Output Transformer Question

[cbhuss75]

I have a Tsl60 that I like the tone of after some mods. One thing that has always plagued it is that when I record it it sound thin and lower in volume than it does in the room. Recently I’d purchased a origin50 and was recording both of them at the same volume but noticed on the recorded track the origin was Noticeably louder even though both apps were set up similarly. I’d also noticed this with another small 5 watt head I have but I didn’t really think much of it at the time.

Question: can an output transformer have this effect on sound. As I said, standing in the room both amps sound he same and are both pushing 95db. Why would one track thinner and quieter. It sonds like an out of phase speaker but I am using the same cab so the only variable is the amp?

 

[m1989jmp]

I have a Tsl60 that I like the tone of after some mods. One thing that has always plagued it is that when I record it it sound thin and lower in volume than it does in the room. Recently I’d purchased a origin50 and was recording both of them at the same volume but noticed on the recorded track the origin was Noticeably louder even though both apps were set up similarly. I’d also noticed this with another small 5 watt head I have but I didn’t really think much of it at the time.

Question: can an output transformer have this effect on sound. As I said, standing in the room both amps sound he same and are both pushing 95db. Why would one track thinner and quieter. It sonds like an out of phase speaker but I am using the same cab so the only variable is the amp?

What's your recording setup?

There are tons more variables I'd consider before output transformer (output tube bias, tubes in general, mic placement, overall amp design, etc.)

Keep in mind that you're blasting your ears hard at 95dB, it may sound as loud and good as the other amp when in fact it isn't.

 

[cbhuss75]

Thanks for the relply. The recording setup is an e603 into a sx202 preamp into a ur44 interface into sonar. Same setup for both reference recording. The dB measurement is from a iPhone app so I don’t know how accurate it is but my input meters on my daw show them same level coming in. On playback the tsl is quite a bit lower in volume on the meters in the DAW and sounds out of phase. The other amp sound full and louder. Could this be amp design? Are there any other tsl owners out there who have a/b recording from a different amp and noticed this. The OT is about the only thing I have not changed. New pt new tubes new speakers.

 

[clutch71]

There are lots of great transformers out there. I put a Mercury Magnetics in my DSL many years ago. To my ears it made the amp sound better but it did not impact the volume. The amp always sounded good regardless of where the volume was set.

 

[cbhuss75]

I am an idiot. I got thinking about what was mentioned about mic placement and opened the back of he cab to find one of the positive terminals on the speaker I was moving unhooked. Not only was I micing a dead speaker, I was running in 8 ohms I think. Anyway sound is full again. Still not as big of a clean sound as the origin50 but useable.

 

[m1989jmp]

I am an idiot. I got thinking about what was mentioned about mic placement and opened the back of he cab to find one of the positive terminals on the speaker I was moving unhooked. Not only was I micing a dead speaker, I was running in 8 ohms I think. Anyway sound is full again. Still not as big of a clean sound as the origin50 but useable.

Is it a spade terminal?

These things are awful, I prefer soldering the wire directly.

Glad you got it sorted out. But that would mean both amps were recorded on the defective cab?

 

[cbhuss75]

They were spades. I crimped them so that doesn’t happen again. I did run both amps through a different cab as well and there difference in volume there was negligible. Oddly the origin sounded more 3D than the tsl at the same dB on the Meters so it feels louder. I don’t know if this is a product of amp design or something that could be affected by the OT. Tsl has new tubes but this is something I’ve been dealing eith since I got it. I wonder if this is why they get a bad rap for not cutting through the mix? I saw a video of a two guitar band playing where one of the guitarist was using the tsl and when he did his solo you couldn’t even hear over the Rhythm guitar. Might be time to give up on this amp.