DreamTheaterRules
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As is customary, I'll open the bidding at $12. That's for the cab only.
Ever have a day when you just hate the sound coming out of your amp?
- Thread starter JasonE
- Start date
Alnus Rubra
Loving nature’s wonders
JasonE
New Member
I could have sold the cabinet for some pretty good money. There was a ton of interest in it. It isn't a common cabinet. It was made to go with the Roadster. It is the same width as the head and is a 2x12 with Vintage 30's in it.
ViperDoc
Plugged In.
Get a Brown Box attenuator. You have to calibrate the readout LCD to the actual wall voltage with a DMM (so you can know how accurate your LCD actually is), and then you can step down the AC voltage as needed on the fly. An excellent weapon for any rig.These are interesting comments, gents.
I have a Furman PF1800 PFR power supply that has a voltage readout on the front. The voltage here varies from 120 to as high as 125, and the amps sound a little different when the voltage goes up.
I've actually thought about buying a voltage regulator to have tone consistency.
But there's one other factor I want to mention in the "maybe it's me" department:
Our brains operate on glucose. These levels fluctuate quite a bit during the day, and every day is different. Because I'm diabetic I check my glucose constantly, and I notice that when my glucose is low, things sound a little different than when my glucose is normal. Same if it goes high.
Even my visual perception changes a bit, especially peripheral vision.
So yes, it could be the power fluctuating, and it could be our brains, or some combination of both.
Then there's our hands. I find if my touch is heavier on a particular day for some reason, throwing the tuning stability awry a tiny bit, I can't stand listening to my playing.
Of course, at times I'm not the only one who can't stand listening to my playing! Oh, hello honey, how was your day?
I have my eye on the Brown Box, as well as the Furman rack mount unit.
The Son of Q balanced AC/isolation transformer I use with my recording gear keeps the voltage within +/- 2.5 volts, but I generally don't plug the amps into it.
I found a nice demo of the Brown Box here; the main issue I have with it is that it has only two outlets, and I have four amps. On the other hand, you can't set the Furman to the voltage you prefer, it simply gives you 120V.
JasonE
New Member
Interesting this thread would come up again. I plugged in for a bit during lunch and at first I wasn't liking the sound of the drive pedal I was using. It is set exactly where it was the last time I played it, like a day or two ago, and was loving the sound of it then. I switched back and forth between amp gain and pedal gain and tweaked the pedal a little bit. I actually have two drive pedals in the chain right now. I moved over to the other one and liked it much better. Then went back to the first pedal and adjusted again. I turned it up a little bit and that helped a lot.
What I think it may be is that I have 5 guitars out in the room right now. I have been playing the Studio the most since it is the newest. I was playing my 594 this time and what I heard today tells me I need to change the strings on it. I am wondering if that is what started this whole thing. The E and A strings are sounding kind of dead on it to me. They have been on there for a while so it is not a surprise to me. The strings on the Studio are much newer. I recently restrung a couple of the others in the room as well.
What I think it may be is that I have 5 guitars out in the room right now. I have been playing the Studio the most since it is the newest. I was playing my 594 this time and what I heard today tells me I need to change the strings on it. I am wondering if that is what started this whole thing. The E and A strings are sounding kind of dead on it to me. They have been on there for a while so it is not a surprise to me. The strings on the Studio are much newer. I recently restrung a couple of the others in the room as well.
ViperDoc
Plugged In.
That is what power strips were made for.
And of course, if you need discreet AC adjustment for each amp, then all you'll need is four Brown Boxes. I use a Furman PF 1800 PFR as a power strip (though it is a rack device); it has a 45 Amp power reservoir so that current demands from an amp are met more instantaneously, and yeah, you can hear it.That is what power strips were made for.
