people who use tube amps for a clean tone and pedals for their overdriven sounds. David Gilmour of Pink Floyd specifically uses Hiwatt amps because they stay clean even when turned up very loud. Most people who play a Fender Twin Reverb use it because it is clean even turned up really loud. I have a 1966 Fender Princeton Amp - Not the same as a Princeton Reverb Amp - which stays clean with single coils even turned to 10, and will only barely start to break up with humbuckers.
That bright cap can be removed. When you turn down the volume on the guitar, you are putting a resistance on the pickup signal, so not all the frequencies remain operable. A "buffer" (misnomer ... anything that buffers, acts as a wall to diminish something) is a preamp of sorts, which can boost the signal.
Ideal buffer has gain = 1, infinite input impedance, zero output impedance.
I have a vintage 66 that had never had parts changed.
Found it in late eighties for $500.
I use a Butler Real Tube distortion pedal that has volume control.
If I turn the amp up to 5 or so them turn the pedal down low, am I
accomp!ihing the same thing? Tuff to play with 3 cats in small condo. The pedal has an Au7tube is it?
More or less - I'm not familiar with that pedal, and it sounds like it will add some color which you may or may not want, but what you're doing well effectively set the amps eq to what it would be at 5 (less treble), drop the volume and distortion the amp might provide, and leave you with whatever is coming from the pedal - give it a try and see if you like it better than keeping the volume low on the amp!
So does this act as a volume control in a way…say I set my tone king to 6 breakup to bypass bright cap. Then use this to turn down the volume like on my guitar. Would I go from the break up, back to lower clean tones as I got from 109% to 25%. Kind of looking for that as a set and leave it Vs a mod.
I am ready have the iron main built in which is unique because it comes before the speaker and interacts. I can shave off a few db as my master. Then use a volume pedal to reduce from the loudest 6/7. To bypass bright cap, and then dial back in my clean with pedal down?
Yeah, that's the basic idea - with the volume on the amp at full, you've fully bypassed any bright cap, and by backing off the volume on the volume pedal, you'll go back to clean. You can the dial in the eq you want by backing off the amp volume which will progressively increase the effect of the bright cap to whatever level you prefer, just interesting volume on the pedal to hit the overall level you prefer.
Makes sense…I just needed a simple set it and leave it. The bright cap wasn’t bad at 2-3 on OD. But Fuzz and distortion I need it past noon always. So without having to fidget with pedal volumes on my distortion and guitar…this makes since.
I have a old V1 Jekyl and Hyde red second in chain as my buffer pedal. So volume pedal last after the dirt pedals, and proably before effects, would be most natural.
For me it’s not about low home volumes, as it is clean sound to break up and bypassing the bright cap…without having to constantly readjust everything. So seems the volume pedal solves all this, as a set it and leave it on the amp. On my Tone King the highs are already on 3 and bass at 7. It’s similar but a bit different. Also using GE 5751 tube in V1 has helped a lot with fine control before breakup and higher levels on amp.
Thanks! Looks like I got everything but a volume pedal to do this. Which you recommend out of the passive ones?
Interesting video. You explained some interesting concepts I hadn't come across.
A small note on decibels ... a 3 dB decrease in volume is a halving in volume when measuring power [W], only. In dB SPL 6 dB would be a halving in perceived loudness since SPL is calculated using 2log10 and when it comes to human perception SPL is the most accurate scale.
Why do these demos not stress getting the amp OFF the floor, I almost sold my Deluxe Reverb until I put it on a box and the amp completely changed.
What about the mod I've been reading up on. You pull the v1 and two of the power tubes, then disconnect a speaker. It's supposed to cut the volume while retaining the tone.
I’m not sure I follow, you don’t like attenuators because they change the sound but you are ok changing the speaker? The point about the eq is a good one though. Unfortunately the feeling at low volume will always be a compromise with these amps…
Great video - thanks very much! Clear understandable and useful. Does all this apply to the Princeton Reverb, as well?
Standard Princeton Reverb amps do not have a bright cap, which is one of the things that makes DR sound strange at very low volumes, making a lot of this less necessary. That said, if you are trying to adjust volume at very low settings, it can be a bit easier to use a volume pedal
@@adjustablebias Thanks! I look forward to trying it out. Very appreciated!
