Amp basics: What’s the difference between gain and volume

[nauc]

I have one that goes to 13...

cheater

 

[randelli]

I have another that goes to infinity

 

[Dirtyclinic]

I am droppin' Hamiltons like Aaron Burr

 

[BuzzHaze]

I don't tech my own gear, so whatever drivel I type here should be taken with a few kg's of salt...


What about powertube distortion?
I'm quite sure that can be achieved with a clean pre-amp gain setting.

Can someone explain what I'm missing?

I was taught that gain is nothing more then "amplification of a signal", which doesn't mean the pre amp has to saturate (start clipping, distorting the sound etc.) per se.

My MusicMan combo is a solid state preamp and tube power amp. I have figured out how to dial it so the SS preamp is not distorting, then I dime the master. I use my volume on the guitar and have a baffle for the amp. The sound I get is CRAZY nice. It has just the right amount of tube distortion this way. It's clearly getting the harmonics and "distortion" from the amp section and not the nasty distortion from the SS preamp section. I've had the amp for over 30 years.

 

[OBX351]

My MusicMan combo is a solid state preamp and tube power amp. I have figured out how to dial it so the SS preamp is not distorting, then I dime the master. I use my volume on the guitar and have a baffle for the amp. The sound I get is CRAZY nice. It has just the right amount of tube distortion this way. It's clearly getting the harmonics and "distortion" from the amp section and not the nasty distortion from the SS preamp section. I've had the amp for over 30 years.

Do you use a pedal at all for some boost/distortion going into the amp and leave the preamp neutral?

 

[Steve Mavronis]

This a good video too explaining gain and volume stages as it relates to tube distortion. It helped me understand the basics of a tube amp:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b871FRjDWAs]YouTube[/ame]

 

[Reety]

Neat read....

My Mesa has independent gain for each channel and then a volume for each as well...I kind of already knew what each does but great to see it outlined in more detail none the less


hotrod

the best explanation i've ever found was the mark v user manual
http://www.mesaboogie.com/manuals/MkV_100303.pdf (start at page 33)

 

[BuzzHaze]

Do you use a pedal at all for some boost/distortion going into the amp and leave the preamp neutral?

Yes, I use an MXR Distortion + with the MusicMan, plus a CE-1 Boss Chorus and a wah-wah. I think I've been using that same setup for decades..haha. I sure don't need the MXR for my Mesa Roadster. It has a ton of warm tube gain.

The MusicMan is a strange beast. It takes a while to figure out the sweet spot before the solid state pre-amp begins to crap out....but once you do, it's a sweet amp for southern rock, blues and slide. The slide sound is the best I've heard, not even my Mesa can match it's sparkle when it comes to slide guitar. I suppose it fell short on Hendrix and Trower stuff but the pedals I had made up for that so all in all, it has served me well.

I've bought and sold a lot of amps over the years but the MusicMan always has a special place with me.

 

[OBX351]

Yes, I use an MXR Distortion + with the MusicMan, plus a CE-1 Boss Chorus and a wah-wah. I think I've been using that same setup for decades..haha. I sure don't need the MXR for my Mesa Roadster. It has a ton of warm tube gain.

The MusicMan is a strange beast. It takes a while to figure out the sweet spot before the solid state pre-amp begins to crap out....but once you do, it's a sweet amp for southern rock, blues and slide. The slide sound is the best I've heard, not even my Mesa can match it's sparkle when it comes to slide guitar. I suppose it fell short on Hendrix and Trower stuff but the pedals I had made up for that so all in all, it has served me well.

I've bought and sold a lot of amps over the years but the MusicMan always has a special place with me.

I've had several MXR distortion pedals, good pedals!! I've heard great things about MM Amps. I've never played them but I think they copied Fender black face amps with some innovation. Doesn't/Didn't Clapton play out of MM amps as well.

On another note, what year is that P90 BB? You should post some pics of it here: http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/historics-reissues/237404-staple-p90-black-beauty-custom-thread.html