9 Solutions For When Your Tube Amp is Too Loud
The sound of real tube compression and tube saturation is a glorious thing! While nothing quite gets the adrenaline going like the sheer volume in a powerful cranked tube amp, here are some workarounds to help us get similar results at a lower overall volume.
Timecodes:
00:00 – Intro
00:44 – Attenuators
01:26 – Attenuator Down Sides
02:42 – Amp in a Box Pedals
03:52 – Amp in a Box Pedal Down Sides
04:09 – Master Volume in the FX Loop
05:00 – Compression
06:10 – Lower the Input Gain
07:29 – Low Power Switching
08:27 – Speaker Efficiency
09:36 – Speaker & Cab Configuration
10:05 – Amp Placement
#Solutions #Tube #Amp #Loud
Originally posted by UCsdzt1tun0Gbe51Qm8SsBQQ at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__YV6BusqgE
My wife is deaf. I dont have these problems…and i can yell out other womens names and say every thing that pops into my twisted mind….as long as my lips are out of line of sight.. .that last part is crucial….
I’ve been using attenuators for 40 years, but I’ve never had problems with my valves. These days, I’m using 5w amps, and a 0.5w valve amp at home.
Hello, Michael.
First of all, thank you very much for your wonderful explanations & demonstrations. It is very helpful for me.
Yesterday I bought a Marshall ST20C for home use coz I thought 'low input' plus '5w down from '20w' would be perfect solution for getting real Marshall tone with low volume. Well… it turned out to be was way too loud. Sigh…
By now, I tired Marshall the Guv'nor pedal at front end, GAIN 10 & LEVEL 3., and the volume is OK, while tone is not that I expected (Yep, I want to get Gary Moore tone at Still Got the Blues album).
I'm thinking of the followings before getting an attenuator.
1. put the Guv'nor in FX loop of ST20C.
2. put an EQ pedal in FX loop of the Guv'norST20C, then put Guv'nor +EQ into the front end of ST20c.
3. put an EQ pedal in FX loop of the Guv'norST20C, then put Guv'nor +EQ into the FX loop of ST20c.
4. put a volume pedal in FX loop of ST20C.
5. etc.
Well… it would be a meaningful journey.
Good luck to us all!
When using different speakers on a Tube (Valve) amp some amps need to have the speaker load matched to the Output Tubes & Output Transformer. If the amp says 8 ohms or 4 ohms that needs to match with either 4 ohms or 8 ohms of the speakers. At the same time, if one is using a 4 ohms speaker on a 8 ohm amp one should to use a appropriate resistor between the amp and the speaker to match the load.
Great Video!
I swapped out the V2 12AX7 in my '65 Fender Twin with a 12AY7 and that was such a good decision. I only have the one amp, and now it's playable in my bedroom (I can turn the volume all the way up to 4 now!). It also really improved the sound; the stock tubes were re-branded sovteks, and I put a nice Electro-Harmonix tube in there instead, it just sounds fuller with more harmonics. Seriously, if you own a tube amp, play around with what preamp tubes you have in there! I swapped out the reverb tube at the same time with a better quality tube and that really improved the sound of the reverb as well.
What about buying a very little wattage tube amp. I have bought the DSL 1 from Marshall. And I use it with a Palmer attenuator. Perfect screaming lead sounds at night, without disturbing the neighbors. It's crazy to use a Twin Reverb or another 100 watt amp. It's the small tube amps that's key. Thanks for video. ????????
How about………go back to your Legos in mom’s basement.
Ya get a quilter solved all my problems and sounds awesome
Can someone please tell the drummer to bring the level down though?!?
Don't think I've met one that doesn't want to deafen everyone. It would be nice to have some sound space to hear my guitar.
Sound engineers also set drums really high. They soundcheck them first, and usually have drums VERY prominent in the mix. Too many gigs where I've not even heard the other instruments (guitar, keyboard, piano, saxophone, etc) for drums and bass.
I have found a little miracle pedal to cure low volume setting on my amp. When you use a full 100watt Marshal 1959 model Plexi thorough a 4×12 Marshall cab cranked you get excessive bite from the pleasing presence from the power amp transformer. The cabinet will start to resonated and it will give you low end thump. The GUPtech Quebec EQ Enhancer has just two knobs. One gives you a punch right at the cab resonance frequency and the other gives you that presence bite. I use it as an always on pedal. Even at the lowest volumes playing clean I get a very full and rich sound . When using Fuzz boxes or high gain Overdrives I not only get that punch and bite, but the pedal tightens the sound without any loss of the extra breadth it provides. Impressive, better yet it is only $100.00 USD.
pedals – the best solution. You need just a clean amp. And you can work with almost any amp at any venue to get your tone… Huge amps are really for the celebrities these days, with a crew that can handle at that heavy stuff
Hi Michael, just found this channel and watched a few of your videos. The playing is so tasteful it almost takes away from the informative content!
A subtle loudness thing for me: most modern fender amps at least have hard metal feet, presumably for better coupling to the ground. I found that adding rubber feet to my amp made it feel less loud/bassy, especially on hard floors.