Such a fantastic video - bravo man!
Thnx for the video! So I can crank my amp to a higher volume, as long as the last pedal is on, and the output is turned down. Did I get it correctly?
Yep!
Awesome, and you did it all without mentioning impedance once! I'm off to ebay to buy a Volume Pedal! Actually, just to let you know, I use a loop pedal and put any buffered pedals in that, because I can definitely feel it loses some sparkle when a buffer is on. However like you I like to practice with my real amp (Custom Deluxe 68), so this is a great choice for really low practice volumes, I can include it in my 'buffered' loop for practice. Thanks for the vid!
Why don't you clip the bright cap on the Deluxe Reverb? Very informative video. Keep it up.
I actually like a bit of bright cap, especially with certain darker humbucker guitars - makes the sound a bit more sparkly than say a Princeton Reverb. The volume pedal / volume pot on the amp combo let you dial in how much shines through while still controlling the overall volume. I do like the idea of the mod they did for the 64 custom where they include reverb + trem on the normal channel, or the option of putting in a switch or push/pull pot to bring it in or out, but internal modifications to the amp are a bit scary compared to just hooking up a pedal in front!
I got a one watt BlackStar amp head. Problem solved? Nope, that little bastard is still too loud for the house when cranked. Still has pretty good sounds using clean volume. Easier to get distortion using the guitar volume control. It works pretty well for bedroom jams...
That amp is legendary. It sounds incredible
Very good decision.
What about using power attenuator between original speaker and power amp out - have you tried that approach?
I've found with a few less expensive attenuators you lose a lot of the sound. I bet some of the higher end ones might work great, but not for the price of a volume pedal or even a low efficiency speaker!
Very interesting information on this subject. I'm very keen on getting a Deluxe Reverb soon. I have a 59 Bassman which sounds nice, but it's Deluxe Reverb sound that I'm after. I want the 64 handwired Deluxe but they are hard to find right now. I use a Boss Tube Amp Expander as an attenuator, that doesn't affect the tone of the amp.
Get the ‘64 Custom Deluxe! I did and got rid of my DRRI. Having reverb and tremolo in both channels is great, and the overall tone quality is heavenly! You’ll not regret it.
@@lmgtexas I will when they get shipped over to Australia. Always on backorder here.
My route 66 compressor gives it a clean boost that kicks it into sweet tones without crazy volumes.
I've tried many other comps, but nothing does what the Visual Sound Route 66 does !!!
Between the speaker upgrade and amp-in-box pedals you could just buy a nice bedroom tube amp. The Marshall DSL5cr is $500 new and sounds great at 1 watt and could almost play live at 5. I've always been a pedal junkie but I rarely use pedals with this amp because it sounds so nice. I wish fender made a deluxe series amp with half the wattage of the Princeton though!
I actually owned a DSL 5cr for a short period of time, but didn't get along with the sound. I've definitely heard others play through DSLs and sound great though. The one I had also had some serious hiss problems, even with the volume low or off. Ended up trading it in.
Adjustable Bias this is the first Marshall tube amp I've ever played through or owned. It behaves very differently than any other amp I've used. I find a lot of good sounds but changing guitars or adding a pedal changes the amp characteristics way more than expected. It seems like it's sort of a one setting amp, but with a lot of settings, if that makes sense. Great for recording or practicing but I don't think it would make a good performance amp by itself, unless you only need one or two sounds.
If you use an equalizer with a volume control instead of the volume pedal, would you set the equalizer to flat (0) across the board? And at the end of the effects chain? Thanks?
Yes, that should work!
Thanks so much for this video. There was a volume pedal left alone in a corner of my wardrobe for which now I found a reason not to sell it. It works pretty good and I’m switching on my beloved Deluxe Reverb again since this goddamn pandemic is locking it down.
Thanks for your entertainment.
One problem though, all Jimi hendrix pedals can't be the same as the original pedal, so they're built as a SET and can't work individually.
That's what the original pedal does.
The JH fuzz pedal requires the JH wah pedal to complete its old-fashioned style sound.
