A smattering of thoughts:
At some point, the guitar and amp world transmuted from folks in bands to folks in basements and bedrooms. In a band, you need volume to be heard over the bass and drums (and keys if there are keys). Loud amps were created for this purpose, and the classic tones we hear on records were made by people playing loud amps very loudly.
Thing is, Mark Tremonti is a guy in a band, and it’s a pretty loud outfit. This is his sig amp, and he probably approved the taper of the volume control.
The idea that 15 Watts (or even 8) is necessarily going to be quiet and suitable for bedrooms and basements is relatively recent; AC15s are loud. Deluxes (22 W) are loud. Switching my Mesa Lone Star down to ten Watts is not exactly quiet, though it’s less loud than the other settings, not by all that much. An amp with twice the power will only be capable of a 3db increase in maximum output level. And there are questions as to when the speaker reaches its maximum output potential.
Look at the volume a guitar speaker puts out at the standard 1 Watt level. That’s usually called the speaker’s Sensitivity. A Celestion Blue puts out 100 db at one Watt. 100 db. One Watt (!). More recently designed speakers often do more. Even inefficient speakers like Greenbacks come very close to that volume with a one Watt input.
So, regardless of the wattage rating on an amp, one Watt can do a lot of volume with most guitar speakers. What bigger Wattage does is give you increased dynamics - i.e., punch., and increased RMS and peak volume.
This isn’t to say a more gradual taper on a pot wouldn’t be a good thing. I leave that up to the imagination of the reader.
BUT
There are some pretty good sounding attenuators on the market now. Many of them work well if used with a modicum of discretion, i.e., used gently.
I’m not a user of attenuators in my studio, but no one seems to mind if I record at reasonably loud volumes. If, on the other hand, I was causing a problem to my neighbors (or my hearing) I would certainly get a good attenuator, and use it when the need arose. If I loved an amp that was too loud for my needs, I’d get an attenuator for it.
At some point, the guitar and amp world transmuted from folks in bands to folks in basements and bedrooms. In a band, you need volume to be heard over the bass and drums (and keys if there are keys). Loud amps were created for this purpose, and the classic tones we hear on records were made by people playing loud amps very loudly.
Thing is, Mark Tremonti is a guy in a band, and it’s a pretty loud outfit. This is his sig amp, and he probably approved the taper of the volume control.
The idea that 15 Watts (or even 8) is necessarily going to be quiet and suitable for bedrooms and basements is relatively recent; AC15s are loud. Deluxes (22 W) are loud. Switching my Mesa Lone Star down to ten Watts is not exactly quiet, though it’s less loud than the other settings, not by all that much. An amp with twice the power will only be capable of a 3db increase in maximum output level. And there are questions as to when the speaker reaches its maximum output potential.
Look at the volume a guitar speaker puts out at the standard 1 Watt level. That’s usually called the speaker’s Sensitivity. A Celestion Blue puts out 100 db at one Watt. 100 db. One Watt (!). More recently designed speakers often do more. Even inefficient speakers like Greenbacks come very close to that volume with a one Watt input.
So, regardless of the wattage rating on an amp, one Watt can do a lot of volume with most guitar speakers. What bigger Wattage does is give you increased dynamics - i.e., punch., and increased RMS and peak volume.
This isn’t to say a more gradual taper on a pot wouldn’t be a good thing. I leave that up to the imagination of the reader.
BUT
There are some pretty good sounding attenuators on the market now. Many of them work well if used with a modicum of discretion, i.e., used gently.
I’m not a user of attenuators in my studio, but no one seems to mind if I record at reasonably loud volumes. If, on the other hand, I was causing a problem to my neighbors (or my hearing) I would certainly get a good attenuator, and use it when the need arose. If I loved an amp that was too loud for my needs, I’d get an attenuator for it.