bedroom vol, cranked sound?

[speyfly]

What amps do you speak of? Full sized JJ?

Jr.

 

[tallcoolone]

Jr.

Got it. The big boys need volume

 

[Denis St Guinefort]

I'm sure this has been discussed before so I apologize in advance...I have a JCM 2000 DSL (with effects loop) and a small variety of pedals (including a Boss DS-1). I'm wondering if a power soak of some sort is the only real way to get a full, heavy, overdriven sound at bedroom volumes using my actual 1960 Vintage 4/12 cab. I'm not sure it's even possible, but I'm asking anyway. I'm not looking to spend a fortune, as I just got my head back from being benched (it's sounding very good now) and I'm still recuperating from that expense..lol. thanks in advance.

It's a very difficult one. And I have tried over decades probably everything. In my opinion, tube amps offer serious challenges for the sought sound involves driving hard the power tubes. I never attained something satisfactory even with 1W all tubes. You can get closer with small power transistor amps however, all those generally have an 8" speaker or smaller. The closest in my opinion at a very low volume came from a THR10 BUT, they aren't cheap, and I didn't care as much for louder volumes. In other words, try before you buy. Some stores will rent equipment for a day, a week, or more. It's worth trying with at least a day rental.

 

[Mrmadd]

Not sure how ow your bedroom volume has to be, but I play my 2000 DSL in a 1960A cab.
If I am too loud, I get the "light switch" .
The dreaded. " light switch"

But...
The 4x12 cab helps a lot. If you sit in front of one of these you can dial the volume to a resasonable low and it still sounds great.
I pulled out a small combo amp and played, got the "light switch" in seconds.

Here is one note, when you use a combo style amp/cab that is open, the audio travels out the back of the amp and fills the room with sound from the front and back of the amp.
This makes the combo appear much louder than it really is, if you are in front of the amp. You are only hearing half the volume, sort of.

With a 4x12 cab closed back, all of the audio is directed straight at you if you are in front of the cab. This should make bedroom volumes easier to acheive.

As far as fizz, ultra od distortion, pick your poison or should I say, "pick your transistor distortion"

Your DSL 2000 should be able to deliver all the gain drive you need. Maybe a clean OD or a transparent OD could help bring forth some of the higher notes of your guitar.

I use some pedals, but prefer to leave them in the box most of the time.

My DSLs usually let my guitar do the talking.

Good luck, enjoy!

 

[Mrmadd]

Another approch,
Pick up a DSL 15 watt head.
Just got one that screams.
NO PEDALS NEEDED ON THIS ONE.
Same great DSL tone, but less overall volume.

The 1 watt heads are cute, but lack enough balls to really get great tone.

 

[Scumback Speakers]

I use the D Kowalski Dark Gene amp, all 1/2 watt of it through a 1x12 M75-PVC loaded cab. Sounds great!

 

[Smellytele]

Bedroom volume?? I don't about y'all, but things get mighty loud in my bedroom, if ya catch my meaning. Yup, my wife snores pretty darn loud. Do they make an attenuator for that??

 

[chocol8]

Bedroom volume?? I don't about y'all, but things get mighty loud in my bedroom, if ya catch my meaning. Yup, my wife snores pretty darn loud. Do they make an attenuator for that??

foam ear plugs for you, CPAP for her!

 

[Matthews Guitars]

A lot of the "cranked sound" just comes from being turned up loud. There is a psychoacoustic factor in play.
Mesas typically sound best when they're NOT cranked into power amp distortion territory. But they're designed from the ground up with a master volume circuit.

 

[Apocalyptic]

Get rid of the DSL, ultra gain channel is one of the worst things I've ever heard. Get a Master Lead 30, an SL5 or a Yamaha THR10.

 

[speyfly]

Bedroom volume?? I don't about y'all, but things get mighty loud in my bedroom, if ya catch my meaning. Yup, my wife snores pretty darn loud. Do they make an attenuator for that??

Yeah, make the spare room your bedroom and take all your toys with you.

 

[GustHFS]

Get rid of the DSL

Nah I just bought my DSL20HR less than two months ago and to tell the truth it has been provide me much more pleasure than dissatisfaction. And none of this is the fault of the amplifier or its architecture either. We are the ones who don't respect the laws of physics, wanting to get the characteristic sound and feel of cranked tubes and speakers at low volumes, LOL!

Gust

 

[ITburst]

Nah I just bought my DSL20HR less than two months ago and to tell the truth it has been provide me much more pleasure than dissatisfaction. And none of this is the fault of the amplifier or its architecture either. We are the ones who don't respect the laws of physics, wanting to get the characteristic sound and feel of cranked tubes and speakers at low volumes, LOL!