Without the JH wah, it makes a modern distortion or broken distortion sound. The original pedal doesn't make that sound.
The JH wah pedal requires 3 JH pedals to complete its old-fashioned style sound.
The octavio pedal requires 2 pedals to complete its old-fashioned style sound.
And to link the JH pedals to the dunlop brand, the dunlop rotovibe pedal must be at the end of the JH SET of pedals.
Anyone can make a pedal so dunlop is better than that. They make sets of mix&match pedals. They compete with multiple effects units from other brands.
They don't work by themselves. The company would get sued for exact reproductions.
Electrically they're a set of pedals. They can't make the old-fashioned sound by themselves.
Where are your effects? In the FX loop or between the guitar and the amp? I have my FX board between the guit and the amp (Hot Rod DeVille 212), but I put my Volume pedal in the loop. Now I can turn the amp up to around 6 or 7, kick back the VP, and get that nice Fender breakup at a neighborly level. Still trying dif levels between the V knob and the Master V, searching for that "Tone". Thanks for your info. I learned a lot.
The Deluxe Reverb is a vintage reissue and has no effects loop so the entire board is in front of the amp. In your case, by putting the pedal in the effects loop, which typically is after the preamp and before the power amp sections of an amp, I think your effectively giving yourself a second, easier to control master volume.
you all need to try this....turn you amp volume all the way down then up to the point where it just makes sound clearly enough...then take a volume boost pedal and max it out ...when i do this i get a nice gritty clipping sound like overdriving my amp ...but the characteristics of my guitar and amp come through more so than when you use a OD pedal with the amp at normal vol.
Thanks for sharing this solution. So to be clear, the volume pedal would be at the very end of the signal chain? After the effects loop?
At the end of your pedal board unless you want it to modify the signal into any pedals - the important part is that it go after a buffer or drive pedal. Hope that helps!
If you don't have any pedals except a volume pedal between the guitar and a vintage fender amp, thos trick still works or you need a buffer between guitar and the volume pedal?
You need either a buffer or an active volume pedal (which is essentially a buffer in the pedal), otherwise it'll be more or less like just turning the volume down on your guitar (and you'll lose some highs)
So a simple pedal like Boss eq will do the job before a 250k ernie ball jr6180 volume pedal right?
(P.S. what about using a vol pedal on the amp's effects send return?)
Yeah, any buffer prior will do, although with an EQ pedal, you could just use the overall level control on the pedal itself. If your amp has an effects loop, a simple pot there will work too, and will also let you get some preamp gain, but the DRRI, like most classic amp reissues doesn't have one.
For a clean compressed sound at low volume I use a Wampler Tumnus with gain set at say 9 o’clock (25%)
you said that there are some pedals that are designed for the hotrod vs the deluxe reverb blackface... what other dirt pedals are good for hotrod?
The HRD with EQ at noon generally has more mids than a typical black panel Fender, so you might look for slightly scooped pedals like a Boss Blues Driver, or the Keeley versions of it compared to mid hump options like Tube Screamers. In terms of designers who target one, I think Wampler might?
Hmmmm....
Never really noticed this and I normally use my giant fender vol pedal first in chain, I'll have to give it a try last. When im wanting to crank it up I will turn it over face down on carpet or move the amps up against the bed facing the bed and it breathes a lil underneath, makes a lot of difference.
Great vid. I have the same amp. Nowadays i use attenuator but i like the breakup and overdrive from the valve amp. I have read input 2 for hambuckers. What about use input 2 plus volume pedal? Can i get the drive from the amp without pedals?
Two channels black face amps. Both channels split the plate voltage on the first gain stage between v1 and v2. If you only use the wet channel and want more front end gain, simply pull the v1 pre amp tube(12ax7) which will disable the normal channel circuit but increase the plate voltage to the v2 pre amp tube for the wet channel. This will push the front end harder and saturate faster. If you only use the normal channel then vice versa, pull the v2 pre amp tube and disable the wet channel. Perfectly safe and has been done by many for years. The wet channel on most blackface amps have an extra 1/2 stage of gain to compensate for the vibrato/tremelo circuit. If you never use the vibrato/tremelo and only reverb effect on the wet channel. Disconnecting it from the circut will fatten up the tone. Also some black face amps have an NFT circuit which can also be wired to disengage which unleashes a more wild or woolly range.
