50 watter head room

[mercuriel]

Hey guys, not sure if this has been asked before but can't seem to find the threads. Anyway, how much do you expect to crank a 50w tube head and cab to get that sweet distortion? I suppose a 50w doesn't differ much in terms of volume to it's big brother 100w. But I kinda expect to hear the break up early. But question is how early, and at what level? It's rather subjective seeing there are countless amp models and their amp characteristics. Just say what works for you. Do share your gain, level and master settings for that high gain monster tone on yours.

 

[edgie]

I have no experience in cranking a 100 watter but when I had my THD Flexi-50 it's just painfully loud before it breaks up. From what I read, given the specs(tubes, etc.) are the same, a 50 watter will break up on the 80% of a 100 watters break-up point. A lot of players also prefer 50w(e.g. Malmsteen, Morello) over 100w because of their more spongy feel compared in contrast to the 100w's tendency to feel stiff.

 

[Munak]

i think in singapore housing 50 watter is about the just right watt to use at home, im using a 50watt jcm2000 too but i rarely goes over 11'o clock for my volume, for 100 watt i think it'll sounds much louder but im not sure

 

[mercuriel]

Actually there's no difference between 50w and a 100w on volume, they're pretty much at the same level. I think the only difference is the headroom, as you need to crank more on a 100w in order to get the tube saturated, which probably why it has to get louder? A 50w can be cranked at lower level than 100w, but by how much? So it's interesting to know what gain, level and master, does our fellow 50w owner crank theirs. I heard some people cranked as much as 1 o'clock before the tube breaks up.

I assume you meant setting the master at 11 for your JCM? I imagine that is rather loud already. But did you actually get the tube distortion that you like? What's your gain and level at that point?

How about you edgie? What were the settings you used? It's interesting to note what you said however.

 

[edgie]

Well for me, the volume(master switched off) is dialed to 2 o' clock. At this point it's freaking loud that it's not really pleasing anymore unless you're a masochist. It'll work in a living room but in the bedroom you can really feel the treble strings' snap pierce your ears. When I'm using single coils the treble and cut(which is actually the control for hi mids) are almost rolled off with mids and bass set to taste. With humbuckers, I can set the treble to about 9 o clock and the cut to about 8 o clock. I have tried using the THD hotplate but I think with heavy attenuation, I never really got the feel and sound I'm looking for. I much better off with the master control but the cons is that you won't be able to optimize the power tubes.

Mind you, the Flexi is a bright amp and the EQ's baxandall nature needs some understanding to fully utilize. But once you learn it, you may prefer it over the typical amp EQ as it's range is much wider. Everything-at-5 doesn't work on it.

Now I'm using a Port City Twelve amp and I'm just getting the dirt from my stompboxes(Himmelstrutz). I would never have done this 4 years ago as I'm not really convinced with the pedals' feel and sound back then but now the pedals have greatly improved in emulating tube sounds that you'll be really hard-pressed to tell the difference between them and a tube amp.

Now the Flexi is sold, and with the decibel levels that I play with in my room, I find that what's really ideal for my situation(and I would assume for most of us) here in Singapore is a clean amp with a good headroom and some really great pedals.

 

[subversion]

the break-up point/ mark isn't quite fixed, depending on the pickup output/ driver type, among others.