This is the PF 1800 PFR:
Furman P-1800 PFR Power Conditioner with Power Factor Technology
Ensure stable, reliable power with the Furman P-1800 PFR, featuring power factor technology for professional audio and AV systems.
furmanpower.com
They sell anywhere you can get pro audio gear, I got mine here:
P-1800 PF R 15A Prestige Power Conditioner with Power Factor Technology - Sweetwater
Looking for Power Conditioners? Sweetwater has FREE Shipping and FREE Sweetwater Support for Power Conditioners!
www.sweetwater.com
I have no idea whether the Brown Box and the PFR can work together either with the brown box between the PFR and the wall, or with the brown box plugged into the PFR without screwing up the power reservoir thing.
The Furman power regulator is made to pair up with the PF 1800, but it's not cheap.
ViperDoc
Plugged In.
I think the Brown Box attenuator is designed around being plugged into a single 100W amp or two lower powered amps at most, it having a 5A rating. So not likely a good paring with your conditioner. But for the sake of discussion, since your power conditioner is really a voltage supply device and not a "regulator", it will operate at whatever wall AC voltage it gets from the wall. Right? If that's the case, you *could* attenuate your conditioner if you're only using one or two amps simultaneously and get the B+ reduction it offers. Or you could go for the Furman Regulator and stick it at the desired voltage. I'm not even sure you can do that, although for the money, I think you should. [EDIT: By investigation, it appears it's stuck at 120V.] OR, you could go buy yourself a Variac with a 20A fuse and dial that sh!t back like EVH did on the fly. Just remember to re-bias the tubes for proper current at the lower voltage.I use a Furman PF 1800 PFR as a power strip (though it is a rack device); it has a 45 Amp power reservoir so that current demands from an amp are met more instantaneously, and yeah, you can hear it.
This is the PF 1800 PFR:
Furman P-1800 PFR Power Conditioner with Power Factor Technology
Ensure stable, reliable power with the Furman P-1800 PFR, featuring power factor technology for professional audio and AV systems.
They sell anywhere you can get pro audio gear, I got mine here:
P-1800 PF R 15A Prestige Power Conditioner with Power Factor Technology - Sweetwater
Looking for Power Conditioners? Sweetwater has FREE Shipping and FREE Sweetwater Support for Power Conditioners!
I have no idea whether the Brown Box and the PFR can work together either with the brown box between the PFR and the wall, or with the brown box plugged into the PFR without screwing up the power reservoir thing.
The Furman power regulator is made to pair up with the PF 1800, but it's not cheap.
You know, for what's it's worth, I've seen a lot of amps being designed around power transformers with 117VAC primaries, which a regulator would inflate the B+ and bias by default. For example, take about every Carr amp made over the last decade or more. This is one reason why guitarists often "like" the sound of their amps with lower voltage. Often they could be hearing their amps at the specified design point for the first time! The back panel often says what it's rated at. Good to take into account depending on what flexibility you need in the studio. A good investigation to run for each rig in any case.
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It's a pretty interesting topic!
My Lone Star has a built in Variac switch setting that takes the amp down to 93 Volts. I like it when running the amp at the 50 Watt setting, because the amp gets a little looser. Supposedly it increases tube life as well, which is good since I'm running NOS EL4s and having them last would be a good thing.
bodia
Authorities said.....best leave it.....unsolved
I use one of those, too. Based off your comments several years ago.I use a Furman PF 1800 PFR as a power strip (though it is a rack device); it has a 45 Amp power reservoir so that current demands from an amp are met more instantaneously, and yeah, you can hear it.
This is the PF 1800 PFR:
Furman P-1800 PFR Power Conditioner with Power Factor Technology
Ensure stable, reliable power with the Furman P-1800 PFR, featuring power factor technology for professional audio and AV systems.
They sell anywhere you can get pro audio gear, I got mine here:
P-1800 PF R 15A Prestige Power Conditioner with Power Factor Technology - Sweetwater
Looking for Power Conditioners? Sweetwater has FREE Shipping and FREE Sweetwater Support for Power Conditioners!
I have no idea whether the Brown Box and the PFR can work together either with the brown box between the PFR and the wall, or with the brown box plugged into the PFR without screwing up the power reservoir thing.
The Furman power regulator is made to pair up with the PF 1800, but it's not cheap.