Great information. Thanks for the tech breakdown. I didn’t know deluxe didn’t have bright cap on normal channel. Just got one and learning more about it.
I've gone with the Ox box. I can play 100 watt amps fully cranked to the sweet spot & listen through headphones...
So would a treble bleed essentially do the same thing? But also if I’m not using any pedals at all...no true bypass, no buffer, etc...did this still work? I guess the before and after the pedal board kinda made me think.
A treble bleed is actually kind of the opposite - that's essentially what the Deluxe Reverb has on its volume knob - a treble bypass around the knob where many treble bleed circuits do the same thing but on your guitar's volume knob.
If you wanted to do the same thing with no other pedals, you'd essentially want a buffer with a volume knob or an active volume pedal - there are plenty of these out there, many with additional eq controls like the Fender Level Set Buffer.
The goal of the approach in this video is basically to have the volume knob set on the Deluxe Reverb where you want it for EQ (since it has a bright cap, the level of the volume knob is actually controlling the ratio of treble to other frequencies), and then control the overall volume a different way that doesn't impact the EQ in any way. A passive volume knob on a guitar will effect EQ by dropping treble faster than bass, while most treble bleeds try to combat this they still also end up affecting the EQ differently, often by overcompensating with the treble or otherwise sound weird. This is particularly important for low volumes because there will be way too much treble when the volume on the amp or on a treble bleed circuit is on low.
Great video, thanks :) i'll add the Mad Professor Orange Evolution underdrive, which could be more practical than a moveable vol pedal, as an always on pedal.
That myth about the passive pickup that makes the volume rollback sounding muddy is not true.
What makes a guitare sounding dark when you lower the volume is the fact that the volume is, in a passive pickup guitar, a simple voltage divider.
Then, to get lower volume, the pot places a huge resistance in the signal path. Combined with the slight capacitance of a cable, this acts like a low pass filter.
A buffer should the be placed, not before, but after a volume pot. It also should be placed before something loading the signal with a certain capacitance (like a cable).
And also, the volume on the amp does the same thing! A preamp amplificatiin stage just before doesn't change anything.
Just after a volume pot, comes another amplification stage, witch loads the signal with what's called miller capacitance. To aboid a muddy signal their, the amp can have a "treble bleed", or "bright cap". The deluxe reverb have a fixed one. That's what generally makes the difference between normal and bright channel, for the '59 bassman for example
Can’t you just clip the bright cap wire and play on volume 1-2?
no...u wanna play at 5....here what the amp really sounds like then lower the volume
Very good video, my deluxe reverb amp does not have any sound at all between 1 and 2 on the volume knob . Is that normal? My amp is identical to the one shown here. I just noticed this issue after moving
That's pretty normal! The taper (how much resistance there is at what setting) amp-to-amp isn't always very consistent. Older amps sometimes require turning it up even further because of how the pots (the thing the nob turns) were back then!
@@adjustablebias thank you
What is the is the device on the back of the speaker? You show it at 3:41.
Sorry, I found it. Its built into the Eminence Maverick.
Well, the thing that puzzles me is you say you want to retain the real sound of the amp, then the fist thing you suggest is changing the speaker which by definition is the single most important part of the amp and will create that biggest sound change... I personally think there are now several amazing attenuators out there that have very little impact on tone and keeps that amp whole with everything you would use on stage in your home rig. But I nevertheless interesting ideas there
This was AWESOME!!!! I bought a 65 DRRI about a month ago and have never owned a tube amp before and struggled with playing it in my apartment initially. Bought the Bugera PS1 on a whim and didn’t love how it sounds. For now I have the amp at 4 and my guitar about halfway and it works for me. Will have to try a volume pedal though, thanks for the tip!
superbly explained.......i learned a lot..............well done
Hi, great video! Have you tried putting the volume pedal in the effects loop?
No effects loop on these amps, but if there were, that'd be a good way to achieve something like a master volume!