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I usually play at a fairly low volume, with a SS amp turned to around "4" and the volume rolled off a bit on my guitar. I've been experimenting lately and found that by turning the amp closer to "9" and further lowering the guitars volume, I get a lovely thick tone at about the same volume. So what is going on here? It's not a distorted sound like tubes being overdriven, and I'm not hitting the pre amp hard with my guitar's volume turned down. Where is the broad tone coming from?
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10-29-2012 09:32 AM
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For my understanding a non-master volume amp has the master volume always wide open and the volume works as how hard the input will be hit. So it seems you like that, a booster pedal might help you do that and use the volume quite lower? I love boosters with ss amps, it warms them up usually.
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In short, a transistor power amp works best near it's max power output. Distortion is at it's lowest and the harsh trebles normally associated with transistor amplifiers are reduced. Here is a very good article on the subject. BTW, very good observation on your part.
The Sound of Transistors | Stereophile.com
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jorgemg1984: What kind of boosters have you used/had success with for this purpose? Thanx.
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Any booster... A LBP-1 I added to my Fromel Shape EQ, the one on my Para-EQ, Lehle Parallel L, Nova System, Boss RPQ-10, Para DI. GE-7... any pedal I have / had with the ability to boost works well with ss amps in my experience.
If you also need eq maybe find something that does both. For the price of a booster pedal a GE-7 will do the same plus eq - and with Monte Allums mods it's a nice cheap pedal.
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What would you recommend for the Fender Jazzmaster Ultralight amp as I was looking to enhance the LR Bragg on my Godin Montreal for acoustic tone? A friend recommended a parametric equalizer over the BBE Acoustic Max/DI that I recently purchase. Super deal on eBay. Also, part of it that I don't really need a DI box capability.
Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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Sorry for chiming in - if you are looking for a dedicated booster pedal, the tc electronics spark booster is pretty nice IMHO. It has 26 dB of boost capability, a tone control and also optional mid boost, fat boost or all frequencies ("clean") boost. I agree with Jorge's comment that it warms up SS amps nicely. Originally Posted by Bushwackbob
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Let me ask a naïve question please. What is the difference between a boost pedal and the game function of the Sans Amp Para Driver?
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I mean gain function...
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I believe the OP doesn't need help from a pedal to get the desired tone.
The tone seems to be there already and the question is: why does it become nice and "thick" at the same loudness if it is achieved by turning the volume on the guitar down and on the amp way up to 9.
The answer may be:
The guitar does not have a compensating capacitor on the volume pot so low volume settings will roll off the highs.
The tone of the guitar pickup changes when it is loaded only by the pot as opposed to both pot and amp impedance at higher volume settings on the guitar pickup.
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There is a simple mod that can be done adding the capacitor. Originally Posted by FrankyNoTone
The kit consists of a capacitor and a resistor, which are wired in parallel across two of the lugs on the volume pot in order to prevent treble loss as the volume control is rolled down. The values are 680pF/220K (single coils) and 1000pF/220K (humbuckers). There is nothing special about these components, you can buy them from Radio Shack for 50 cents or less
However, I like the effect without the capacitor as I turn the volume on the amp up and turn down the volume on the guitar, I get the lower end for that Jazz tone I like and without using the tone pot.
I believe Gibson Guitars has a name for the capacitor setup, "Memphis tone circuit preserves the guitar's high frequencies no matter where you adjust the volume control".
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Correct Franky, my guitar does not have a tone control, that's why I initially set the amp to 4 and rolled off the volume. I was happy with that till I heard the tone with the volume at 9. Originally Posted by FrankyNoTone
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Hi! the jmul is already quite warmer than most ss amps I tried but it still benefits from a booster. Any eq / booster is a good choice in my experience. Originally Posted by Wildcat
You mean the piezo part right? I was talking about magnetic pickups. Piezo mainly benefit from good filtering - this is high impedance and lots of headroom (18v). I am not sure if the internal Godin preamp takes care of that... So one might need something for piezos that is quite different: for taming the piezo, for boosting, for eq, for DI purposes...
I had an acoustimax, it's a fine preamp but a little big. I've gone a different route on my piezo signal management that is not relevant for this discussion - my guitars don't have internal preamps now and I deal with pedals for everything.
Assuming you don't the need the DI function or the taming of the piezo function (which the BBE does not address so...) I would prefer a parametric eq no doubt. Still boosts and has a much better eq and is usable with any guitar... Check the Empress Para EQ. You can make the JMUL sound quite different!
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Although I like my Para Di, I have not bounded with the gain side of it... the gain said of the apra di introduces distortion pretty early. A "clean boost" does not, as long as your amp's input / pickups combination provides enough headroom - which in a PAF / "jazz amp" combination is true for sure. I've gone as far as a 12 db boost with no hint of distortion. Originally Posted by Bushwackbob
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Originally Posted by Gertrude Moser
This is how I've had my set up for years, now. Nominal volume on the guitar, almost rolled off (obviously not all the way, but a nominal amount left to trigger the amp), and all my volume from the amp. It creates a bit of hiss on the Henriksen, but it's totally worth it. It really is my sweet spot, and I don't know exactly why, either.
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I think FrankyNoTone got it right. When you turn up the amp volume and turn down the guitar volume, you're rolling off high frequencies on the guitar -- which yields a nice, mellow sound. I like to practice that way.
Problem is, it's not useful at gigs because the amp gets too noisy at gig volumes.
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Just to add, I've been coupling this setup with the "Jimmy Bruno" Henriksen settings--everything at 25%. Works fantastically. Originally Posted by Jonathan0996
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I do something curious. Volume on 10 on the guitar; volume pedal to cut that harsh sound (works much better than the guitar knob for me); booster after that to fat things up. Works brilliantly... Originally Posted by Jonathan0996
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+1 Originally Posted by jorgemg1984
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Hi Gertrude Moser,
Because you turn up the volume of your SS amplifier to 9, the other features in your amplifier also increases that's why you hear this kind of sound.
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With SS amplification usually the best sounds are achieved when the amp is NOT turned up all the way when the power amp still has plenty of headroom. That's the reason most of the highly regarded SS jazz amps are very powerful like 120W to 150W+ range. You can dial in your desired tone with those and be heard in a band without going anywhere near max volume on the amp.
In general SS amps distorting sound crappy so the less you have to turn them up (less into amp distortion) usually the better they will sound for clean guitar. That's where you'll usually get a more bell like tube like response from SS amps. You generally want it turned up some so the power amp can get into it but usually nowhere near 9 or 10 on the volume knob.
The reason the Op is getting a "fatter" tone with what he described is most likely because turning down the volume knob on his guitar is rolling off some additional highs, as has been mentioned already in this thread. That's creating an effect that sounds smoother and fuller to him.
Then again there are always exceptions to every rule so without knowing/hearing your specific amp ???
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