Gust

Yes. It’s a nice amp. No reason at all to get rid of it. Just spend more time making adjustments to not only the amp settings, but your guitar volume pots as well. There is some very nice tone to be had from it.

I don’t recall what you have for speakers and how many. I bought the MX212 cab to go with the head. The two Seventy/80’s sounded way better than a single 10 or 12 inch speaker. Actually not as bad as some will say. I did still upgrade them to one Greenback and one Creamback. Even better still.

Two speakers in a closed cab is the way to go.

 

[GustHFS]

Sorry, double post

 

[GustHFS]

Yes. It’s a nice amp. No reason at all to get rid of it. Just spend more time making adjustments to not only the amp settings, but your guitar volume pots as well. There is some very nice tone to be had from it.

I don’t recall what you have for speakers and how many. I bought the MX212 cab to go with the head. The two Seventy/80’s sounded way better than a single 10 or 12 inch speaker. Actually not as bad as some will say. I did still upgrade them to one Greenback and one Creamback. Even better still.

Two speakers in a closed cab is the way to go.

At first I started using my amp with my MG50CFX combo, which has a Celestion Seventy80 that I installed in place of the original one. At the moment I'm using a 2x12 cab made by a local Brazilian manufacturer based on the MX212A but built from marine plywood, instead of MDF. The speakers (excellent by the way) are also made in Brazil, and are inspired by the G12T75 and V30 (one of each model in the cabinet, paired). It has worked very well for me, especially since prices for G12T75 and V30 speakers are completely prohibitive here (equivalent to US$ 400 each).

Gust

 

[proxy]

I'm sure this has been discussed before so I apologize in advance...I have a JCM 2000 DSL (with effects loop) and a small variety of pedals (including a Boss DS-1). I'm wondering if a power soak of some sort is the only real way to get a full, heavy, overdriven sound at bedroom volumes using my actual 1960 Vintage 4/12 cab. I'm not sure it's even possible, but I'm asking anyway. I'm not looking to spend a fortune, as I just got my head back from being benched (it's sounding very good now) and I'm still recuperating from that expense..lol. thanks in advance.

Yes Boss WAZA-TAE

 

[Mrmadd]

Love my DSLs
Not correct for every ocassion, but no other amp gets that nasty

 

[Ufoscorpion]

What amps do you speak of? Full sized JJ? I can only speak to the Friedmans I have but the Twin Sister and Smallbox need volume to sound their best—no different from a DSL.

I don’t think anyone disagrees that loud will always sound better than quiet, coz louder is well better . But we are discussing how to get good quiet tones that have the same/similar characteristics as an amp that’s pushed hard . We all know that ears perceive volume differently at different volumes so there is always going to be a compromise. For example if I miked up a cab and played at various volume levels then equalised those volumes on playback the recordings would sound pretty much the same . But , in the room they would sound very different .

 

[tallcoolone]

I don’t think anyone disagrees that loud will always sound better than quiet, coz louder is well better . But we are discussing how to get good quiet tones that have the same/similar characteristics as an amp that’s pushed hard . We all know that ears perceive volume differently at different volumes so there is always going to be a compromise. For example if I miked up a cab and played at various volume levels then equalised those volumes on playback the recordings would sound pretty much the same . But , in the room they would sound very different .

I get it, I’m just commenting on my experience with DSLs and Friedmans. I think the master volume on each are very good—if anything I think the DSL is better suited for low volume playing. Especially compared to the Smallbox. The Twin Sister is a less powerful amp and doesn’t seem to need as much to get to the sweet spot.

 

[Dirty-D]

The thing that l don't hear anybody mention is that you just can not get that "cranked" tone/sound at bedroom volumes.A large part of that sound is literally the sound of volume,for which there is just no substitute.You can drive the amp harder with a power soak and maybe not sound as thin but it's not the same sound. Same as a combo may sound just fine miked up(can't spell) but it doesn't push enough air to sound like what l think you're going for. Bedroom volume is just that,bedtoom volume. If it's for noodling around and practicing, a cleaner tone will serve you better by exposing all your flaws. No gain to hide behind.When l play cleaner at home l hear all the things l need to work on.Imagine a be bop guy playing a full stack cranked up. He'd sound like Randy Rhoads. l'd say use your pedal and settle on decent tone when you're alone or at home if you can stand it. All the options on this thread are pretty solid otherwise.Just my thoughts.