How about a variac?
Uh, just turn the volume down. Did this need a whole video?
theres a thing called a volume control. all amps have em
Attenuator!!! The best solution
This was great = very informative. I use a Strat into a 65 Princeton with (3) drive pedals Barber Gain Changer SR > Fulltone OCD > Thorpy Fallout Cloud (all set to low-gain) and can mix & match for some Killer-tones. oNe LovE from NYC
Step one, don't be a bitch.
I added a master volume to my amp. The tube preamp distortion sounds better than any pedal I’ve ever tried. It wasn’t super hard, only basic soldering skills required. I understand not everyone can or wants to do this.
I have a Fender Twin a crazy gain stage and haven’t EVER in my new apartment gotten any noise complaints and never been told to turn down live or in studio.
Keep your volume at 2 or lower and use your Overdrive pedal volume to control your actual output and saturation.
You do not need to “crank it to the sweet spot” with this amp. If you still can’t hear yourself one of your other mates is either too loud or you are not cutting enough in the band mix.
Very helpful. Thanks a lot !
Too loud is indeed too loud but sound engineers have assumed too much power, just saying. Particularly the all bass no treble ..or mids …contingent. One thing the presenter missed is mastering a softer playing touch to take advantage of the amp dynamics and available headroom without making the amp too loud. And tilt back legs are great, it puts the sound in the players ears so they can hear better at lower volume and redirects the more directional highs and beamier mids away from the listener
Too loud?? Bedroom level???? WHAT???!!
Sweet guitar collection
Earplugs….problem sorted!
Why not buy a smaller amp ? As you need to replace power tubes what about the transformer in your amp ? Most tech would tell you the same thing buy a smaller amp . Don't risk damaging your amo . . Low volume you can't drive a cabinet or a 12 inch speaker
Solution #1.
Stop being lame and turn it up more.
Some things you missed:
Using a reactive load + speaker simulation, taking the output to a separate full-range monitor, or directly to the PA.
Using a plexiglass screen in front of the amp.
Installing a post phase-inverter master volume (requires modifying the amp)
Giving up and using a digital modelling amp…
They have this NEW thing, called a "Volume Knob"!
About 12 years ago, I decided that I needed an affordable amp for playing out. After lots of research, I ended up going with a Fender Mustang III V1. It was plenty loud for gigging but too loud for the other band members. So, I bought a volume pedal. However, backing off the volume had the same effect as backing off the guitar's volume. I was able to solve the problem by running the volume pedal through the effects loop. The Mustang III is a modeling amp, so when I have the amp cranked up and I back off the volume, it still sounds great but quiet. So, without losing that sound, try running a volume pedal through the effects loop.
Closed back cabinets react different than open back cabinets in terms of volume and tone worth to check. Engineers and audio specialists gives certain attention to the room reflections hence the cabinet on the floor would reflect some frequencies differently than high place or support. So an audio treatment to your space can help a little. Also a cabinet close to the wall can increase 3dB in loudness perceived. Position matters in some cases but people buy tube amps for their "peak sound" which end up being a little bit louder than necessary for practice. That's the purpose of solid state amps they sound exactly the same at any volume level. If you are into pedals that's a good call.
Want a twin? Get a Deluxe for cleans and a Vibro Champ you can crank all the way up. And an A/B switcher.
This is such a lead guitarist problem. ???? The usual solution for us mere mortals is not to turn the gain to 11….
Attenuator is the best thing for stage use. Even for stage these days a 15-20 watt tube amp is too loud for stage. For home, just forget tube amps. Get a Boss Jamstation.
What is this… This too loud? I'm quite familiar with the concept of too silent but never stumbled upon something being too loud. Weird.
I have a 6-watt tube amp. Problem solved.
Very strange that speaker sensitivity (db/w/m) seldomly is mentioned. A 85 db/w/m speaker does not get louder than 85 db regardless the power you put into it.
Hmmm, how do you get both speakers working when you stack the Fender? The normal speaker is 8ohm, and if you add any other speaker it won't be 8ohm anymore, or do you just play it at the 4ohms when both are plugged in? Love your stuff by the way.
I have an outdoor gig this Saturday. It's a Guy Fawkes Night event that's gone all woke, with no bonfire, and "low-noise fireworks" (whatever they are). I suspect the band may be the loudest part of the event, and with this in mind, will be using a Fender BDR, which should do the trick!
I’ll have to try the compressor at the end of my row of OD’s and distortion pedals, but before the modulation, delay, and reverb. I’m not a fan of jumping volumes when I press an OD pedal.
Should have used that attenuator on the guitar tracks in this video ffs.
I love tube amps with a master volume for this reason, super helpful.
That being said, I am finally able to gig with a Twin Reverb due to the Tone Master. It’s unbelievable…has the “attenuation” but also the DI with a speaker on/mute option so it pleases anyone and everyone. It’s light. And don’t even think about turning it up all the way on it’s 85w setting…you’ve been warned. Lol
I have a Marshall dsl 40cr and Boss GE-7, thanks for the tip. ????
I like your series of videos very informative that make me want to return now and again, cheers